There’s a new way to measure HR success, and it’s not just about how many employees enroll in benefits during annual enrollment. Modern HR professionals are shifting their focus to benefits engagement: how often employees interact with and use their benefits throughout the year.
Why? Because annual enrollment numbers don’t tell the full story. For example, a dispersed workforce might not have easy access to HR for questions. Or younger employees might prefer text messages over emails. To truly engage employees, it’s about meeting them where they are and providing personalized, accessible support.
According to the 2025 Benefits Insights Report, personalization is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it’s expected. In fact, 89% of employees want personalized messaging. And when benefits feel personal and easy to access, engagement skyrockets.
On average, 36% of employees log in 4 or more times to view their benefits after annual enrollment. But when key tech and support is in place, engagement rises even higher:
And in benefits, every percentage point matters in gaining traction toward your benefits! Whether it’s our smartwatch, our TV show recommendations or our online shopping cart suggestions, we’re more likely to engage with something if it’s personalized.
Take one of Businessolver’s clients, Athletico. By increasing the level of personalization in their decision support model and in-platform benefits reminders, they were able to increase engagement and employee confidence in their benefits, plus they saw:
Activation Paths is our in-platform personalization solution that maximizes employee awareness and engagement with well-being programs and point solutions through an omni-channel approach (email, text, in-platform messages, etc.). This means that we can target your employees’ specific needs and amplify programs within your benefit ecosystem, such as:
What’s amazing is that we can even tie in claims data to promote benefits tied to specific conditions or preventative care opportunities. For example, employees with hypertension can receive targeted communications about hypertension programs. This personalized, timely outreach drives real engagement and activation. Not only that, but they drive empathy for your employees, showing them you want to support them with benefits for their unique needs.
Some of the most popular benefits that employees engaged with following a member viewing the communication (impression-to-activation rate) include:
By tailoring benefits to your employee’s needs, employers can steer employees toward cost-effective options, like in-network providers or preventative care programs, reducing overall healthcare spend.
As another example, employees are 119% more likely to enroll in an HDHP and 129% more likely to also elect an HSA when they have access to personalized benefits. For a 11,000 life group, having that kind of movement to a more cost-effective, yet personalized health plan can save the organization over $3 million in premium spend alone.
And that doesn’t even include the savings from the effects of employee satisfaction. 79% of employees feel confident in their benefit decisions, and 84% are satisfied with their 2025 enrollment experience. When employees are confident in their benefits—and feel supported by their employer—it has cascading effects on loyalty, efficiency, and retention.
We’ve seen the power and impact of increasing personalization in your organization’s benefit strategies. But how do you measure personalization? Impressions, activations, and employee satisfaction are the key performance indicators of personalization in your benefits program—and a great reflection of its overall success.
We’ve outlined 5 KPIs below on how to measure these three key areas:
With the right blend of technology, personalization, and empathy, you can help drive more engagement across your entire benefits program, from electing the right coverage to activating the right support resources in the moments that matter most.
Worried you don’t have the technology to help track engagement KPIs or the capabilities to help increase it? Check out our guide on creating a business case for a more personalized benefits experience here.
