Year-round engagement is the new battleground for benefits — is your communication strategy keeping up? 

For many HR teams, brokers, and benefits administrators, open enrollment has long been the spotlight season. It’s when messaging ramps up, reminders go out, and employees finally pay attention. But what happens after open enrollment closes? 

If your benefits communication tools—email, SMS, alerts, eligibility triggers—sit dormant for most of the year, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to boost engagement, reduce confusion, and ultimately deliver more value to your workforce. In fact, underutilizing these tools doesn’t just cost you missed clicks; it costs you confusing experiences and a loss of trust from your employees. 

Why Year-Round Benefits Communication Matters More Than Ever 

The landscape has shifted. Today’s employees expect more than an annual email blast. They want clear, timely, and relevant information delivered right when they need it. Whether it’s a new hire enrolling, hitting a deductible, or returning from leave, these moments are prime opportunities to engage — yet too often they go unaddressed. 

This gap creates real costs: 

• Employees unaware of their benefits might miss preventive care or lose coverage 

• Confusion leads to increased calls and tickets to HR, driving up admin costs 

• Passive enrollment practices can cause lower plan participation and reduced satisfaction 

The Danger of Fragmented Messaging and Too Many Tools 

It’s tempting to add more solutions — a new app here, an alert system there — to “solve” communication challenges. But piling on point solutions without centralizing messaging often backfires. Overlapping alerts, conflicting information, and siloed systems frustrate employees and erode trust. 

This paradox of “more support = less clarity” creates fatigue — not fluency — and drives up costs for HR teams, brokers, and carriers. 

Embedded, In-Flow Communication Is the Game Changer 

The future of benefits communication isn’t more channels — it’s smarter channels. Embedding communication directly into your benefits platform, aligned with employee life events and eligibility changes, delivers messages at just the right time and place. 

Imagine automatic alerts when someone reaches a deductible, personalized reminders for new hires, or instant updates when a benefit changes. These “just-in-time” messages reduce confusion, increase engagement, and improve the overall employee experience. Bonus – they reduce the administrative workload for HR teams.  

Ready to Turn Your Communication Tools Into a Benefits Powerhouse? 

Check out our recent webinar, “You Have the Tools—Now Use Them: Turning Communication into a Benefits Powerhouse,” where we explore how to: 

• Break down messaging silos and streamline communication 

• Leverage your existing tools year-round, not just during open enrollment 

• Align people, processes, and technology to execute smarter benefits strategies 

• Learn from real employers who transformed communication fatigue into fluency 

Don’t let your powerful benefits communication tools collect dust. Watch now to learn how to unlock their full potential and deliver benefits communication that truly works — clearly, simply, and exactly when people need it.