However, the percentage of employees who say they really understand their benefits remains low. According to EBTS, less than 60 percent of employees say they fully understand life insurance. Of millennials, the workforce's largest generation, only half say they do.

When it comes to other voluntary benefits, the numbers are much lower. Less than a third of employees fully understand critical illness insurance, and only a quarter understand hospital indemnity plans, according to EBTS.  

The result is that at enrollment time, many employees don't take advantage of the very resources they're seeking through the workplace to help reduce financial stress and improve financial well-being.

Related: Millennials struggle to understand health plans

To more deeply understand the barriers that keep employees from fully understanding and participating in their benefits, MetLife recently conducted in-depth research with employees at four organizations across diverse industries, including mass media, transportation, higher education and heavy manufacturing.

What the research found was that, regardless of employer or industry, employees have common unmet needs when it comes to their benefits:

• They can't navigate the benefits information they receive.  

• They don't have the time or energy to dig in.

• They don't know who to turn to with questions.

• And, when they don't understand their benefits, they assume they don't need them.

When asked about their benefits, employees said things like: "There is all this information but I don't even know how to get it. Sometimes I accidentally find things," "I wish I knew more about what  the company offers — I feel like there's a lot but I'm not sure what; if I had an easier way to get to the benefits information up front, I would know more," and  "If I had a question, I guess I'd  look on the portal. I didn't know there was an 800-number."

Related: As-is health care consumerism isn't working

Because of the consistency of themes across such a wide variety of workplaces with very different workforces, this points to both a challenge and an opportunity for employers across the board: to reach employees with benefits information they can easily navigate and digest, in a way that feels personally relevant, and offers support resources for questions so employees can make informed decisions.

As you think ahead to open enrollment this year, be sure to consider these common unmet employee needs and tap into your brokers, consultants and providers for tools and support to better meet the demands of your workforce. Here's how:

Streamline enrollment materials to help employees navigate. Employees are overwhelmed by the information explosion at enrollment time. According to EBTS, two in five employees are confused by the information they receive from their employer about their benefits. Help cut out the clutter so employees can easily find succinct information that's relevant to them, and prioritize the content so they get the most important information up front. 

Create simplified, digestible information that's easy for busy employees to understand. According to EBTS, 42 percent of employees are stressed by the enrollment process and many think it's too complicated. During their busy work days, they don't have the time or energy to dig in, and in the evenings or on weekends, life gets in the way. By creating simple, digestible content, your employees can take information in quickly, yet still make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

Provide well-equipped resources for questions.  According to EBTS, only 37 percent of employees say benefits communications give them the information they need to make the best decisions. When they have questions, they don't know who to turn to. Provide the opportunity for one-on-one consultations with benefits enrollment representatives, employees' preferred resource for benefits questions. If staffing is a concern, consider leveraging a benefits communications firm to assist.  

Provide personalized information aligned with life events to make benefits more relevant. With multiple generations working side by side, reaching each employee in a way that resonates with the same message is unlikely. Even within the millennial generation, wants and needs differ. Meet employees where they are with personalized messages and materials reflecting life events or life stages.

While these actions are not a checklist and there is no magic bullet, there is no better time than the present to begin reimagining benefits education and enrollment to better connect employees to the resources available through your workplace.

As low unemployment rates continue, and the competition for talent remains fierce, you'll want to be on the forefront of meeting your employees' benefits and financial security needs to continue to engage the talent you need to drive your business.