20 May 2025
Only four in ten employees thought to have a full understanding of their employee benefits
The latest research from Towergate Employee Benefits shows that only 39% of employers believe their employees have a good understanding of the full range of employee benefits provided.
Quality rather than quantity is required
Hybrid working is having an impact, with 38% of employers stating that they now find it more difficult to communicate the support they offer because many employees work from home either some or all of the time. Possibly in an attempt to fix the communication issues, 62% of employers say they now communicate health and wellbeing support more regularly. However, making communications relevant to employees is a sticking point, with 43% of employers saying they find it difficult to target specific messages to specific groups of the workforce.
Debra Clark, head of Wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits, says: “It’s positive to see that employers are clearly aware that communication of employee benefits is important, however in many cases, the current processes are not sufficient. What needs to happen now is for employers to fully understand the options open to them and to harness the tools to improve benefits communication.”
Utilising digital options
Interestingly, just over half of employers (55%) say they now concentrate more on digital health and wellbeing communications, by means of apps and digital platforms. This is possibly in response to hybrid working environments being more commonplace, it’s a way to reach more people on a more individual basis, and it’s a way that much of the workforce is now used to communicating.
Indeed, there are a variety of reasons why employers are utilising digital benefits platforms. These include:
- It’s easier for employees to see all their benefits in one place 34%
- It helps us communicate our employee benefits 33%
- It makes it easier for employees to make use of their benefits 32%
- It enables benefits to be accessed by employees at any time 32%
- It helps employees make personal choices about which benefits to choose 31%
The digital communication of benefits enables messages to be more closely aligned to the needs of the individual employee, with certain groups and demographics directly approached with focused and appropriate communications. This can also be connected to employee benefits platforms, where employees can see the benefits they have available to them
Debra Clark concludes: “Employee understanding of benefits needs to be a core priority and this will only come with careful communication. If employees do not know about, and understand the benefits on offer, then they will not make use of them, and the employers will not receive the value for the business.”
- Research conducted by Opinium on behalf of Towergate Employee Benefits among 500 HR decision makers across the UK from 7 to 16 January 2025.
For more information please contact:
Georgina Dunlop
SMUK Marketing and PR
gdunlop@smuk.org.uk
Mobile: 07912 178156
Kate Kilpatrick
Head of Marketing
Towergate Employee Benefits
Kate.Kilpatrick@ardonagh.com
Mobile: 07890 661387
About Towergate Employee Benefits
Towergate Employee Benefits is one of the UK’s largest independent employee benefits advisers, dedicated to delivering tailored solutions to employers and their employees. The company aims to help employers attract, retain and engage the very best talent, resulting in a healthy, motivated and productive workforce.
Specialist advice and solutions from Towergate Employee Benefits include healthcare benefits - such as private medical insurance, cash plans, dental insurance and employee assistance programmes; financial benefits - such as group income protection, group critical illness and life insurance; and additional services such as wellbeing, occupational health and pensions governance, as well as award-winning benefits technology.
For global companies, Towergate Employee Benefits offers international private medical insurance, travel insurance, global employee assistance programmes and kidnap and ransom cover; as well as the expertise to manage comprehensive global benefits programmes. Through a worldwide network of partner firms, Towergate Employee Benefits can deliver tailored global benefit design and governance, ensuring business are supported wherever they operate.
Towergate Employee Benefits has a nationwide team of specialist advisers with a commitment to service that has been recognised as gold in its accreditation by Investor in Customers. For further information please visit www.towergatehealthandprotection.co.uk/