Top tips to improve benefits uptake

Avantus looks at how to create a health journey that directs employees to the most effective health and wellbeing benefits.

Launched it, paid for it, but nobody’s using it. Many employers are asking themselves why uptake of health and wellbeing benefits remains stubbornly low.

Employer investment in health and wellbeing is at an all-time high. And yet, according to the CIPD's latest Health and Wellbeing at Work report, sickness absence has hit a 15-year record at 9.4 days per employee per year and rising.

More spend. More absence. Something isn't connecting.

For many organisations, the missing link is twofold: a clear understanding of what their workforce actually needs, and a structured way to guide employees to the right support at the right moment.

Not more benefits, but a better health journey.

Why more benefits don’t mean better outcomes

Most employers have built what looks, on paper, like a strong health and wellbeing offer: PMI, an EAP, virtual GP access, mental health support, musculoskeletal (MSK) provision, a health cash plan.

But comprehensive doesn't automatically mean relevant.

Benefits are often shaped by what competitors offer, what providers present at renewal, or what featured in last year's industry report, rather than a clear view of workforce health needs. The result is a package that looks broad but misses the mark.

Even where the right support exists, employees often don't know about it. According to HCML's Corporate Health and Wellbeing report, while 79% of employers provide an EAP, only 27% of employees know one exists, and nearly 85% of employers report that utilisation sits at just 3%–5%.

The consequences are predictable. Employees often default to NHS pathways, waiting weeks for support that workplace benefits could have provided immediately.

Two problems. One solution.

A health journey starts with understanding what your employees actually need, then builds a clear, low-friction pathway to the right support.

First - understand what your workforce needs

This doesn’t require complex modelling, but it does require organisations to use data they already have, and act on it.

Interrogate the data you already have: Most organisations hold utilisation data they rarely explore. Low EAP uptake in a high-stress environment may point to low awareness, low trust or difficult access, rather than low need. High GP usage for MSK issues may suggest a missing physiotherapy pathway.
Run a targeted health needs assessment: A simple digital questionnaire can surface dominant risk drivers, such as mental health, MSK, financial stress or chronic conditions, and provide a clearer baseline for decision-making.
Ask your employees and your managers: Data shows what is being used, not what is missing. Pulse surveys and manager conversations can reveal pressures that do not appear in dashboards, from caring responsibilities to financial anxiety.
Use your workforce data properly: Age profile, job type and working patterns all influence health risk, yet these factors are rarely used to shape benefits design. A younger desk-based workforce has very different needs from an older, operational one. This data exists in every organisation. It is rarely used, but it should be.

The CIPD found that 37% of organisations still take a reactive approach to wellbeing rather than a preventative one. Understanding unmet need is the first step towards changing that.

Next - build a journey employees can actually use

A health journey should start with how an employee is feeling and guide them, in as few steps as possible, to the right support.

Start with the employee’s need: Employees think in terms of problems, not products. "I feel anxious" or "my back hurts" should lead to clear, tailored routes into relevant support, rather than leaving people to work out which service applies.
Triage to the most effective intervention: Without clear guidance, many employees either default to a GP or delay seeking help. A well-designed journey redirects them to faster, more appropriate options, such as digital physiotherapy, EAP counselling, virtual GP access, while keeping traditional routes available when needed.
Remove friction wherever possible: Every additional step reduces engagement. Multiple logins, unclear pathways and poor mobile access all create drop-off. A single, well-designed benefits platform can improve utilisation, especially when supported by regular, targeted communications at relevant moments.
Combine digital routing with human support: Technology can guide and triage efficiently, but some situations require human judgement. Escalation to clinical or specialist support should be seamless, and line managers also need confidence to respond. CIPD research finds that only 29% of organisations train managers to recognise and respond to mental ill health.

Connective tissue of your health strategy

The most effective wellbeing strategy is not the most comprehensive or the most expensive. It’s the one that connects need and access, consistently guiding employees to the right support, at the right time, in the simplest possible way.

Organisations that solve this will see the return on their investment. Those that don’t will continue to add cost without impact.