Finding the right employee benefits survey template with the best questions for open enrollment can make all the difference in understanding what your employees truly need from their benefits package.
Open enrollment is a critical time—employees face major decisions about health, retirement, and wellness options, and getting feedback helps HR teams deliver better benefits and improve communication.
This article dives into the essential questions to include, plus how AI-powered, conversational surveys can dig even deeper into employee concerns and preferences.
Questions to assess benefits plan clarity
When I design a survey, the first thing I want to know is: Do employees understand their benefits options? Even a generous package falls flat if people can’t navigate it—so it’s crucial to ask questions that reveal where clarity is lacking. Try these targeted questions:
How confident are you that you understand the key features of each benefits plan?
Which parts of the benefits package were hardest to understand during open enrollment?
Was information on plan changes from last year presented clearly enough for you?
After reviewing the open enrollment materials, do you still have questions or uncertainties?
Confusion about benefits is one of the biggest hurdles—and it hits engagement hard. Nearly 41% of employees say they would have chosen benefits differently if they understood their options better[2]. If we want people to actually use their benefits, we need to know exactly where things get fuzzy.
AI follow-up questions catch the hidden friction points automatically. For example, if someone says they’re unsure about prescription coverage, the AI instantly asks what details or examples would help.
Here’s how you can analyze survey responses for benefits clarity:
Summarize the top three areas where employees report confusion about benefits plan details, and suggest improvements for each.
Or, dig deeper with a tailored probe:
If employees mention uncertainty about plan changes, ask specifically which changes caused confusion—deductibles, network changes, or eligibility rules?
Want to refine these follow-ups even further? With automatic AI follow-up questions, surveys adapt in real-time based on each response, so I can pinpoint misunderstandings with minimal manual effort.
Understanding employee decision-making needs
The moment of choice during open enrollment can feel overwhelming. I always want to know: What tools, resources, or support would have made your decision easier? Ask questions like:
What resources did you use to compare your benefits options?
Did you feel you had enough support when making your benefits choices?
What decision tools or calculators would you find most helpful?
Was the information about costs and coverage easy to find?
Decision paralysis is real. People are bombarded with options and end up defaulting—or making choices they later regret. In fact, over half of Americans prioritize cost over all else when picking benefits, yet 41% wish they’d chosen differently if they better understood their options[2].
Traditional survey | Conversational AI survey |
|---|---|
Multiple choice: “Which resource did you use?” | AI asks: “Can you describe which resources or conversations most influenced your decision? Why?” |
One-off open text: “What was missing?” | AI probes: “Would a plan comparison tool or a one-on-one meeting have helped? What format would you prefer for that support?” |
AI-powered surveys are more than a digital suggestion box—they dig until they find a real answer. For example, if an employee mentions feeling overwhelmed by jargon, the AI asks what level of explanation or which specific terms slowed them down.
To analyze nuanced decision factors, you can use:
Identify common decision-making barriers among employees (such as cost confusion, plan comparison, or time constraints) from survey results, and recommend resources to address each barrier.
With AI survey response analysis, I don’t waste hours combing through free text—the system summarizes trends, flags hidden needs, and even suggests which benefits to highlight next year.
Measuring benefits communication effectiveness
Even the best benefits offerings get ignored if communication falls short. I focus on questions like:
Which communication channels (email, intranet, meetings, or text) did you actually use during open enrollment?
When would you prefer to receive key benefits updates: daily, weekly, or only during enrollment?
What formats are easiest for you: video, one-page summary, interactive chat, or PDF guide?
Did you feel the timing and frequency of communication matched your needs?
Communication gaps sap trust and leave employees feeling abandoned. Shockingly, less than half of Gen Z and Millennials even know where to find the benefits info they need (44% and 50% respectively)[3]. If we want high utilization, we need to fix this disconnect, fast.
AI can probe for the why behind preferences, and suggest actionable changes. Here are prompts for more targeted insights:
For preferred channels:
If employees rate printed materials low, ask which digital channels (email, mobile app, chat) they actually prefer and why.
For timing and frequency:
When respondents say communications came “too late” or “too often,” ask what would be their ideal schedule (morning alerts, weekly wrap-ups, real-time notifications, etc.).
For format:
If someone describes videos as helpful, ask what topics or plan details they would like explained in this format next time.
These follow-ups transform a static form into a conversation, letting me gather the context behind each answer. Over time, AI can identify usage patterns across different employee groups, so I’m not guessing which messages land and which fizzle out.
Curious what creating this kind of survey looks like? Explore how conversational surveys adapt in real time as employees interact.
Building your employee benefits survey with AI
Ready to put these ideas into practice? Structuring a comprehensive benefits survey is simple when you combine targeted questions and conversational flow. I start by blending clarity, decision support, and communication questions—plus open-ended prompts for deeper insights.
You don’t need to be a survey expert or spend hours writing from scratch. Use an AI survey generator to create a fully customized benefits survey in minutes—just describe your goals or paste your HR outline, and let the AI do the heavy lifting.
Survey fatigue comes on fast during open enrollment. With 41% of employees wishing they’d chosen differently if they had clearer insights, short, targeted, and conversational surveys win every time[2]. Employ these strategies:
Time the main survey early in enrollment, and send quick follow-ups to dig into anything unclear
Follow up with non-respondents or those giving “I don’t know” answers—AI can tailor the follow-up to capture specifics painlessly
Use survey data to drive future enrollment meetings, FAQ materials, and HR toolkits
Editing or optimizing after launch? AI survey editing tools let me tweak, add, or refine questions by simply describing what I want changed—the AI instantly updates my survey without manual rework.
Skipping this process during open enrollment means missing your best chance to hear what’s working, what’s confusing, and where you can meaningfully boost engagement next year.
Transform your open enrollment feedback process
Now is the moment to reimagine your employee benefits surveys—capture honest, actionable insights and create your own survey to unlock deeper employee understanding. The better your feedback, the better your benefits decisions will be.