How to audit your benefits strategy using data you already have

When was the last time you properly reviewed your employee benefits strategy?  

For many organisations, benefits are reviewed when there’s a renewal coming up, costs start to increase or a business need changes. That can mean opportunities to improve the overall package are missed.  

The good news is that you don’t necessarily need new tools or lots of external data to start auditing your benefits.  

Your business probably already has useful information sitting across HR systems, benefits platforms and employee feedback. The key is knowing what to look for and how to bring it together. 

Why does auditing your employee benefits strategy matter? 

Your workforce doesn’t stay the same forever.

People join and leave. Demographics change. Business priorities shift. The benefits employees valued five years ago might not be what they need today.  

A regular review can help you understand whether your benefits strategy is still doing what it needs to do.  

It can help you:

• Identify gaps in your current benefits
• Spot benefits that aren’t being used
• Understand changing employee needs
• Make better use of your benefits budget
• Support recruitment and retention
• Keep your benefits competitive  

It’s not necessarily about making wholesale changes.  

Sometimes, the review might show that your existing benefits are working well. Other times, it might highlight a simple change that could make a meaningful difference. 

What data do you already have access to? 

Before looking for new data, start with what’s already available. 

HR data 

Your HR systems can tell you a lot about your workforce.  

Look at areas such as:

• Headcount
• Staff turnover
• Employee demographics
• Locations
• Roles and departments
• Length of service  

This information can help you understand who your benefits are actually designed for and whether that still reflects your workforce.  

For example, a benefits package designed around the needs of a predominantly office-based workforce may need to evolve if your business has since expanded into different locations or introduced more varied roles. 

Absence data  

Absence can also provide useful clues.  

Look for patterns over time and consider whether there are particular reasons for absence that your benefits could help address.

This doesn’t mean assuming that a particular benefit will solve an absence problem. Instead, it gives you another piece of information to consider alongside your wider workforce data. 

Benefits usage data  

How are employees actually using the benefits you provide?  

If your benefits platform provides usage data, look at how many employees have signed up for particular benefits and how often they’re engaging with different areas of the platform.

This can highlight benefits that are popular and those that aren’t getting much attention (but don’t immediately assume that low usage means a benefit isn’t valuable). It could mean employees don’t need it. Or they might simply not know it exists.  

If you don’t have access to this type of information, it may be worth reviewing your current benefits technology. Your benefits platform should ideally give you useful information that helps you understand engagement and make better decisions. 

Employee feedback and awareness  

Employee feedback is another valuable source of information.  

This could come from employee surveys, focus groups, engagement surveys or more informal feedback from HR and managers.  

You should also look at awareness. Do employees know what benefits they have? Do they understand how to access them? Are they aware of the additional services included within their existing policies?  

A benefit that employees don’t know about isn’t going to deliver much value, even if it’s a good benefit on paper. 

How can you identify patterns and gaps?  

Once you’ve gathered the information you already have, look for patterns.  

You don’t need a complicated dashboard. Start with a few straightforward questions.  

• Are absence levels changing?  
• Is staff turnover higher in particular areas of the business?  
• Are some benefits being heavily used while others are barely touched?  
• Are there differences between what you offer and what employees actually use?

The answers can help you decide where to look more closely.  

For example, if a benefit has consistently low engagement, you could investigate whether employees understand it before deciding whether it should be removed.  

Equally, high usage can tell you which benefits are genuinely valued by your workforce.  

The important thing is to look at the data in context rather than making decisions based on one number. 

How can you use data to understand employee needs?

Not everyone in your workforce will want the same things from their benefits.  

A younger workforce might have different priorities from an older one. Employees in different roles or locations may also have very different needs.  

That’s why it’s important to combine your data with employee feedback rather than relying on assumptions.  

Look at differences across areas such as:  

• Age groups
• Locations
• Roles
• Departments
• Working patterns
• Length of service  

You might find that a benefit that appears underused overall is particularly valuable to one part of your workforce.  

Equally, you could discover that some benefits aren’t meeting the needs of the people they were originally designed for.  

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Your data should help you understand what’s happening within your own organisation. 

