Use Open Enrollment to Find Out What Your Employees Need

Employees say they understand their benefits better than they did a year ago; however, satisfaction with those benefits fell over the same period. Open enrollment is the stretch of weeks when you can see what people choose and ask them why, while they are still deciding.

Awareness rose while satisfaction fell

SHRM reported in December 2025 on WTW research findings that 84% of employees feel well informed about their company benefits, up from 77% in 2024, indicating that communication about benefits programs is improving.

Over the same stretch, the share of employees who were satisfied with their benefits dropped from 66% to 61%. So while employees may know more about their benefits, they don’t find them as satisfactory.

What employees say they would change

The EBRI and Greenwald Research Workplace Wellness Survey, fielded with 1,401 US workers in July and August 2025 and published in January 2026, asked what would improve their benefits. The top four answers were:

1. Greater employer financial contribution (48%)
2. More flexibility to choose their benefits (34%)
3. More resources for financial well-being (33%)
4. The option to convert unused PTO (31%)

All four of these are about the structure of the program, not about the benefits themselves or about offering additional items in the package.

The same survey found that just over 40% of workers were extremely or very satisfied with their benefits package, which is a figure that has held steady across several years.

What changed in employer plans this year

SHRM's 2026 Employee Benefits Survey, covering 5,472 HR professionals and fielded between January and March 2026, shows that employers are restructuring their overall plan designs.

• Prescription drug coverage bundled with the health plan fell from 93% to 77%
• Third-party pharmacy management programs rose from 18% to 23%
• Self-insured plans rose from 27% to 29%

Employers are both restructuring and adding:

• The same survey shows parental leave increasing by seven points to 46%
• Paid family leave is up five points to 36%

The combination of restructuring, adding, and lower satisfaction makes sense as a whole picture. Keep in mind that every time a change is made to the medical plan or pharmacy program, employees have to manage those changes with a new card, website, and number to call when a prescription or coverage is denied. So while employees may feel informed about plan changes, it doesn’t mean they appreciate them.

A benefits package fit is as individual as your people. A generous parental leave policy does nothing for an employee managing a parent's dementia, and a strong mental health benefit is invisible to someone whose problem is a deductible they cannot meet.

Averages hide these details, which is why gathering information from your team during the weeks when they are making individual choices is so valuable.

What to capture during this enrollment

Here are four things to collect while the open enrollment window is open.

1. Selections by tier and plan, compared with last year. A shift toward the cheapest option can mean employees are satisfied and economizing, or that they are stretched and gambling. You should find out which one is driving their decisions.
2. Waivers and the reason given. Anyone declining your coverage is telling you something about price or fit. Ask for the reason on the waiver form if you do not already.
3. The questions your team answers. Log them as you get them. The three questions you answer forty times each will be a clear indication of how to fill your communication and possibly design gaps next year.
4. Two or three questions inside the enrollment flow. Ask what people considered and dropped, and what they wish were on the menu. Keep it short enough that people will take two minutes to answer.

Turning enrollment data into next year's decisions

Renewal conversations start months before employees hear anything about them, which is why you should collect this information now and hold onto it. Put the data from the four items above into one document while enrollment is running, and then share it with your benefits advisor as you start the next round of renewal conversations.

Compile this information each year, and watch for trends.

The employees telling you they understand their benefits are answering a different question from whether the benefits fit. This is the time you can find out what that looks like for your company.

Content provided by Q4intelligence

Photo by DC Studio