How To Announce Open Enrollment to Employees (With Templates)
- 6 min. Read
- Last Updated: 10/13/2026
Table of Contents
Most human resources professionals spend countless hours preparing for their annual open enrollment. From choosing the right benefits to keeping human resources information systems (HRIS) running smoothly, employers have a seemingly never-ending to-do list during open enrollment season.
However, with so much to accomplish in a short time, it's easy to overlook the basics, such as crafting an effective open enrollment announcement.
Communicating with your employees about open enrollment is essential to the success of your company's annual enrollment period for several reasons. Effective communication can increase understanding of benefits options and encourage employees to participate in benefits selection.
What Is Open Enrollment?
Open enrollment is the time each year when employees can enroll in or make changes to their employer-offered benefits, such as health, life, or disability insurance.
For most employers, open enrollment lasts two to four weeks in the fall.
Why Open Enrollment Communication to Employees Is Important
When thinking about benefits open enrollment announcements, some may feel they simply ensure that your team knows when to enroll in benefits so they don't miss the deadline, which would mean waiting another year to enroll.
However, a well-crafted open enrollment announcement allows employers to notify employees of new benefits and benefits changes.
For employees and employers, open enrollment communication can offer these advantages:
- Preparation: Gives employees time to review the offered benefits and make informed decisions for themselves and their families.
- Participation: Encourages employees to participate in this annual selection process. Employees "in the know" are more likely to take advantage of company-offered benefits.
- Mistake Prevention: Reduces errors during open enrollment, making the entire process easier to manage.
- Employee Satisfaction: Increases employees' satisfaction and loyalty by showing that you value and support them through the benefits you offer.
- Compliance: Helps you stay compliant by timely notifying your employees of benefits offered and any changes to your benefits package.
Effectively communicating with your team ensures a smoother enrollment process while promoting transparency and engaging your employees.
Are Employers Required To Notify Employees of Open Enrollment?
Yes. Employers are responsible for letting employees know when open enrollment starts and ends, what benefits options are available, and what's changing for the new plan year. If you sponsor a group health plan, you also need to distribute certain annual notices, and several of them are commonly sent with open enrollment materials.
Which notices apply depends on your plan design and where your business operates. For a full rundown of the key notices and when they're due, see our guide to required open enrollment notices.
The Open Enrollment Communication Timeline
Send your first open enrollment announcement about a month before enrollment begins. Then send an open enrollment reminder email the week before and the day before enrollment opens, plus reminders on the last two days of the enrollment window.
With any employee communications strategy, it's best to plan early. You'll need time to review your open enrollment communications and confirm you've checked all the boxes. Employees also need access to these communications early and often, giving them ample time to review.
When creating your open enrollment communication timeline, be sure to set up appropriate calendar dates for your employee notices.
For example, if your open enrollment starts on November 1st, consider sending the first notice to employees no later than October 1st.
Consider sending multiple reminders after the initial communication goes out (and before open enrollment begins) to remind employees of the start date and duration of open enrollment.
Once benefits enrollment opens, continue communicating with employees throughout the process, answering their questions and guiding them as they select or change their benefits.
Open Enrollment Communication Templates and Examples
The open enrollment email templates below cover each stage of the enrollment window, from the first announcement to the last-day reminder. Each of these open enrollment announcement examples includes a suggested send time and a subject line that tells employees what's happening and when.
Pro Tip: Always tailor templates to your company, industry, employee population, benefits offered, and applicable laws.
1. Pre-Open Enrollment Notice
When to send: 1 month before open enrollment begins.
Subject Line: Open Enrollment Coming Soon!
Hi [NAME],
It's that time of year! Get ready for the [YEAR] benefits enrollment.
Open enrollment begins in one month, beginning [DATE] and continuing until [DATE].
We're excited to share our [YEAR] benefits package with you.
Don't forget to mark your calendars! More information is coming soon.
Respectfully,
[SIGNATURE]
2. Start of Open Enrollment Notice
When to send: The week before open enrollment begins.
Subject Line: Open Enrollment Starts Next Week!
Hi [NAME],
Open enrollment begins next week, starting on [DATE] and closing on [DATE].
During open enrollment, you can:
- Compare offerings among benefits, ensuring you choose the right plan for your needs.
- Select new benefits from our [YEAR] employee benefits package.
- Make changes to your current coverage, such as adding or dropping dependents or choosing other plan options.
Please understand that if you don't make any benefits selections or changes during this year's open enrollment period, you may be unable to change your current benefits until next year's open enrollment. Remember, some benefits or elections will not necessarily carry over from last year’s open enrollment.
Keep an eye out for an email in the next week giving you specific instructions on choosing or modifying your employee benefits for the upcoming year. [Note: You can include instructions in this notice if you prefer.]
[Include any other information here, such as additional resources.]
Please contact [ENTER CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR BENEFITS OR HR DEPARTMENT] with any questions!
Respectfully,
[SIGNATURE]
3. One Day Before Notice
When to send: One day before open enrollment begins.
Subject Line: Open Enrollment Starts Tomorrow!
Hi [NAME],
Open enrollment starts tomorrow!
Here's what you need to do to get started: [PROVIDE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS; SCREEN SHOTS OR STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ARE ALWAYS HELPFUL]
Please contact [ENTER CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR BENEFITS OR HR DEPARTMENT] with any questions!
