Employee Wellbeing and Engagement:
Strategic Insight and Practical Solutions
Recently, we were delighted to host an employee wellbeing and engagement breakfast briefing in Jersey. The session was led by Natasha Lucock, Director, Gallagher Jersey; Richard Clarke, Group Head of Healthcare, Gallagher Channel Islands and Isle of Man; and Steve Flynn, Director, People Experience Consulting, Gallagher Benefits Services.
Drawing on Gallagher’s 2025–2026 Workforce Trends Report: People Strategy Benchmarks, the session explored the factors influencing the employee benefits landscape, the challenges facing employers and practical strategies for improving employee wellbeing and engagement.
The six key trends influencing the benefits landscape
Gallagher’s 2025–2026 Workforce Trends Report identified six key trends shaping how organisations approach employee benefits.
1. From ‘nice to have’ to business-critical EVP
Improving company culture (30.1%) and EVP alignment (19.4%) are the two top priorities organisations want their benefits strategies to support. Benefits must reinforce culture and demonstrate authentic care for diverse workforce needs.
2. The communication paradox
Despite two in three organisations having no pre-defined benefits communication budget, improving communication is the second most common planned change, highlighting a clear gap between ambition and investment.
3. Cost pressures drive strategic rethinking
Over half of organisations cite cost pressures as a top challenge, driven by rising employment costs, healthcare inflation, frozen tax thresholds and recent budget changes.
4. Flexibility as a foundation, not a feature
The number of organisations offering flexible benefits has risen to 69.7%, from 48.6% in 2024. However, 80.5% offer only limited salary sacrifice options, whilst 17.6% provide comprehensive platforms for purchasing additional benefits.
Salary sacrifice schemes can reduce costs for both employees and employers by leveraging tax advantages.
5. The multi-generational imperative
Appealing to a diverse workforce remains the second-highest challenge for nearly half of organisations. Different generations bring distinct expectations around equity, transparency and inclusive benefits.
6. Understanding market position
Almost a quarter of organisations, 24%, struggle to understand their market position, up from 19.1% in 2024. What constitutes competitive benefits varies significantly by sector, size and workforce composition.
Together, these trends show that benefits can no longer be treated as isolated HR transactions. They are increasingly central to culture, cost management, employee engagement and an organisation’s ability to attract and retain people.
They also help explain why employers continue to face significant challenges in balancing affordability with the needs and expectations of a diverse workforce.
To support this, many organisations are investing not only in their benefits offering, but also in the technology and communication tools that help employees better understand and engage with those benefits. Platforms such as Gallagher Guide are designed to bring benefits, communications and Total Reward information together in one place, helping employers improve engagement whilst gaining valuable insight into workforce preferences and benefit usage.
The top benefits-related challenges
The report also identified three leading benefits-related challenges:
- 68.9%: Managing the increasing cost of benefits within tight budgets.
- 49.7%: Appealing to a diverse workforce with different preferences.
- 37.5%: Designing employee communication that engages your people.
Although these challenges have remained consistent since 2019, priorities vary by sector, from diversity and communication to technology, market position and administration. The common need is to understand employees better and manage benefits efficiently, making benefits optimisation the next critical step.
Benefits optimisation
Future success depends on shifting from cost containment to value optimisation, maximising the return on every pound invested in benefits.
Preventative healthcare
Almost half, 49.1%, of organisations offer health screenings, including 70.3% for senior managers and 56.8% for line managers and professionals.
Salary sacrifice schemes
Tax-efficient benefits can deliver employee value whilst managing employer costs. Cycle-to-work schemes are offered by 29.9% of organisations and car schemes by 21.8%.
Alternative funding
Healthcare trusts are now used by 7.9% of organisations, offering an alternative funding approach with potentially reduced Insurance Premium Tax. Employees may also choose a higher excess for a lower premium, increasing choice whilst reducing employer costs.
Cost-effective flexibility
Wholly or partly employee-funded benefits allow greater choice and can reduce costs. Initiatives such as ‘workcations’ can also strengthen an employer’s offering without substantial expense.
Benefits technology
Benefits technology is playing an increasingly important role in helping employers maximise the value of their benefits investment. Platforms such as Gallagher Guide can streamline benefits management, improve employee engagement and provide insights into demographic usage, underutilised benefits and employee preferences.
Investing in communication
The greatest threat to a strong benefits offering is silence. Yet 62% of organisations have no pre-defined communication budget, 25% allocate less than £10,000 annually and 6% do not know whether they have one. Overall, nearly 90% have little to no budget, despite 60.6% planning to improve communication.
Communication should be relevant, targeted, informed by engagement data and available at key life moments. Face-to-face events were rated ‘very effective’ by 45% of organisations, followed by induction at 31% and virtual live events at 24%.
How benefits are evolving
Insurer products are evolving to reflect changing workforce needs. Developments include greater cover for chronic conditions, proactive health checks, treatment pathways and limited options for fertility treatment and gender dysphoria or transformation.
Mental health benefits are also expanding, with higher outpatient limits, Employee Assistance Programmes, virtual services and support for neurodiversity. At the same time, investment in AI, digital payments and personalised member journeys is making support easier to access.
Four priorities for employers
Overall, the session identified four clear priorities for organisations reviewing their benefits strategies:
- Understand your people
Analyse internally, compare externally and understand the real picture. - Define clear ROI metrics
Move beyond usage statistics to absence rates, productivity, retention and attraction measures. - Prioritise effectively
Focus on the top three initiatives annually and execute exceptionally well. - Invest in communication
Provide a dedicated budget, segment your approach and frame your message relevantly.
Gallagher expertise
Gallagher combines global scale with strong local expertise across insurance, employee benefits, risk consultancy and wider people risk. Our specialists work with organisations to understand their workforce, assess market position, optimise benefits spend and develop strategies that support engagement, wellbeing and long-term sustainability.
The Gallagher Guide complements this expertise by bringing benefits, communications and Total Reward information together in one place. The platform helps reduce administration, improve employee engagement and provide organisations with clearer data to inform their benefits strategy.
For more information, reach out to our Group Head of Healthcare: Richard Clarke richard_clarke@ajg.com