Editor's note: Be sure to read other articles in this series:

• 3 ways to up your benefits communication game
• Your broker peers are embracing the new normal. Are you?
• Why benefits consultants need a communication strategy now

Open enrollment is always a crucial time of year for benefits consultants. And this year, the stakes are even higher: You've likely worked with your clients to expand their benefits offerings in response to COVID, and you're looking for innovative ways to support employees in this new normal.

But there's a catch. All of those new resources will go to waste if no one uses them. And spoiler alert: Employees are still confused about their benefits, and they're not any happier or healthier, despite the new resources you've offered them. (To make matters worse, this lack of benefits engagement comes at a huge cost to them and your clients.)

So this open enrollment won't just be about making sure employees sign up for the right benefits; it'll be a jumping-off point for a year-long benefits engagement campaign to help your clients maximize their increased investments, and help employees not only choose — but use — the benefits that will best serve them in the upcoming year.