Employee Benefits Employees Actually Use: Why Access and Navigation Matter

Employers can spend heavily on benefits and still hear employees say, “I didn't know we had that.” The gap between what is offered and what is actually used is one of the most expensive problems in benefits strategy.

ACCESS IS NOT THE SAME AS ENGAGEMENT

SHRM's 2025 Employee Benefits Survey found that 88% of employers rated health-related benefits as very or extremely important. But importance does not automatically create utilization. Employees still have to know what is available, understand when to use it and have a simple way to get started.

THE NAVIGATION PROBLEM

A 2026 Castlight Health survey of 2,000 U.S. employees reported that only about one-third clearly understood what health and wellbeing benefits were available or used them regularly. Castlight also reported that 37% said they would be more likely to use their benefits if they had a single place to browse and manage them. Because this is vendor-sponsored research, employers should treat it as one data point — but the underlying problem is familiar: too many disconnected programs can create friction instead of value.

FOUR PLACES BENEFITS BREAK DOWN

1. Awareness: Employees do not know the benefit exists until they need it.
2. Entry point: They know they have benefits but do not know which vendor or service to contact first.
3. Cost uncertainty: They hesitate because they do not know what a visit, prescription or service will cost.
4. Handoffs: One service refers them elsewhere, leaving the employee to coordinate the rest.

WHY NAVIGATION CAN BE A BENEFIT IN ITS OWN RIGHT

Some newer virtual-care models are designed around a single front door. Amaze Health, for example, says members can reach its medical team and patient advocates by audio, video or in-app messaging, and that its service includes help with insurance questions, medical billing, prescriptions, referrals and specialist navigation in addition to virtual clinical care.

That does not mean one platform is right for every workforce. It does illustrate an important design principle: employees often value knowing where to start as much as having another benefit listed in the enrollment guide.

HOW TO MEASURE WHETHER EMPLOYEES ARE ACTUALLY USING BENEFITS

• Enrollment and utilization by benefit
• Repeat use, not just first-time activation
• Time to access care or assistance
• Employee understanding during surveys or stay interviews
• Common questions received by HR
• Benefits that receive very low utilization relative to cost

A 90-DAY UTILIZATION RESET

Start by identifying the five benefits employees should know how to use without calling HR. Create one plain-English guide, repeat it during onboarding, and send one short monthly reminder focused on a real-life scenario: “Need a prescription refill?” “Not sure whether you need urgent care?” “Have a medical bill you don't understand?”

Then measure what changed. The goal is not more communication for its own sake. It is fewer dead ends and more employees getting value from benefits the company is already paying for.

ERP's Retention 360 approach looks at benefits alongside the broader employee experience, while Health Plan Optimization focuses on whether benefit dollars are creating usable value.