Authors: Steve Flynn Vinny Foreman
A sleek, personalised experience delivered seamlessly via mobile sounds like the answer to every Reward & Benefit leader's dream. After all, we're all under pressure to boost engagement, manage rising costs, demonstrating the value of every pound spent on benefits.
But here's the reality: technology, on its own, isn't enough.
Recent insights from leading organisations like E.ON and Colliers have made one thing clear — while platforms can streamline processes, they don't solve the deeper, more complex challenges facing HR and Reward teams today. From fragmented data to cultural blind spots, the issues we're grappling with require more than software. They demand strategy, empathy, and partnership.
The challenge
During a recent Gallagher webinar, both E.ON and Colliers shared their experiences of implementing new benefits platforms. Their verdict? The technology itself wasn't the problem in isolation. Rather, it was one part of a much broader challenge, embedding it meaningfully into the organisation in a way that aligns with culture, strategy, and capacity.
Many UK employers have invested in benefits platforms, but our latest Benefits & Benchmarking Survey* reveals a clear gap. In fact, 56% of those surveyed report that their employees are ‘not engaged' with their existing benefits technology solutions — a shortfall that poses risks of reduced engagement, retention challenges and wasted resources.
At Gallagher, we have a solution: Gallagher Guide's Benefits platform, our people-first platform that blends intelligent tech with human-centred consulting. It's built to help HR lead with confidence and employees connect with their benefits in meaningful ways.
- Smarter admin, sharper insights: Scalable management with real-time insights and analytics so you can make faster, data-led decisions.
- People-first design: Personalised, intuitive interfaces that help employees choose wisely — and value what you offer.
- The human touch: Backed by expert consulting that brings empathy and strategy to your digital experience, helping you turn strategy into action.
*Gallagher's 2024 Benefits and Benchmarking Survey
Reward leaders often turn to benefits platforms with good reason. When time is short, resources are stretched, and expectations are high, technology can feel like the most immediate and scalable solution. And in many ways, it is. But without the right support and strategic context, even the best tech can struggle to deliver its full potential.
Where a strategic partner makes the difference
To truly unlock the value of benefits technology, organisations need more than just a platform, they need a partner. One that understands their people, their culture, and their long-term strategic goals.
Benefits technology delivers the greatest impact when paired with expert consultancy. This combination transforms a platform from a transactional tool into a strategic driver – solving integration challenges, interpreting insights from data, and crafting communications that truly connect with employees.
In fact, Gallagher's 2024 Workforce Trend Report found that designing employee communications that actually engage the workforce was one of the top benefits-related challenges cited by employers. This underscores the importance of aligning technology with strategic guidance to drive real engagement.
Connecting with employees requires more than just delivering information, it demands a listening strategy and a framework that prioritises relevance and utility. As Vinny Foreman, Strategy Partner: Behaviour and Insights, notes, employees interpret everything through a personal lens: Is this for me? What value does it bring to my life right now? Being able to confidently answer these questions is key to meaningful engagement.
The value of any benefit or service is shaped by individual perception. Understanding your audience – how they think, what they need, and how they make decisions – enables you to position offerings in ways that resonate. Yet, emerging data from the 2025 Employee Communications Report reveals that only half of Comms and HR professionals are using audience personas and profiling to tailor their messaging, despite broad consensus that targeted communication is more effective.
To truly elevate their benefits strategy, companies must partner with a provider that offers both powerful technology and deep expertise.
