How to Improve Benefits Participation at Work: 7 Practical Steps

A low benefits participation rate does not automatically mean employees do not value coverage. It can point to unclear communication, difficult enrollment, affordability concerns, or uncertainty about how a benefit applies to an employee’s situation. To improve benefits participation at work, employers should first identify the barrier, then simplify decisions, improve access to support, and measure what happens after enrollment.

Key Takeaways

• Find out why employees decline or skip benefits before changing the plan.
• Explain costs, coverage, and trade-offs in plain language.
• Use employee groups and real-life scenarios without stereotyping.
• Make enrollment easier with accessible technology and human support.
• Measure completion, elections, questions, and feedback, not just participation.

1. Find Out Why Employees Are Not Enrolling

Start with the reason employees are not enrolling. Enrollment data can show which benefits employees select or waive, but it rarely explains the decision by itself. Pair enrollment results with a short employee survey, questions raised during enrollment, and feedback from managers or HR. Look for practical barriers such as:

• Cost per paycheck
• Confusing insurance terms
• Too many choices
• Uncertainty about provider access
• Limited awareness of voluntary benefits
• Difficulty using the enrollment system
• Missed deadlines or limited access to benefits information

Recent EBRI research points to a gap between what employers offer and what employees understand is available, particularly for voluntary and supplemental health benefits. That makes benefits education an important part of participation, not just a communication task.

2. Make Benefits Easier to Compare

More benefit options do not automatically create a better enrollment experience. Employees need a simple way to understand what each option does and what decision they need to make.

For each benefit, explain:

• What it covers
• What the employee pays
• When it may be useful
• Important limitations or exclusions
• How to enroll
• Where to get help

Put the practical answer before the insurance terminology. Terms such as deductible, coinsurance, elimination period, and guaranteed issue may matter, but employees need context before the technical detail. Side-by-side comparisons can also help employees see trade-offs. A lower payroll deduction may come with different cost-sharing features than a richer option. The goal is not to steer everyone toward one plan. It is to give employees enough information to make an informed choice.

3. Use Real-Life Scenarios Without Stereotyping

Benefits communication becomes easier to understand when employees can connect a plan to a realistic situation. Use scenarios as examples, not assumptions about what a particular employee group needs. For example, a new parent may want to review dependent coverage, while an employee covered under a spouse’s medical plan may focus more on dental, vision, life, or disability coverage. 

Someone managing regular prescriptions may evaluate medical options differently from someone who rarely uses care. The same approach works for voluntary benefits. Explain the problem a benefit is designed to address, then let employees decide whether that protection fits their circumstances.

4. Improve the Enrollment Experience

A complicated enrollment process can undermine a benefits package employees otherwise value. If people have to search through separate documents, emails, spreadsheets, and carrier portals, the decision becomes harder than it needs to be. A benefits administration platform can help organize eligibility, elections, employee information, plan documents, and enrollment tasks. Depending on the system, it may also support employee self-service, reporting, and connections with payroll or HR systems. 

Benni Agency’s current benefits administration guidance emphasizes that technology should reduce repetitive work without replacing employee education or human support. A platform is most useful when it makes the process clearer for both employees and HR. Benefits Administration Technology Mobile access matters too. Employees may review benefits outside normal office hours or away from a desk. If the process is difficult to use on a phone or another accessible device, some employees may struggle to complete it.

5. Communicate Before, During, and After Enrollment

Open enrollment is a deadline, not the entire benefits communication strategy. Start explaining important benefits and upcoming changes before the enrollment window. During enrollment, focus on decisions, deadlines, costs, and where employees can get help. After enrollment, explain how to use the coverage and where to find important documents or support. Use more than one channel when the workforce requires it. Email, short videos, live Q&A sessions, printed materials, manager reminders, and digital benefit guides can serve different work schedules and communication preferences. Mercer recommends timely, simple, targeted communications, two-way opportunities for questions and feedback, and digital tools that make beneficial information easier to access. The exact mix should fit the employer’s workforce rather than follow a fixed formula. For a deeper look at employee education, see Benefits Education for Employees That Works.

6. Give Managers a Clear, Limited Role

Managers can reinforce enrollment dates and point employees toward approved resources, but they should not tell employees which medical plan to choose.

Give managers a short reference sheet covering:

• Enrollment dates
• Where employees enroll
• Where to find plan information
• How employees can get one-on-one help
• What managers should avoid advising on

This keeps messages consistent without turning managers into benefits experts.

7. Address Affordability and Measure What Happens

Better communication cannot fix a benefit that employees consistently find unaffordable. Review employee-only and dependent-tier costs separately. Look at why employees waive coverage and whether the contribution structure, plan design, or available options create a barrier. Depending on the employer and plan structure, alternatives such as different group plan designs or an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement may be worth evaluating. 

Any change to plan design, contributions, eligibility, or tax treatment should be reviewed against the applicable plan documents and current regulatory requirements. Benefits decisions can have legal, tax, and compliance implications. A single participation percentage also does not tell you why enrollment is working or failing. Track a broader set of signals:

• Enrollment completion rate
• Elections by benefit type
• Waived coverage reasons
• Dependent enrollment
• Common employee questions
• Enrollment corrections after the deadline
• Use of available enrollment support
• Employee feedback after enrollment

If the same questions appear every year, improve the explanation rather than simply sending more reminders. If employees complete enrollment but consistently waive a voluntary benefit, investigate whether the issue is cost, relevance, awareness, or plan design before deciding what to change.

How Benni Agency Can Support the Process

Improving benefits participation is not about pushing every employee into every available benefit. It is about making the choices understandable, accessible, and relevant enough for employees to evaluate. Benni Agency supports employers with benefits planning, employee communication, enrollment support, and benefits administration technology. 

Employers can review employee benefits broker and consulting services when they need help connecting benefits strategy with employee education and administration. The right next step may be better communication, a simpler enrollment process, a different contribution approach, or a closer review of the benefits themselves. Start with the evidence from your workforce, then fix the specific barrier rather than changing everything at once.