Employers spend heavily on benefits programs, but the value of that investment depends on whether employees understand what is available, when to use it and how to take the right next step.
That makes benefits ROI harder to measure than comparing dollars spent to dollars saved. Costs are influenced by many factors, and progress may show up through more appropriate utilization, better decision-making or earlier access to care.
Here’s how employers can define the behaviors that matter, choose useful metrics and use the data to decide what to communicate next.
What ROI Means in Employee Benefits
In employee benefits, ROI is a way to evaluate the value an employer gets from the programs it funds. That return can show up as better employee decisions, earlier access to care, or workforce outcomes such as retention.
A practical way to think about benefits ROI is to ask: Are employees using the right benefits, at the right time, in the right way?
Low utilization may mean employees don’t know the program exists, don’t understand when to use a benefit or aren’t sure how to take the next step.
When more value can mean higher short-term costs
If more employees use a program, the employer may spend more in the short term. More activity may mean employees are getting support earlier, before an issue becomes more complicated.
“The more you drive them to the service, the more your costs can go up,” said Melissa Cotterill, executive vice president at Westcomm. “But at the same time, doing nothing and having people untreated can be serious.”
For example, an increase in EAP utilization after a mental health campaign may look like a cost increase on the program report. But in context, it may also indicate that more employees know where to go before stress, caregiving challenges or behavioral health concerns escalate into absenteeism, disability claims or more acute care needs.
The same idea applies to preventive care, virtual care and care navigation — areas where benefit communications can improve the value of healthcare spend. More use of those benefits may increase activity in one area, but it can also help employees get care earlier, choose lower-cost settings or avoid more complex issues later. That is why ROI should be evaluated in context, not only as an immediate cost reduction.
Look Beyond Engagement Metrics
Engagement metrics can show whether employees saw or interacted with a message, but they’re only one layer of measurement.
“We want to look beyond vanity metrics like opens and clicks,” said Guy Westermeyer, president of Westcomm. “What behavior can we change? What can we actually impact?”
For instance, if an employer promotes virtual care, email clicks can show whether employees engaged with the message. But the more important question is whether employees took the intended action. That may mean looking at employee-reported understanding of when to use virtual care, changes in virtual care utilization, or urgent care and ER patterns for minor issues.
Choose Metrics Based on the Behavior You Want to Change
Before employers can measure ROI, they should define the specific employee behavior they want to influence.
For one employer, the goal was to increase participation in routine preventive care. That meant the communication needed to explain which services were covered, why it mattered, and how to schedule care — the kind of effective employee benefits communication people can act on.
That goal also shaped the measurement strategy. Instead of only tracking email opens or benefits page visits, the employer could track whether participation changed in annual physicals, dental exams, vision exams, or recommended screenings.
The same approach can apply across different goals:
- Define the behavior you want to influence.
- Identify what employees need to understand or do.
- Choose the metric that can show whether the behavior changed.
| Behavior to influence | What communication should help employees understand | How employers can track it |
| Increase preventive care participation | What preventive care is covered, why it matters and how to schedule care | Annual physicals, dental exams, vision exams, biometric screenings, recommended screenings |
| Reduce unnecessary ER visits | When to use the ER, urgent care, virtual care, a nurse line or primary care | ER claims for non-emergency conditions, urgent care utilization, virtual care utilization |
| Reduce out-of-network care | How to find and verify in-network providers before receiving care | In-network vs. out-of-network claims, provider search tool usage, network-related questions |
| Improve HSA participation | How an HSA works, how contributions help and what expenses it can cover | HSA enrollment, employee contribution rates, use of HSA education or decision-support tools |
| Help employees choose a better-fit plan | How to compare premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket costs and expected care needs | Plan enrollment shifts, plan comparison tool usage, open enrollment survey feedback |
Use Comparisons to Evaluate Progress
A metric needs context. Without a comparison point, it is hard to tell whether a number reflects progress, fluctuation or a larger trend.
Employers can compare data in a few practical ways:
- Before and after: Compare the same metric before and after a campaign or education effort.
- Pilot programs: Test a communication approach with one location, audience segment or benefit topic before expanding it more broadly.
- Benchmarking: Compare year over year, across locations or against vendor or industry benchmarks where available.
Those comparisons do not prove communication caused every change. But they can show directional movement, identify where employees may need more support and help benefits leaders decide what to adjust next.
Use Data to Decide What to Communicate Next
Measurement is most useful when it helps employers see what employees did — and what they may still need to understand.
If an employer wants to improve HSA participation, the team might compare enrollment, contribution behavior and decision-support tool use before and after an education campaign. If enrollment increases but contribution rates stay flat, the next communication effort may need to focus more on helping employees understand how much to contribute, what expenses are eligible or how the account can support longer-term savings.
That is where measurement becomes useful in evaluating ROI: It helps employers move from reporting what happened to deciding how communication should adjust to what employees need next.
How Westcomm Helps Employers Connect Communication to Value
Employers need to know what behavior they want to influence, what employees need to understand and what data can show whether progress is happening.
Westcomm helps employers turn benefits goals into communication strategies that employees can act on. We use benefits goals, employee communication needs and benefits data to build clear, targeted communications that help employees understand what to do next.
That is how strategic benefit communications connect business goals to employee action — and help employers get more value from the benefits they already invest in.
If your organization is looking for a more strategic approach to benefit communications, schedule a call with Westcomm.
