As employers try to balance the rising cost of benefits with the comprehensiveness of their packages, companies are looking to make the most out of what they do offer, benefits experts told HR Dive.

“I think employers are doing absolutely everything that they can in order to optimize their spend on benefits and make sure they’re getting the most bang for their buck and the best reach,” said Casey Hauch, managing director of employee experience at WTW, a global insurance broker and advisory firm.

Many are already spending billions on benefits but aren’t seeing the desired utilization rate, Hauch said. So instead of completely revamping their offerings, they’re rebranding and repackaging existing benefits to better engage workers.

“It’s really about targeting messages,” Hauch said. “A lot of it is less in the design of the benefits, it’s more in the communication and marketing of them.”

One major area companies have focused on is employee assistance programs. The programs are historically underutilized, yet offer lots of resources to support mental health and emotional well-being for workers, Hauch said.

“Since the pandemic, over the past three years, we’ve seen huge strides in organizations rebranding those programs to … try to remove the stigma that might be associated with an EAP where people might think it’s only for people with substance abuse problems,” Hauch said. “They’re trying to really reposition those programs as something that can support you in your work and life.”

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