For many organizations, this time of year is open enrollment season. HR teams send the emails, host the information sessions, update the portal, and answer a wave of questions. Then, for most employees, benefits fade into the background for another eleven months.
Open enrollment does important work. It helps people choose coverage and make decisions with real financial consequences. As a way to make sure people can use the resources the organization provides, though, it falls short.
Open enrollment is a moment. A benefits communication strategy has to last all year.
Why One Big Push Is Not Enough
Open enrollment asks employees to absorb a large amount of information at once, usually about situations they are not currently facing. Someone choosing a plan in November is thinking about premiums and deductibles. They are probably not thinking about what they would do if a parent needed care in April, or if a financial emergency hit in August.
When that moment arrives, the details from November are long gone. The employee may vaguely remember that "there was something about counseling" or "a financial wellness thing," but not what it was, how to reach it, or whether it applies.
This is one of the main reasons benefits utilization stays low even at organizations that invest heavily in their programs. We covered the four quiet reasons people do not use what is available in Why Employees Don't Use the Benefits You Already Pay For: they don't know it exists, don't understand it, can't find it in the moment, or aren't sure it's okay to use. A once-a-year communication cycle leaves all four gaps open.
What It Costs When Resources Stay Hidden
When employees cannot connect with support at the right time, problems that could have stayed small tend to grow. A family challenge starts affecting attendance. Financial stress pulls focus. A person who is quietly struggling becomes a person who is quietly planning to leave.
Gallup's research on preventable turnover found that 42% of voluntary leavers believed their manager or organization could have prevented their departure, and 36% did not discuss the decision with anyone before resigning. Gallup's earlier analysis of turnover costs estimates that replacing an employee can cost one-half to two times their annual salary, and calls that a conservative figure.
Benefits communication will not prevent every resignation. It does give the organization more chances to respond before someone reaches that point. Resource activation is a form of early intervention, and it uses support the organization is already paying for.
Four Building Blocks of a Year-Round Benefits Communication Strategy
A sustainable approach does not require a large new program. It requires a few deliberate habits.
1. Communicate around moments that matter
People pay attention to resources when those resources connect to something happening in their lives. Instead of repeating the full benefits menu every quarter, tie specific resources to specific moments:
New hire, 90 days in: A reminder of the resources they likely skimmed during onboarding.
November: Caregiving support during National Family Caregivers Month. (See Supporting Employees Who Are Caregivers Without Overstepping.)
December and January: Financial wellness resources during a season of holiday spending and year-end pressure.
Spring and summer: Childcare transitions, leave planning, and flexible scheduling.
Life events: A new child, a move, a family health change, or a return from leave, each with a short note about what applies.
Each message is smaller and more relevant, which makes it far more likely to be remembered.
2. Use plain language
Much benefits material is written in plan administration language. It is accurate, but it asks employees to do translation work at the exact moment they are least able to.
A simple test: could an employee read the description on their phone, under stress, and understand in about thirty seconds whether this resource could help them? If the answer is no, rewrite it.
Describe resources by situation. "If you're worried about money or debt" will reach far more people than "Financial Wellness Program powered by [Vendor]."
3. Build a "Where do I go when..." guide
One of the most useful tools an organization can create is a single, mobile-friendly page organized by life situation, rather than by plan or vendor. For example:
Where do I go when... I'm caring for a parent or family member?
Where do I go when... I'm feeling overwhelmed or burned out?
Where do I go when... I'm dealing with a financial emergency?
Where do I go when... I need legal help with a personal matter?
Where do I go when... I need time off for a family situation?
Where do I go when... I want to talk to someone confidentially?
Each answer should name the resource, explain in a sentence or two what it does, and give one clear way to reach it. That page becomes the link HR shares, managers bookmark, and employees can find on their own. It is the simplest form of helping people know where to turn.
4. Make managers the bridge
Employees often first reveal a challenge to their manager, sometimes indirectly. That makes managers one of the most important links between a struggling person and the support available to them.
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace research finds that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement, yet only 44% of managers globally report receiving formal training for their role. Many managers want to help and simply have not been shown how.
Managers do not need to become benefits experts, financial advisors, or counselors. Equipping managers without asking them to become therapists means giving them:
A basic awareness of what resources exist.
The "Where do I go when..." link, ready to share.
A few natural phrases, such as "There might be something that can help with that. Want me to send you the link?"
Clear guidance on when to involve HR.
That is manager readiness in a very practical form.
A Hypothetical: Two Versions of the Same Week
Imagine an employee, a warehouse supervisor named Luis, whose spouse has just had an unexpected surgery. Luis needs to adjust his schedule for a few weeks and is worried about medical bills.
In the first version, Luis remembers that open enrollment mentioned something about financial counseling but cannot recall where. He does not want to bother HR. He tells his manager he has "some family stuff going on." His manager says to take care of himself, and the conversation ends there. Luis spends the next month exhausted and anxious, and his team absorbs the impact.
In the second version, his manager has been briefed. She says she is sorry to hear it, asks what would help with scheduling, and sends him the "Where do I go when..." page. Within a day, Luis knows about the EAP's financial consultation, the leave options available to him, and who in HR to call.
Same organization. Same benefits. A very different outcome, driven by communication and manager readiness.
A Practical Next Step
After this year's open enrollment wraps up, schedule a short working session with your HR or benefits team. Bring three questions:
Which of our resources would employees struggle to find in a stressful moment?
Which moments in the year could we use to bring specific resources back into view?
Do our managers have a single link and a few phrases they could use tomorrow?
Answering those questions will give you the outline of a year-round plan. Start with the "Where do I go when..." page. It is the piece that tends to make the biggest difference quickly.
See How Well Your Benefits Are Reaching People
The Benefits Activation Check gives HR and benefits leaders a fast read on where communication is working and where it is falling short. It is 10 questions, takes 3 minutes, and provides instant results across Awareness, Access, Manager Connection, and Comfort. Take the Benefits Activation Check.
If you would like help building a year-round approach, including manager workshops tailored to your actual benefits and resources, book a 30-minute conversation. No prep needed.