Respectfully,
[SIGNATURE]
4. Ends Tomorrow/Ends Today Notice
When to send: The day before and the day open enrollment closes for the year.
Subject Line: Open Enrollment Ends Tomorrow/Today!
Hi [NAME],
Open enrollment ends tomorrow/today!
If you haven't selected or changed your benefits, be sure to [REMIND THEM OF HOW TO ACCESS OPEN ENROLLMENT] before [DATE/TIME].
Here's what you need to do to get started: [PROVIDE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS; SCREEN SHOTS OR STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ARE ALWAYS HELPFUL]
Please understand that if you don't make any benefits selections or changes during this year's open enrollment period, you may be unable to change your current benefits until next year's open enrollment. Remember, some benefits or elections will not necessarily carry over from last year’s open enrollment. Don't miss your chance!
Please contact [ENTER CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR BENEFITS OR HR DEPARTMENT] with any questions!
Respectfully,
[SIGNATURE]
Ways To Notify Employees of Open Enrollment
There is no shortage of communication channels. Employers should take advantage of the various ways to notify employees — meeting them where they are, whether they work at a desk, in the field, or from home. Options include:
- Work email
- Internal websites and employee portals
- Workplace flyers
- Text messages
- Open enrollment letters sent through U.S. mail
- In-person meetings, such as brown-bag lunches
- Online meetings that give employees a chance to ask questions
Pro Tip: Some laws and regulations require employee consent before you send certain communications, such as automated text messages, and require you to honor opt-out requests. Be sure to consult your employee benefits attorney or benefits consultant so you understand your responsibilities.
For help choosing the right mix for your workforce, read more about channel strategy for open enrollment.
Tips To Improve Engagement With Open Enrollment Announcements
Open enrollment is undoubtedly one of the most significant times of the year for human resources professionals.
As you plan your open enrollment strategies, here are some tips to boost employee engagement with open enrollment employee communications while keeping the election process on schedule.
- Provide clear and concise information on the enrollment period, the benefits offered (benefits comparisons are always helpful), and directions on participating in the open enrollment process.
- Ensure that all dates and deadlines are clear. Highlight these dates in bold text in an accessible color.
- Offer support, detailed information, and additional resources. Always provide contact information for your benefits or HR department so employees can get answers or clarification when needed.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate. Frequent notices and communications help employees understand the open enrollment process.
- Use technology designed for open enrollment communication with your employees, which helps simplify the process.
- Continue improving your open enrollment process. Seek feedback from employees after open enrollment closes. This will help you make continual improvements year over year.
You may also earn their interest by highlighting any new or improved benefits that may appeal to employees. Share testimonials or success stories from employees who have used your benefits programs.
Offer incentives for early participation, such as prize drawings or additional benefits. Create engaging content, such as videos or interactive online sessions, to make the process more appealing. Ensure videos have a closed captioning option to assist deaf or hard-of-hearing employees.
Make Sure Your Employees Take Advantage of Benefit Offerings
In a competitive labor market, offering comprehensive employee benefits is a necessity. Teaming up with Paychex® can help you rival benefits offered by the largest employers while boosting your employees' performance, loyalty, and well-being.
Don't tackle open enrollment without someone in your corner. With Paychex's comprehensive employee benefits services, you can simplify your benefits administration and management, including your annual open enrollment, to save you time and money.
Open Enrollment Announcement FAQs
-
How Do You Inform an Employee of Benefits?
How Do You Inform an Employee of Benefits?
Provide detailed documentation (including coverage and cost comparisons) of available benefits so employees can make informed decisions. Offer access to an employee benefits portal, where your team can find additional information on your benefits' features.
Give all employees the appropriate contact information for your benefits or HR departments in case they have questions.
-
What Makes a Successful Open Enrollment?
What Makes a Successful Open Enrollment?
A successful open enrollment is one you can measure. After the window closes, compare this year's enrollment rate for each benefit with last year's, and track how many employees made active elections versus rolled over their current coverage. For health coverage, KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey found that 76% of eligible workers at firms offering health benefits enrolled, a useful reference point, though rates vary with employee costs and workforce makeup.
Before the first payroll of the new plan year, confirm that every election matches the deductions set up in payroll. Having fewer corrections than last year is a good sign that employees understood their options.
-
How Do You Prepare Employees for Open Enrollment?
How Do You Prepare Employees for Open Enrollment?
Preparing employees also means preparing their managers, since employees may bring questions before contacting HR. Brief managers before the first announcement goes out, and share the key dates, a short summary of what's changing, and where to send questions.
A one-page FAQ helps managers answer common questions consistently. Ask them to send questions about specific plan choices or personal health situations to HR or your benefits provider rather than giving advice themselves.
-
How Do I Send an Open Enrollment Email?
How Do I Send an Open Enrollment Email?
Send it from an address employees recognize, such as your HR team's shared inbox, so they trust the message and can reply with questions. If a benefits vendor sends emails for you, ask IT to confirm the vendor's sending domain is authenticated and approved for your email system. Tell employees in advance who will be emailing them so the messages don't look like phishing.
Personalization tokens, such as the employee's first name and enrollment deadline, make the email feel written for them. Large attachments can get flagged or blocked, so link to your benefits portal or plan documents instead. Send a test to a few employees before the full rollout.
Tags
