Analyses & Studies
Data-Led Design: How Analytics Make Flexible Benefits Work for Your Company
Key Takeaway
Generic benefits packages waste company budgets with utilization rates as low as 40%. Data-driven design solves this by using employee behaviour patterns to create relevant benefits, resulting in 83% utilization rates and 35% higher satisfaction scores.
The Personalization Gap in Employee Benefits
Most companies spend thousands on employee benefits that go unused. While organizations invest heavily in comprehensive packages, utilization rates often hover around 40-60%, leaving significant value on the table. This disconnect between what employers offer and what employees actually need represents a massive opportunity for optimization.
Generic benefits packages may satisfy compliance requirements, but they frequently fail to address the diverse needs of modern workforces. The result is wasted budget, low engagement, and missed opportunities to attract and retain top talent.
The Cost of Benefits Without Data
When companies design benefits programs without data insights, they encounter several critical challenges:
- Budget Inefficiency: Organizations spend thousands on benefits that employees rarely use. For example, a company might invest $300,000 in outpatient coverage only to discover minimal employee uptake.
- Justification Struggles: HR leaders face difficulty securing budget approvals when they cannot demonstrate clear connections between benefits spending and business outcomes like productivity or retention.
- Employee Dissatisfaction: Workers feel frustrated when available benefits don’t align with their actual healthcare needs or life circumstances.
- Strategic Misalignment: Benefits programs operate in isolation from broader workforce planning and business objectives.
Data-driven benefits design eliminates these inefficiencies by providing clear insights into employee preferences, usage patterns, and business impact.
What Kind of Data Matters?
When we talk about data-led design, we mean going beyond just basic demographics like age and salary. Here are key data points Cléma+ uses to craft relevant, impactful, and cost-optimized flexible benefits programs:
Claims Utilization Analytics
What it includes: Frequency of claims, claim types (general practitioner visits, specialist consultations, dental care), claim amounts, and employee out-of-pocket expenses.
Strategic insight: When only 10% of employees use dental benefits while 40% pay for physiotherapy out-of-pocket, this data reveals a clear misalignment between benefits offered and employee needs.
Wellness Program Engagement
What it tracks: Participation rates in health screenings, Employee Assistance Programs, coaching initiatives, and fitness reimbursements.
Strategic insight: Low engagement with gym subsidies might indicate employee preference for digital wellness solutions or mental health support programs.
Absence and Leave Pattern Analysis
What it reveals: Trends in medical leave, stress-related absences, and presenteeism rates across different employee segments.
Strategic insight: Increasing mental health-related sick days signals the need for more accessible psychological support services.
Employee Feedback Intelligence
What it captures: Benefits satisfaction scores and qualitative feedback from pulse surveys and focus groups.
Strategic insight: Employees may be unaware of existing benefits or find them irrelevant to their current life stage, indicating communication or design gaps.
Workforce Demographics and Preferences
What it analyses: Age distributions, gender breakdowns, job functions, family status, and lifestyle preferences.
Strategic insight: Tech teams of Millennials and Gen Z employees typically value different benefits compared to regional sales managers approaching retirement.
Case Study (Anonymised): From Underused to Loved
One of Cléma+’s clients, a mid-sized software company in Asia, was frustrated with their group outpatient plan. Only 40% of employees were claiming benefits, and HR was receiving weekly complaints.
The Data Discovery Process
Clema+ conducted comprehensive utilization audits and employee surveys, revealing critical insights:
- 70% of employees were paying out-of-pocket for telemedicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services
- Employees aged 30-40 prioritized children’s healthcare coverage over personal benefits
- The existing plan structure didn’t accommodate modern healthcare preferences
The Data-Driven Solution
Using these insights, Clema+ redesigned the benefits program:
Flexible Credits System: Introduced outpatient credits usable for TCM, telemedicine, and other preferred services Family-Focused Options: Added children’s coverage as optional top-up benefits Digital Integration: Implemented digital wallet and streamlined claims portal through Clema+
Measurable Results
The data-driven approach delivered significant improvements:
- Claims utilization increased from 40% to 83%
- Employee satisfaction scores improved by 35% in subsequent engagement surveys
- Administrative efficiency increased through digital claims processing
- Overall benefits ROI improved substantially
The Evolution of Flexible Benefits Programs
Modern flexible benefits programs require continuous optimization rather than set-and-forget management. They must adapt to changing workforce demographics, business strategies, and external factors like remote work trends, inflation, and evolving digital expectations.
Clema+ addresses this need through ongoing data monitoring dashboards that provide real-time insights into program performance. This approach enables HR teams to identify trends, spot opportunities, and make proactive adjustments to maintain program relevance and effectiveness.
Beyond Cost Savings: Strategic Business Impact
Data-led benefits design delivers value across multiple business dimensions:
Enhanced Retention: When benefits packages align with employee needs, organizations see improved retention rates and reduced turnover costs.
Increased Engagement: Relevant benefits boost overall employee satisfaction and organizational loyalty.
Operational Efficiency: Eliminating unused benefits and optimizing popular ones improves cost-effectiveness and budget allocation.
Strategic HR Leadership: HR teams transition from administrative functions to strategic business partners who drive measurable employee wellbeing outcomes.
Competitive Advantage: Data-driven benefits packages help organizations attract top talent in competitive markets.
Ready to See the Data Behind Your Benefits?
If you’re wondering whether your current benefits are really serving your people—or your bottom line—Cléma+ offers a quick diagnostic audit using anonymised data you likely already have.
Let’s turn that data into insight. And that insight into action.
Transform Your Benefits Strategy Today
Your workforce data contains valuable insights about employee preferences, healthcare needs, and benefits optimization opportunities. The question is whether your organization is leveraging this information to create competitive advantages through strategic benefits design.
Cléma+ specializes in transforming benefits programs from compliance requirements into strategic business tools that drive engagement, retention, and ROI.
By Margaret Ferté, Chief Executive Officer, Cléma Risk Solutions
SOURCE: Cléma Risk Solutions
