The Benefits Paradox: Great Coverage, Zero Understanding

Open enrollment season is here, and if you're like most HR leaders, you're bracing for the flood of password reset requests, confused phone calls, and employees staring blankly at 47-page benefits guides.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: You're investing thousands per employee in exceptional benefits that most people don't understand or use effectively.

It's like buying everyone a luxury car but never giving them the keys or the owner's manual.

The Owner's Manual Problem
Your smartphone came with clear instructions. Your car has an owner's manual. But healthcare benefits, often an employee's most valuable compensation, come with a dense PDF and crossed fingers.

The result? Employees make costly decisions based on incomplete information:

• Choosing wrong plans for their family's needs
• Avoiding preventive care, they don't understand, is covered
• Missing HSA contributions and employer matches
• Using expensive urgent care instead of covered telehealth

Meanwhile, HR becomes a human search engine for information that should be easily accessible.

The Portal Paradox
Password-protected benefits portals create more problems than they solve:

• Sarah can't compare plans during family dinner because she forgot her portal password
• Her husband (who drives 70% of healthcare costs) has zero access to plan details
• Top candidates can't see your benefits package without going through HR

When Benefits Communication Fails, Everyone Loses
Our case study with an 800-employee hospital system revealed the scope of this problem. When they launched a public-facing benefits website:

• 5,314 page visits in five months
• Sustained engagement averaging 1,062 visits per month (well beyond open enrollment)
• 65% reduction in HR calls about basic benefits questions

The data is clear: Employees need benefits information year-round, not just during a two-week enrollment window.

The Real Cost of Confusion
When employees don't understand their benefits:

Organizations lose:

• ROI on benefits investment
• Time to repetitive questions
• Recruiting effectiveness
• Money to poor employee plan choices

Employees lose:

• Peace of mind about healthcare costs
• Preventive care opportunities
• Tax-advantaged savings
• Job satisfaction despite great benefits

The Solution: Build a Benefits Owner's Manual
Make benefits information as easy to access as checking the weather:

• 24/7 access from any device
• No passwords or barriers
• Clear, organized information
• Family access for dependents
• Mobile-friendly design

Beyond Open Enrollment
Benefits engagement doesn't end when enrollment closes. Employees need information when they're choosing doctors, planning for babies, considering procedures, or making FSA decisions.

Healthcare happens outside the workplace and outside enrollment windows. Your benefits communication should too.

The Bottom Line
You're already investing heavily in competitive benefits. Don't let that investment go to waste because employees can't figure out how to use what you're providing.

Great benefits + clear communication = engaged employees and reduced costs.

Great benefits + confusing communication = frustrated employees and wasted money.

This open enrollment, ask yourself: Are you offering great benefits, or helping people actually use them? Ready to build a benefits owner's manual for your employees? Request a demo to see how SwellSpace can transform your benefits communication.