Summary
- Create a passive enrollment communication strategy that turns automatic re-enrollments into genuine benefits engagement.
- Discover the two KPIs every HR leader should track during a no-change open enrollment.
- Find out why the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) deadline may be your most powerful communication trigger.
Many organizations launch open enrollment with no changes to their benefit offerings, aside from premium adjustments. For HR leaders leading the charge: 91% of employees simply pick the same health plan they had the year before, according to a 2024 Voya Financial Consumer Insights & Research survey.1 While it might sound like smooth sailing for your administrative workload, it’s actually a warning signal.
When no action is required, employees don’t just opt out of making changes. They often opt out of paying attention at all. They might unknowingly stay in a plan that no longer fits their family situation, miss a new mental health resource or, with potential financial impact, forget to re-enroll in their flexible spending account (FSA). That’s the passive enrollment paradox: the same system that removes friction for your HR team can quietly erode the ROI of your benefits investment.
An optimal passive enrollment communication strategy turns automatic re-enrollments into genuine engagement. Here are five tips that help set it apart from your standard open enrollment playbook.
1. Define what success looks like for passive enrollment
The biggest mistake HR leaders make with passive enrollment is measuring it like an active one. Completion rate doesn’t tell you much when there’s nothing to complete. Instead, focus on two passive-enrollment-specific KPIs: platform logins and FSA re-enrollment rates. If employees aren’t logging in to review their current elections, your communication strategy isn’t cutting through. Track logins by department so you know exactly where to intensify outreach before the window closes.
2. Build a year-round communication cadence
Your passive enrollment communication strategy shouldn’t start and end with open enrollment. Benefits communications work best as part of a year-round strategy—using periodic communication to keep benefits top of mind well before the enrollment window opens. If your open enrollment window is in November, a practical cadence might look like this: a mid-year benefits utilization recap in June, a life events check-in in August and a benefits preview email in September. By the time enrollment arrives, employees are already engaged rather than tuning out. A year-round engagement approach is intended to support your entire benefits strategy.
3. Make the FSA deadline your urgency anchor
Here’s the one moment in every passive enrollment that demands active attention: flexible spending accounts. FSA contributions don’t carry over automatically, which means employees who don’t re-enroll lose their tax-advantaged health care savings opportunity for the year. Make this your communication cornerstone. A dedicated FSA reminder—with a clear deadline, real dollar amounts and a direct link to the enrollment portal—gives employees a specific, time-sensitive reason to log in, even when everything else is rolling over.
4. Go beyond the inbox
Email is essential, but it’s not enough on its own. A quick text reminder about an upcoming deadline or a new health care benefit can cut through the noise (provided employees have opted in). Consider push notifications through your benefits portal, short video explainers for plan updates, and manager talking points so team leads can reinforce the message in department meetings. Multi-channel outreach meets employees where they actually are — not just where HR has time to reach them.
5. Measure utilization, not just enrollment
Enrollment captures intent, while utilization captures outcomes. An employee can roll over into a dental plan and never schedule a cleaning. As you build your passive enrollment communication strategy, focus on year-round utilization as the true measure of success. Share benefits success stories showing how colleagues actually used a program to save money or manage a health condition. That kind of social proof motivates action far more effectively than another deadline reminder—and gives your HR team concrete evidence of benefits ROI.
Turn passive into purposeful
Passive enrollment doesn’t have to mean passive engagement. With the optimal communication strategy, a no-change open enrollment becomes a powerful opportunity to drive real benefits utilization and demonstrate the value of your benefits investment. Benefitfocus can help you build a communication strategy that works year-round, not just during open enrollment season. See how our benefits administration platform supports employee engagement all year long.
