Launched the benefits package. Paid the premiums. And yet nobody's using it. It's a frustration many employers know well and one that's becoming harder to ignore.
Spending on employee health and wellbeing has never been higher. But according to the CIPD's latest Health and Wellbeing at Work report, sickness absence has reached a 15-year high of 9.4 days per employee per year and it's still climbing.
More investment. More absence. Something isn't working.
For most organisations, two things are missing: a genuine understanding of what their workforce actually needs, and a clear way to guide employees to the right support at the right time. The answer isn't more benefits. It's a better employee wellbeing strategy, built around a clear health journey.
Why a bigger benefits package isn't a wellbeing strategy
Most employers already offer what looks, on paper, like a solid wellbeing package: private medical insurance, an EAP, virtual GP access, mental health provision, musculoskeletal (MSK) support, a health cash plan.
But broad doesn't automatically mean relevant.
Benefits are too often shaped by what competitors are doing, what providers pitched at renewal, or what caught someone's eye in an industry report rather than any real picture of what employees actually need. The result is a package that covers a lot of ground but misses the point.
And even where the right support does exist, employees frequently don't know it's there. According to HCML's Corporate Health and Wellbeing report, 79% of employers offer an EAP, but only 27% of employees know one exists, and utilisation hovers between just 3 and 5% for nearly 85% of employers.
The knock-on effect is predictable. Employees fall back on NHS pathways, waiting weeks for support that their workplace benefits could have provided straight away.
Two problems. One solution.
A health journey begins by understanding what employees actually need, then creates a clear, low-friction route to the right support.
Step one: understand your workforce's real health needs
This doesn't have to be complicated, but it does require organisations to use the data they already have.
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Look at what the data is telling you. Low EAP uptake in a high-pressure environment rarely means low need. It usually points to low awareness, poor access, or lack of trust. High GP referrals for back pain might signal a missing physiotherapy pathway.
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Run a health needs assessment. A straightforward digital survey can identify the main risk drivers whether that's mental health, MSK issues, financial stress or long-term conditions and give you a solid baseline to work from.
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Talk to your people. Data tells you what's being used, not what's missing. Pulse surveys and honest conversations with managers can surface pressures that never show up in dashboards, from caring responsibilities to financial anxiety.
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Actually use your workforce data. Age, job type and working patterns all shape health risk, yet most organisations never factor these into benefits design. A younger, office-based workforce has very different needs from an older, physically demanding one. That data exists. It just needs to be used.
The CIPD found that 37% of organisations still take a reactive approach to wellbeing rather than a preventative one. Knowing what your workforce actually needs is the first step to changing that.
Step two: build a journey employees can follow
A good health journey starts with how someone is feeling and gets them to the right support in as few steps as possible.
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Start with the problem, not the product. Employees don't think in categories, they think in feelings. "I'm really anxious" or "my back has been terrible" should lead to clear, relevant routes into support, not a list of benefits to decipher.
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Triage to the right intervention. Without guidance, most people either go straight to their GP or do nothing at all. A well-designed journey routes them to faster, more appropriate options, digital physio, EAP counselling, virtual GP, while keeping traditional pathways available where needed.
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Cut out the friction. Every extra click, every additional login, every unclear step reduces engagement. A single, well-designed platform makes a real difference to utilisation especially when paired with timely, relevant communications.
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Blend digital routing with human support. Technology can triage efficiently, but some situations need a human response. Escalation to clinical or specialist support should be seamless. Line managers also need the confidence to act, yet CIPD research shows only 29% of organisations train managers to recognise and respond to mental ill health.
The piece most wellbeing strategies are missing
The most effective health and wellbeing strategy isn't the most expensive or the most comprehensive. It's the one that reliably connects employees to the right support, at the right moment, with as little friction as possible.
Organisations that get this right will see genuine return on their investment. Those that don't will keep spending more and wondering why nothing changes.
Ready to build a wellbeing journey that actually works?
At FlexGenius, we help employers cut through the noise and create benefits experiences that employees actually use. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to get more from what you already have, we can help you understand your workforce's real health needs and build the clear, connected journey that gets them the right support, fast.
Get in touch with our team today and start turning your benefits investment into real impact.
