For most organizations, the open enrollment period runs from November 1 to January 15. This annual window gives employees the chance to review, update, or select their workplace benefits — choices that often shape how well they’re supported when life takes an unexpected turn. The downstream impact of these decisions becomes clear later, when someone is caring for a family member with special needs, recovering from a major health event, or taking unexpected leave.

With the right approach, open enrollment becomes more than a deadline. It’s an opportunity for employers to proactively guide their workforce with empathy, insight, and clarity. That means supporting employees through every stage of the process: building awareness before decisions are made, ensuring their choices are aligned with their evolving needs, and helping them activate the coverage they’ve selected when it matters most.

Preparation: equip employees ahead of key decisions

Open enrollment often arrives amid packed schedules and competing priorities. With so much happening, it’s easy for employees to overlook plan updates or delay benefits decisions. Yet the options chosen during this short window can shape how well employees are supported in the year ahead.

That’s why preparation shouldn’t start with the enrollment deadline. When benefits are introduced within broader conversations around wellness and financial planning, it gives employees context to understand what’s available and what’s changed.

Early engagement ensures enrollment feels less like a transaction and more like an investment in stability and security.

Alignment: Use data to anticipate moments that matter

Behind every benefits decision is a personal story, and over time, those stories reveal patterns. Trends across enrollment choices and claims dashboards can highlight how benefits are being accessed and where there’s room to improve relevance, awareness, or experience.

While enrollment data shows what employees are selecting, claims dashboards provide insight into how those choices play out. For example, consistently low enrollment in a particular benefit, combined with frequent high-cost claims it could have helped cover, reveals a missed opportunity to protect employees more effectively.

Employers who act on these insights can make thoughtful adjustments to offerings, close gaps in coverage, and ensure programs evolve with workforce priorities. From a business perspective, leveraging this data reinforces organizational values and helps maximize the return on benefits investments already in place.

Activation: translating choices into meaningful outcomes

Offering and selecting the right coverage is only part of the equation. Activation is about making sure those choices translate into employees feeling confident using their benefits when it matters most.

This is where service excellence and a human-centered approach make a difference. Accessible tools, clear resources, and thoughtful guidance empower employees to take action, even in moments of stress or uncertainty.

When the benefits experience feels simple, inclusive, and tailored to real needs, employees don’t just feel covered — they also feel cared for.

A moment that lasts all year

Open enrollment may only last a few weeks, but its impact reaches far beyond the deadline. For employers, it’s more than a seasonal requirement. It’s an opportunity to create an experience where employees feel supported, informed, and valued, both now and in the future.

When approached with empathy and insight, open enrollment reflects something deeper: a commitment to caring for the people who keep the organization strong.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.