Communicating Benefits So Employees Actually Understand and Use Them

Employers invest heavily in benefits, then often undercut that investment with a single dense enrollment email. When employees do not understand what they have, they underuse valuable coverage, make poor choices, and fail to appreciate what the company provides. Communication is where benefits value is either realized or lost.

Why Communication Is a Strategy, Not a Task

Benefits only create loyalty and drive smart utilization when employees understand them. Communication is the bridge between the plan you pay for and the value employees actually feel.

• Understood benefits are used benefits, which improves health and financial outcomes.
• Perceived value drives retention, and perception depends on communication.
• Informed employees make better plan choices, which improves cost outcomes for everyone.

Speak Plain Language

Carrier materials are written for compliance, not comprehension. Your job is to translate.

• Replace jargon like deductible and coinsurance with plain explanations and examples.
• Use real scenarios that show how the plan works in everyday situations.
• Lead with what matters to the employee, not the structure of the plan document.

Communicate Year-Round

Open enrollment is the worst time to teach; it is when decisions are due. Spread understanding across the year.

• Send short, focused messages on one topic at a time.
• Reinforce high-value benefits people forget they have, such as mental health or advocacy support.
• Time reminders to life moments, like new-parent resources or year-end FSA deadlines.

Meet Employees Where They Are

A diverse workforce consumes information differently, so a single channel reaches only part of your team.

• Use a mix of email, print, text, and in-person or virtual sessions.
• Provide materials in the languages your workforce speaks.
• Make key information easy to find year-round, not buried in an inbox.

Quantify the Value

Employees routinely underestimate what their employer spends on their behalf. Showing the number changes the conversation.

• Share the employer contribution alongside the employee cost.
• Frame benefits as part of total compensation.

How We Support Communication

As your broker, we help build communication that works: plain-language materials, enrollment support, and ongoing campaigns that keep benefits top of mind. When employees understand and use their benefits, they value them more and use them more wisely, a win for your people and your budget alike.