Open Enrollment Playbook: Boost Benefits Guidance in 3 Steps

Introduction

Open Enrollment has a reputation—and not a flattering one. Research shows that many employees would rather clean hair out of the shower drain than learn about their benefits¹. For HR teams, it’s no better: endless questions, tight deadlines, and the challenge of guiding every employee through high-stakes choices.

Many HR leaders already know things need to change. That’s why more and more organizations now have access to benefits guidance experiences built directly into their HCM or benefits administration platforms. These experiences take dense, jargon-filled plan details and translate them into personalized guidance that helps each employee make confident decisions.

But here’s the catch: these experiences only drive impact if employees actually use them. And that’s where communications come in. To unlock the full value, you need a clear, multi-channel engagement plan that drives employees to start their Open Enrollment journey with benefits guidance. Employers who do this see up to 3x higher utilization and a 50% boost in overall benefits satisfaction.

So how do you get there? By focusing on three key pillars of modern Open Enrollment engagement.

The 3 pillars of a modern Open Enrollment engagement plan

1. Build awareness early — set the tone before OE starts
Employees are far more likely to engage when HR leaders and their managers introduce, normalize, and reinforce flows better. That starts with how you present it internally:

• Add a short “value explainer” slide to every Open Enrollment webinar.
  
• Mention the benefits guidance experience at the start of benefits Q&A sessions.
  
• Highlight it in manager toolkits and talking points so managers can answer basic questions confidently.

💡 Try This: Create a one-page “talk track” for managers with sample phrases to help them talk about the tool to their teams

2. Make benefits guidance the first stop in the journey
Even if you don’t control where your benefits guidance experience appears in your enrollment platform, your communications can still frame it as the natural starting point, making clear that starting with the tool unlocks the rest of the benefits enrollment experience.

• Kickoff comms: Make clear that the enrollment process begins with getting a personalized recommendation via decision support
• Hyperlinks: Avoid linking to too many places, instead focus on linking directly to the benefits guidance tool or the ben admin login page where the tool can be found easily 

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3. Communicate more than once, in more than one way

Your marketing colleagues will recognize the Rule of Seven, which states that people need to be shown a message an average of seven times before they take action. When it comes to driving behavior during Open Enrollment, your employees are no different: they need to hear your message directly, in plain language, and repeatedly.

• Plan at least 1–2 dedicated Open Enrollment emails pointing employees to the decision support tool
• Include a direct link to the ben admin or HCM where your benefits guidance experience lives in your benefits resource hub or intranet, so employees can’t miss it.
  
• Use Slack/Teams nudges during the first few days of Open Enrollment with reminders like: “Be sure to use [name of tool] for a quick and personalized benefits recommendation!”
  
  

⚡ Pro Tip: Space out reminders. A kickoff email, a banner, and one Slack nudge within the first week works better than flooding inboxes.

A tale of two OE emails

Here’s an example of how messaging makes a difference through two different Open Enrollment emails:

Example 1: Too much information.

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Example 2: Clear and concise.

The impact you can expect

When employees are clearly guided to their decision support tool, you can maximize their value:

• Higher employee confidence and satisfaction with their choices and benefits experience.
  
• Fewer repetitive questions for HR teams.
  
• Smoother Open Enrollment with fewer last-minute escalations.
  
  

It’s not just about communicating more. It’s about communicating better—placing the right messages in the right channels at the right time.

Key takeaways

• Start early: Introduce the tool before Open Enrollment begins to build awareness.
• Empower managers: Equip leaders with quick scripts and FAQs so they can reinforce the message.
• Be direct: Make personalized benefits guidance the clear first step in emails, webinars, and intranet banners.
• Repeat smartly: Use multiple channels (email, intranet, Slack/Teams, manager scripts) without overwhelming employees.

Closing

Open Enrollment is evolving, and so should your communications. Today, the organizations that see the best outcomes aren’t sending more reminders—they’re sending clearer, smarter ones.

If your HCM or benefits platform includes a decision support tool, your communications plan should direct employees to it first. That single step can set the tone for the rest of their enrollment experience—making it easier for them, and for you.

This Open Enrollment, don’t just communicate. Activate.

Sources: 

¹ Nayya Employee survey, 2025

² Nayya Choose impact analysis, 2025

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