Why Now Is the Best Time to Re-Engage Employers
•February 11, 2026
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Why It Matters
By converting fresh enrollment data into strategic recommendations, brokers help employers balance cost containment with employee well‑being, a decisive factor in talent retention and competitive advantage.
Key Takeaways
- •Post‑enrollment debriefs capture fresh employer feedback.
- •Financial wellness benefits mitigate employee cost stress.
- •Alternative funding models gain traction among cost‑focused employers.
- •Brokers act as strategic hubs linking insights to vendors.
- •Early 2026 planning leverages 2025 enrollment data.
Pulse Analysis
The weeks following open enrollment present a narrow window where employer priorities are still focused on benefits outcomes, making it the ideal moment for brokers to conduct deep‑dive debriefs. Companies are grappling with dual pressures: the need to curb escalating healthcare expenses and the reality that even high‑earning staff are feeling the pinch of rising deductibles. Brokers who systematically gather feedback from HR, finance, and employees can pinpoint plan design flaws, communication breakdowns, and adoption gaps before the new fiscal year’s initiatives take hold.
Simultaneously, the market is witnessing a surge in innovative cost‑containment solutions. Alternative funding structures such as individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, reference‑based pricing, and transparent pharmacy benefit managers are gaining traction. Complementary financial‑wellness offerings—ranging from mortgage assistance to emergency‑savings tools—are emerging as differentiators that soften the financial blow for employees while delivering measurable ROI for employers. Brokers who align these emerging products with client‑specific pain points can craft bundled proposals that address both cost control and employee satisfaction, turning a compliance exercise into a strategic advantage.
A disciplined playbook amplifies these opportunities. Hosting post‑mortem meetings with HR and finance leaders, analyzing early adoption data, and mapping insights to next‑year roadmaps enable brokers to act as the connective tissue between employers and solution vendors. This proactive stance not only strengthens client relationships but also positions brokers to influence 2026 benefit designs with evidence‑based recommendations. In an environment where talent attraction hinges on holistic compensation, brokers who deliver data‑driven, financially‑wellness‑focused strategies will command premium engagements and drive long‑term market relevance.
Why now is the best time to re-engage employers
Open enrollment may be over, but for benefit brokers and advisers this is when the real work — and real opportunity — begin.
In conversations across our national network of senior executives at benefits brokerage and consulting firms, we're hearing a consistent theme: this is the window when smart brokers turn lessons from open enrollment into strategy for the year ahead and align with vendors to make it happen.
The best brokers use this time to meet with employer clients, unpack what resonated with their populations, what confused employees and what needs to evolve before next year's open enrollment. Those who do it well turn post‑enrollment insights into lasting value for employers and set the pace for the year ahead.
This year's open enrollment highlighted the dual pressures brokers face. Employers are demanding cost control while employees are unable to absorb higher healthcare costs.
We've seen growing interest in alternative funding models like individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, reference‑based pricing and transparent pharmacy benefit managers. The pace of innovation in this space is accelerating, and there has been a wave of new and well‑funded vendors entering the market to help employers tackle costs in different ways. For many organizations, cost control has become their priority.
At the same time, employees and their families are at a breaking point. Deductibles and contributions have climbed so high that even higher‑income workers are struggling. As one senior executive told me, employees are tapped out. That reality makes it even harder for employers that want to do the right thing for their people.
One theme we keep hearing across our network is the rise of financial wellness benefits to complement cost containment. A growing number of vendors are bringing creative solutions to market — everything from mortgage benefits to emergency savings tools — giving brokers and employers new ways to soften the blow for employees.
These programs are proving to be small but meaningful cost‑relief benefits that give something back to employees. It's also becoming a differentiator for brokers who can connect these solutions to measurable business outcomes and not just employee sentiment. One executive shared that even in a client population with six‑figure average salaries, about 15 % of employees were under financial stress once cost‑of‑living data were factored in.
Read more: Financial wellness benefits that help — and hurt — employees
As employers and employees navigate this reality, brokers have an opportunity to turn what they learned from open enrollment into action. The post‑enrollment period is the perfect time to step back, assess outcomes and strengthen relationships with both employer clients and the vendors delivering their solutions. It's when short‑term lessons can impact long‑term strategy.
Prime time to explore new offerings
Brokers can create significant value from late November through January. With open enrollment fresh on their minds, employers can clearly articulate what worked, what was well received by employees and what needs to improve.
Maybe a new plan design created confusion. Maybe the communication materials missed the mark. Whatever the case, these lessons fade quickly once the new year's priorities take over.
By initiating post‑enrollment debriefs now, brokers show up as proactive partners. They capture insights while they're fresh and turn small frustrations into opportunities for improvement before they become bigger issues.
This is also the right time to re‑engage vendors, both those that were implemented and those that weren't. The weeks after open enrollment offer valuable visibility into how vendor solutions actually performed.
Brokers can start by gathering feedback from employers about implementation, adoption and member experience. Then they can compare that with vendors' perspectives on what went well, where engagement lagged and any early outcomes. This dual perspective gives brokers a full view of which solutions overperformed, where adjustments are needed and which innovations are worth piloting with other clients.
For vendors that weren't selected, Q1 is prime time to explore new offerings that could be tested off‑cycle or rolled out next January. By doing this, brokers act as a strategic hub, connecting insights across employers and solution partners to identify lessons learned, best practices to double down on and strategies to help avoid pitfalls next year.
We've seen top‑performing brokers use a consistent playbook to make the most of this season. The common denominators include:
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Hosting a post‑mortem meeting with HR and finance leaders to review the open enrollment employer and employee experience.
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Analyzing early data available to determine which programs employees adopted and what feedback was received.
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Identifying communication gaps. Where did employees struggle to understand new vendor or plan design solutions?
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Linking insights to next year's roadmap. Most employers have a list of things they didn't get to. Revisiting that list now keeps momentum going.
Now is the best time to show up as a strategic partner while clients are still thinking about benefits and before daily operations take over.
The post‑enrollment period also creates a rare opportunity to turn insights into evidence. Forward‑thinking brokers are using this time to look at open enrollment data and pull stories out of the numbers that show what worked, what didn't and what to prioritize next. Bringing those insights into early strategic planning sessions helps brokers lead with client‑specific data as they shape 2026 strategies.
Why now really matters
The time right after open enrollment is where momentum happens. Smart brokers use it to lead with insight, turning open enrollment data and feedback into strategies that help their clients plan for the coming year.
Read more: Benefit managers share their 7 open enrollment best practices
From our national network, one thing is clear: strategic brokers act early to set the pace for a new year. They're guiding employers through tough cost choices, staying close to new vendor innovations and helping shape a benefits model that works for both employers and employees.
The smartest brokers are already putting insight into action, using what they learned in 2025 to lead their clients and the industry into 2026.
CEO & Founder, Spark Health Advisers
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