Key takeaways

• Start communicating four to six weeks before enrollment opens, and repeat the message across at least two channels.
• Lead with what changed and what employees need to decide, not with everything the plan covers.
• Mixing digital and print is what reaches on-site, remote, and frontline employees without regular computer access.
• Real-world examples land better than benefit descriptions.
• Spell out every acronym, and keep the fine print in links rather than in the main message.
• The conversation shouldn’t stop when enrollment closes.

Effective open enrollment communication starts early, uses more than one channel, and keeps benefits information simple. The eight tips below help employers explain benefits clearly, reach employees wherever they work, and support confident decisions before the 2027 plan year begins.

Employees are looking to their employers for help more than they used to. They want to know how much to set aside for retirement, emergency savings, and health care, and they want it explained in a way that doesn’t require a benefits background. That’s an opportunity. Open enrollment is the one moment each year when everyone is paying attention, and the employers who use it well see the difference in participation, in questions answered before they become complaints, and in employees who actually understand what they signed up for.

Here are eight ways to make your 2027 open enrollment communication land.

1. Start open enrollment communication early

Give employees at least four to six weeks before enrollment opens. They need time to read what you send, talk it over at home, and work out what their family needs for the year ahead. There’s no such thing as communicating too soon. Repetition is what gets a message seen, so plan on several reminders rather than one announcement, and assume the first one will be missed.

2. Decide on your key messages before you write anything

Once your benefits options are locked, work out what you most need employees to know. Focus on what’s new or changing, since that’s where confusion and missed deadlines come from. Write a short FAQ at the same time, covering the questions your benefits team answered most often last year. Having it ready before enrollment opens saves the team from answering the same question multiple times.

3. Choose a mix of channels that fits your workforce

Most workplaces are a mix now, and communication works best when it matches. Digital channels put information somewhere employees can find it on their own schedule, and chat support from your benefits vendor helps people work out what they need without booking a meeting. Print still earns its place. A postcard at home reaches the spouse who makes the health care decisions, and an on-site meeting is still the best way to answer questions in real time. Pick the channels your employees actually use rather than the ones that are easiest to send.

4. Keep benefits information simple

Employees don’t need to know everything about a benefit. They need to know what it does, whether it applies to them, and what happens next. Say that plainly, then put the detail behind a link or in an attachment for the people who want it. Every sentence you cut from the main message makes the ones that remain more likely to be read.

5. Make it digestible

A 40-page benefits booklet is where good information goes to be ignored. Break it up instead. A two-minute video, a short email on one topic, a single-page summary of what changed. When everything arrives at once, employees get overwhelmed and disengage, and disengaged employees default to last year’s elections whether or not those still fit.

6. Use real-world examples

Put benefits in situations people recognize. Instead of describing telemedicine as a 24/7 benefit, describe the 2 a.m. version: your child has a high fever, and you can talk to a doctor without waking anyone or driving anywhere. Most employees will need their health coverage at some point during the year. Showing them when and how makes complete coverage feel like a decision rather than a form.

7. Avoid jargon and decode the acronyms

Benefits language is full of terms that mean nothing outside HR. Write around them where you can. Where you can’t, explain the acronym the first time you use it, then use it consistently. A short glossary in your enrollment materials costs you half a page and saves your benefits team a week of questions.

8. Personalize communication for different groups

One message rarely fits everyone. Segment your audience and adjust what you send. A new parent, an employee five years from retirement, and someone enrolling for the first time need different things from the same set of benefits. Delivery matters as much as content: on-site employees, remote employees, and frontline employees without regular computer access all need a route to the same information, and it usually isn’t the same route.

Keep the conversation going after enrollment closes

Open enrollment is the loudest moment for benefits communication, but it shouldn’t be the only one. Employees make decisions all year, and a benefit nobody remembers is a benefit nobody uses. A quarterly reminder about what’s available, timed to when people need it, does more for utilization than anything you send in November.

Frequently asked questions

When should employers start communicating about open enrollment?

Four to six weeks before the enrollment window opens is a reasonable minimum. That gives employees time to review their options, discuss them at home, and ask questions before the deadline. Plan on multiple reminders across that window rather than a single announcement.

What’s the best way to communicate benefits to remote employees?

Use digital channels that work on any device, and don’t rely on the office as a distribution point. Recorded sessions, short videos, and email work better than live meetings across time zones. Mailing a printed summary home reaches the family members who help make the decision.

How often should open enrollment reminders be sent?

At least three times across the enrollment window, using at least two channels. One announcement before enrollment opens, one at the midpoint, and one in the final week is a workable baseline. Assume most employees will miss at least one.

How can employers make benefits information easier to understand?

Lead with what changed, keep the main message short, and move the fine print into links. Explain every acronym on first use, and use real situations instead of plan descriptions. If a sentence needs a benefits background to parse, rewrite it.

The Bright Side

Benefits are complicated, but explaining them doesn’t have to be. The employers who do this well aren’t the ones with the biggest communication budgets. They’re the ones who start early, say less, and say it in plain English. Daybright helps employers build enrollment communication that employees actually read, and back it up with support that runs all year, through one partner for Employee Benefits, Retirement, Compliance, and Individual Financial Planning. Want help getting your 2027 enrollment communication ready? Contact us at daybright.com/contact.

This post is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. Content sourced from Zywave.

• Category: News
• Tag: Employee Benefits