How should your benefits strategy support your wider business objectives?  

Your benefits strategy shouldn’t exist separately from the rest of your business.  

Think about what the organisation is trying to achieve and whether your employee value proposition (EVP) supports those goals.  

If the business is expanding, for example, benchmarking your benefits against competitors can help you understand whether your package is competitive enough to support recruitment.  

If the priority is controlling costs, claims and absence data can help you understand where changes could potentially be made without negatively affecting employees.  

The right approach depends on the objective. That’s why it’s useful to agree what you’re trying to achieve before making changes to your benefits. 

What are the common challenges when using internal data?  

Using data you already have sounds simple. In practice, there can be a few challenges.  

Your data is spread across different systems 

HR data might sit in one system, benefits information in another and employee feedback somewhere else.  

Bringing these different sources together can take time.  

You don’t necessarily need to combine everything at once. Start with the information that’s most relevant to the question you’re trying to answer. 

You can’t see how employees are using their benefits  

Some organisations have limited visibility over benefits usage.  

This makes it harder to understand which benefits employees value and whether communication needs to improve.  

If this is the case, it may be worth reviewing whether your current benefits technology is giving you the information you need. 

The data can be difficult to interpret  

Data gives you information, but it doesn’t always tell you the reason behind it.

A drop in benefit usage could mean employees don’t value the benefit. It could also mean they don’t know how to access it.  

That’s where employee feedback and specialist advice can add useful context. 

It’s easy to overcomplicate things  

You don’t need to analyse every available metric.

Start small. Pick a handful of indicators that relate directly to your business objectives and build from there. 

What are the practical next steps? 

Once you’ve reviewed your existing data, you should have a clearer idea of where the opportunities are.  

Start with a simple review rather than trying to change everything at once. 

1. Bring together your existing data

Start with the information you already have.

Look at HR data, absence, benefits usage and employee feedback. You can then identify where you have good visibility and where there are gaps. 

2. Focus on a few key indicators 

Choose the measures that matter most to your organisation.

These might include staff turnover, absence, benefits usage, employee awareness or the cost of your benefits year on year. 

3. Look for quick wins 

Not every finding needs to result in a major change.

You might discover that a benefit is valuable but poorly communicated. In that case, improving communication could be a better first step than replacing the benefit.

You might also find additional services within your existing policies that employees aren’t using.

Reviewing these can help you get more value from benefits you’re already paying for. 

4. Benchmark your benefits 

Internal data tells you what’s happening within your organisation. Benchmarking can help you understand how your benefits compare with the wider market.

Working with a benefits advisor can help identify gaps in your employee value proposition and highlight areas where your benefits may be falling behind competitors. 

5. Combine benchmarking with claims data 

Benchmarking is even more useful when it’s considered alongside your own data.

For example, reviewing benefits claims can help you understand how employees are using your existing provision. Combining this with external benchmarking can help shape both immediate improvements and your longer-term benefits strategy.

The result should be a benefits programme based on what your employees need, what the data is telling you and what your business is trying to achieve. 

How often should you audit your benefits strategy?  

There’s no need to wait for a major business change before looking at your benefits.  

A regular review can help you spot changes earlier and avoid making decisions based on outdated information.  

The frequency will depend on your organisation and the type of benefits you provide. But even a simple annual review can help you keep track of changing employee needs, costs and engagement.  

You can then carry out deeper reviews when there’s a significant change in your workforce, business strategy or benefits costs. 

What can an employee benefits data audit tell you?

Your existing data can tell you more than you might expect.  

It can show you what’s being used, where there may be gaps and whether your benefits are keeping pace with changes in your workforce.  

It can also highlight areas where you’re already getting good value, as well as benefits that may need more attention.  

The important thing is not to treat the data as the answer in itself.  

Use it as a starting point for better conversations with your employees, HR team and benefits advisor.

A good benefits strategy should evolve with your business. Regularly reviewing the information you already have can help make sure it does. 

Need help reviewing your benefits strategy?  

Howden can help you audit your existing benefits, benchmark your provision and identify opportunities to get more value from your employee benefits programme.  

Talk to Howden Employee Benefits to find out more.