Open Enrollment Communications Built Around One Deadline

Build the program around one deadline, with each message scheduled from that event and written for the segment receiving it. If the deadline moves, every message moves with it, and managers receive the names of employees who haven't enrolled three days before it closes.

If you work on a People team, you already know what open enrollment feels like: three weeks of herding cats, with real consequences for anyone who misses the deadline. Here is how we set it up with our clients, step by step, so the program does the chasing for you.

Start With One Open Enrollment Deadline

Every message in the program hangs off one event: Open Enrollment 2026 Deadline. Pick it once, then set when each message should go.

For one message, choose one week before the event at nine in the morning in each recipient's local time. The schedule preview updates as you go. Move the deadline later and every message moves with it.

Build Segments for Who Needs What

You build segments for full-time and part-time employees, people with a year of service, and first timers. Give each segment a name, then choose the fields that define it.

For a tenured full-time segment, choose Employee Tenure values of one to three years, three to five years, and five-plus years. Narrow it by adding Employment Type is Full-time. The count updates as you add each criterion, reaching 1,584 people, and every one of them gets the message written for them.

Let ChangeEngine Draft the Content

In ChangeEngine, describe what you need in one sentence, the same way you would brief a colleague. The example asks for an open enrollment reminder for part-time depot staff one week before the November 20 deadline.

The draft comes back on brand with a subject line, body, and a set of images to choose from. Pick the image you like. The same draft becomes a poster with a QR code, a slide for the break room screens, and an FAQ.

Personalize One Template With Merge Fields

Merge fields personalize one template so each person sees only what applies to them. Type two braces anywhere in the message, then choose First Name or the deadline pulled from the event.

Preview the message as a real recipient. Adaeze sees her name and her date, while Mateo sees his.

Some clients go one step further. A spreadsheet showing what each person's benefits are worth becomes a set of merge fields. Each employee receives a statement showing what the company pays, what the employee pays, and the total, with nothing written twice.

Keep Managers in the Program

Three days before the deadline, managers receive the names of employees who haven't enrolled. That is the whole program, built once. You get your November back.

Frequently asked questions

How do I reschedule the program if the deadline changes?

Set every message against the Open Enrollment 2026 Deadline event. Choose whether it sends before or after the event, set the offset, and choose nine in the morning in each recipient's local time. When you move the deadline, every connected message moves with it.

How can I personalize open enrollment messages for each employee?

Build segments from fields such as Employee Tenure and Employment Type, then use merge fields for First Name and the deadline. ChangeEngine lets you preview the same template as Adaeze or Mateo, so you can see each person's name and date before the message goes out.

How do managers know who hasn't enrolled?

Schedule a manager message for three days before the deadline. It gives each manager the names of team members who haven't enrolled yet, so they know exactly who is still outstanding before open enrollment closes. The manager message sits inside the same program built around the deadline.