Open Enrollment Communication

At PartnerComm, benefits open enrollment isn’t just a deadline on the calendar. It’s a real moment in people’s lives — when employees are making decisions that affect their health, their money and their peace of mind. Great open enrollment communication does more than explain employee benefits. It helps people understand their benefit packages, make confident choices and feel supported along the way.

And because it’s also a time when you have a captive audience, it’s the perfect moment to spotlight your benefit offerings and bring their value to life.

The approach

Here’s how to make Open Enrollment communication resonate.

Start with what’s actually happening.

Before writing a word, get clear on what employees absolutely need to know, feel, think and do. Are benefit options changing? Are costs shifting? Is something new being introduced? Yes, employees need information to make benefit selections. But information alone doesn’t drive decisions. Help employees see the value of what your company offers — in real, human, meaningful terms.

Make the complex simple.

Benefits are confusing. Everyone knows that. So, break benefits information into clear, digestible pieces using everyday language and smart visuals. Think comparison charts that actually engage employees, interactive experiences that remove guesswork and storytelling that helps guide the open enrollment process and helps employees make their benefit elections with confidence.

Make it a story that’s relatable.

Framing open enrollment process as a narrative informs employees and answers the real question they’re asking: What does this mean for me? By grounding everything in real-life context, you help employees see beyond premiums and deadlines to how benefits support their lives. This approach turns abstract choices into personal, relevant decisions employees can actually feel confident making.

Design the experience, not just the message.

Open enrollment communication isn’t one email and done. It’s a journey. Plan communication channels and key moments: pre-launch awareness (it’s coming), decision support during enrollment (open enrollment started), deadline reminders (don’t miss it) and reinforcement afterward (here’s how to actually use your benefit plans). Make sure every touchpoint has a purpose.

Write to the layout from the start.

Don’t write copy in isolation and hand it off. Instead, write to design. Before a single word is written, consider where the message will live and build copy to fit that experience. Words and layout should be developed together, in close collaboration with designers, so typography, spacing, imagery and white space work together to shape exactly what the audience feels and understands.

Write to the idea, not just the words.

Just as important, write to the idea. Every headline and every line of body copy is anchored to the campaign theme or tagline, so the work feels unified and intentional. The copy doesn’t just explain — it reinforces the central promise again and again in different ways. The result is a cohesive system where message, design and ideas work together to market what you’re saying, not simply tell it.

Two ways open enrollment communication can play out

Same benefits. Very different experiences. Read both, see which one feels more like your organization, and learn the difference between each experience.

1

“The Deadline”

An email hits the inbox with the subject line: Open Enrollment Is Live. There’s a link to a site with lots of information, plan details and documents. Employees skim between meetings, bookmark it for later and hope they remember to come back. When they do, they compare plans quickly, second-guess their choices and submit before the deadline — mostly relieved it’s over.

What this tells you:

Open enrollment may be functioning as a transaction — something employees get through rather than engage with. Information is there, but the experience isn’t doing enough to reduce stress or support confident decision-making.

2

“The Moment”

A few weeks before enrollment, employees start hearing what’s changing — and why. When enrollment opens, the experience feels clear and manageable. Information is broken into steps. Comparisons are easy. Real-life scenarios help people see what’s right for them. By the time employees enroll, they feel informed, supported and confident in their decisions.

What this tells you:

Open enrollment is being treated as a meaningful moment. Employees are guided through complexity, supported along the way, and more likely to understand — and value — what your company offers.

We approach open enrollment as an opportunity to create feeling and inspiration — not just a time-consuming transactional event by weaving in strong branding, a consistent meaningful message and authentic story-telling.

What sets us apart

Custom benefits communication is our home turf.

We don’t treat open enrollment like a once-a-year task. It’s a core employee experience — and employee communication is what we do best. Our work is thoughtful, organized and intentional, designed to help employees feel informed and supported.

We combine benefits fluency with creative thinking.

Yes, we know benefits. But we also know how to make complex topics clear, engaging and human. Strategy and creativity work hand in hand here.

We use strong visuals, not just strong words.

A picture really is worth a thousand words. That’s why we choose visuals with intention. No filler stock photos. No visuals just to check a box. Every image adds meaning, sets a tone and helps employees feel the message before they even read a single word.