Turning Open Enrollment Into a Talent Advantage for SMB Clients

Quick look: Open enrollment is more than a renewal conversation. For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), benefits can influence everything from employee retention to recruiting. This provides an opportunity for brokers to bring even more value to clients, uncover new needs, and help employers build a benefits strategy that supports their business goals.

Open enrollment season is right around the corner, and employees are paying closer attention to their benefits. They have more information at their fingertips and more reasons to compare what their current employer offers with what’s available elsewhere.

Renewing health benefits used to be a routine task, but it’s now a strategic decision that influences whether an SMB can recruit and retain the talent it needs.

Brokers can help employers navigate this shift. By reframing open enrollment as an opportunity rather than an obligation and getting a head start before things get hectic, you help SMBs stay proactive and competitive.

Turn open enrollment into a growth opportunity

Open enrollment doesn’t have to feel like another line item for SMB leaders. It’s helpful to reframe it as a chance to strengthen the company’s employee value proposition and the bottom line.

Start the conversation early, and ask a few important questions. Have the company’s workforce needs changed? Are employees using the benefits being offered? Are current plans still delivering the right combination of value, coverage, and cost?

It also helps to bring clients apples-to-apples comparisons and quotes when presenting their options. Walking through each plan can make a complicated decision easier for business leaders and give them a clearer picture of what they’re getting for their investment.

Protect their bottom line with a PEO

Cost remains a top concern for SMB leaders evaluating their benefits strategy. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey, just 46% of businesses with 3-9 employees offer health coverage, compared to 92% of those with 50-199 workers. In other words, smaller firms are trying to compete for talent with a fraction of the buying power.

This is where aligning with a professional employer organization (PEO) can change the equation. Through a co-employment relationship, SMB clients can access the PEO’s large-group insurance plans. This process often unlocks more comprehensive coverage at a lower cost per employee than they could secure on their own.

And for you, partnering with a broker-friendly PEO like ExtensisHR takes the legwork out of compiling plan information. Our benefits team puts together tailored options you can bring straight to clients and prospects, so you don’t have to chase down quotes from multiple carriers.

Reimagine the employee experience

Many SMB leaders spend so much energy managing day-to-day operations and growth plans that they may forget to pause and consider what open enrollment feels like from an employee’s perspective. But generating enthusiasm and buy-in matters just as much as the plan details themselves.

Switching health insurance providers can either simplify how benefits are managed, or create confusion and frustration.

Thankfully, today’s healthcare platforms are more intuitive than ever, often featuring digital enrollment tools that simplify the process. Work with company leaders or their in-house human resources (HR) teams to evaluate the current enrollment workflow, along with the self-service tools each carrier offers. Consider the makeup of the workforce, too: do employees expect mobile-first tools, or does the company still lean on manual, paper-based practices?

Every client’s needs will look a little different, but ultimately the goal is to protect employees from unnecessary disruption during the transition.

Emphasize the importance of communication

Proactive, easy-to-understand communication is a must during open enrollment. You can help SMB leaders or in-house HR teams build a communication strategy with multiple touchpoints throughout the period.

Every workforce is different, so communication methods should be, too. Prompt clients to consider which format(s) may resonate the best with their team:

• Company-wide emails
• An FAQ page on the intranet
• A short video walkthrough of enrollment steps
• Lunch-and-learn sessions
• An all-hands meeting

To take it a step further, brokers can offer to help with content creation, host staff Q&A sessions, or simply be available to field questions from leadership, HR, and employees alike.

Think beyond health insurance

One-size-fits-all benefit packages no longer cut it when it comes to competing for, or holding onto, top talent. A 2026 Robert Half survey backs this up, with 38% of U.S. workers reporting they had planned to look for a new job in the first half of the year, and better benefits being the main reason why.

While large employers may be able to offer higher salaries, benefits are where smaller companies can level the playing field. Thoughtful, well-designed benefits packages can reduce turnover and help SMBs stand out to qualified candidates who might otherwise default to a bigger name.

That doesn’t necessarily mean adding more benefits, but rather understanding what employees value and finding ways to make the existing package more relevant. Two areas worth exploring are financial wellness and work-life balance. Many employees are feeling the pinch of inflation and rising costs, so voluntary financial wellness benefits like student loan repayment programs with employer matching can go a long way.

Flexibility has also become a powerful factor, with almost half of job seekers reporting that their main motivator for finding a new role is a more flexible work arrangement.

By helping SMBs think outside the box with their benefits design, you can give them a leg up in the market.

Benchmark to stay competitive

Clients don’t always know whether their benefits package is competitive until you show them.

Share current benefits trends and benchmarks so they can see where they stand relative to competitors in their industry and region. And if a client has not purposefully updated their benefits package in the last five years, it’s likely time for a rethink.

How ExtensisHR makes benefits easier for everyone involved

The upcoming open enrollment period is a chance for both brokers and SMB employers to revisit how benefits support the employee experience. Clients who treat benefits as a strategic differentiator, rather than a box to be checked, will be better positioned to attract and keep the people who drive their company forward.

Aligning clients with a PEO like ExtensisHR eases the burden of open enrollment and builds a stronger, growing book of business for you.

Our team of benefits specialists monitors industry trends and evolving regulations, and provides services that strengthen every part of the benefits experience:

• Benefits administration and management: SMBs get Fortune 500-level plan access at competitive pricing, with resources and expertise to streamline management, communication, and compliance.
• Modern technology: Our mobile-first Work Anywhere® platform allows clients to generate custom reports, and employees can review and enroll in benefits wherever, whenever.
• Employee Solution Center (ESC): A specialized team walks worksite employees through open enrollment and breaks down plan options in plain terms.
• Complimentary recruiting: We help clients highlight their benefits at every hiring touchpoint, from job ads to offer letters, boosting their appeal to top candidates.

With ExtensisHR on board, you can help your clients take advantage of the open enrollment season and turn their benefits into a catalyst for growth.

Make this open enrollment season count

Open enrollment may happen once a year, but the conversations around benefits don’t have to.

Use the upcoming season as a reason to reconnect with clients and look for opportunities to strengthen their benefits strategy. The right conversations can help SMBs compete for talent while giving you another way to demonstrate the value you bring throughout the year.

And when a client needs more buying power, more support, or a simpler way to manage benefits, having a PEO partner like ExtensisHR in your corner gives you another solution to bring to the table.