Canada (EN)
Most organizations don’t have a benefits problem. They have a utilization problem. Employees are offered a wide range of support - from healthcare and financial tools to point solutions - but many never use what’s available to them. In many cases, the issue starts with awareness and access, not availability.
When that happens, the consequences extend beyond unused programs. Employees delay decisions, miss opportunities for support, or make choices without the right guidance. Over time, those moments carry a cost - for individuals and for the organization funding the programs meant to help them.
Where value is lost
Employees’ needs don’t follow an enrollment calendar. Financial concerns, health issues, and family changes emerge throughout the year, often without much warning. Guidance isn’t always available in those moments that matter. As a result, employees are left to make decisions on their own, often with incomplete information.
The gap between what organizations intend and what employees experience is clear in the data. In Alight’s 2025 Employee Mindset Study of 2,500 U.S. workers, 79% of senior leaders said they feel well informed on relevant matters, while only 52% of individual contributors said the same. Perceptions of communication effectiveness show a similar divide: 77% of senior management believe it works well, compared to 48% of employees.
That misalignment has real consequences. When employees don’t feel supported, they hesitate, delay action, or make choices without fully understanding the implications.
And those decisions add up.
Six in ten employees report regretting a healthcare decision made in the past year. Only half believe their employer genuinely cares about their wellbeing. The problem isn’t the benefits themselves. It’s that employees don’t always know where to go, what to do next, or when to take action.
Underutilized benefits carry a measurable cost
When employees don’t understand or use their benefits, employers miss out on the value of programs they are already paying for. Clearer communication helps employees act sooner and make better use of available support.
Across Alight client programs, stronger communication has helped drive:
- Utilization increases by 15.9% in musculoskeletal support programs
- Engagement rises by 14.3% in expert medical opinion services
- Participation grows by 13.8% in maternity and family support programs
These gains came from making existing benefits easier to find and use—not from adding new programs.
Over time, consistent communication also supported 6–16% increases in MSK engagement, more than 30% growth in chronic condition management participation and steady gains in family and life-stage program use.
Why more communication isn’t the answer
In many organizations, hesitation to invest in communication stems from a belief that employees are already overwhelmed. Leaders often assume more information will add to the noise.
Most employee aren’t asking for more communication, but for clearer guidance and easier ways to take action.
Traditionally, employees had to search for information on their own, often sending them to a health plan or vendor only after a need comes up. By then, important decisions may already be made: a provider chosen, a service scheduled or a cost incurred.
Many challenges don’t start as just a medical or financial question. Stress about money, caregiving duties, or emotional strain tends to build gradually. Without a clear starting point, employees often don’t realize help is available until they’ve already passed the point where it could have made a difference.
Better results require a shift from simply sharing information to helping employees make decisions.
Turning communication into ROI
Closing this gap starts with making benefits easier to navigate throughout the year.
When communication reflects employees’ life stages and likely needs, it becomes more relevant and easier to act on. Employees don’t have to sort through generic messages or search across multiple systems for answers. Instead, they are guided to the right resources based on what is happening in their lives.
Technology plays a role in enabling that experience.
Alight supports millions of participants and sees engagement across health, wealth, leave and navigation, giving employers a clearer view of when employees may need support. Those insights help organizations align communication to key moments, such as retirement planning, growing a family, managing a condition, or navigating an unexpected event.
AI-powered guidance builds on that foundation by helping employees ask questions in everyday language and get clearer direction across their benefits experience. Grounded in data, domain expertise and human oversight, it helps surface relevant next steps so employees can act with more confidence in the moments that matter.
For example, a question about parental leave can prompt reminders about benefit updates required after a birth, reducing missed actions and administrative issues.
This kind of support changes how employees interact with their benefits. Instead of reacting late, they engage earlier. Instead of second-guessing decisions, they move forward with more confidence.
Making the investment count
Benefits don’t fall short because organizations aren’t investing enough. They fall short when that investment isn’t fully optimized.
When employees can’t access the right support at the right moment, even well-designed programs lose their impact. Costs rise in less visible ways - through avoidable claims, missed preventive care, reduced productivity, and lower satisfaction.
Consistent, relevant communication strengthens the connection between investment and outcome. It helps employees use what’s already available, improves decision quality, and increases the perceived value of total rewards.
For employers, that shift reframes communication from a supporting activity to a driver of performance.
When benefits are easier to find and use, employees are more likely to take action, outcomes can improve, and employers get more value from their investment all year long.
