Comms Not Cutting It? Rethinking Benefits Communication in 2026

You can have a strong benefits package, but if employees don’t understand it, it won’t deliver value. With only 12% of UK employees saying they’re fully satisfied with their benefits and nearly a third willing to move jobs for a better package¹, crafting the right employee benefits package has never mattered more. That’s the challenge many employers are facing in 2026.

Our 2026 Employee Benefits Insights and Benchmarking Report² revealed that most organisations are still relying on traditional and static communication channels like email and employee handbooks to communicate their rewards to staff.

It asks the question: If employees don’t understand what’s available – or worse, forget it exists – is even the most generous benefits package failing to deliver value?

How Benefits Are Being Communicated In 2026

Our survey of 626 HR and finance professionals found email remains the most common method used to communicate benefits, with 57.2% of this year’s respondents opting for this channel.

This was followed by:

• Employee handbooks (37.5%)
• In-person 1-2-1 meetings (28.9%)
• Internal messaging (27.2%) such as Slack and Teams.

At face value, that may not seem problematic. But when set against wider workforce sentiment, the picture becomes more complicated. If benefits genuinely influence attraction and retention, then how they’re communicated matters just as much as what’s offered.

Employer Confidence Doesn’t Equal Understanding

One of the more striking contrasts in the report is the disparity between employer confidence and employee understanding. While 91.7% of employers believe their benefits are understood, separate employee research¹ shows only 36% feel they fully understand what they receive, and only 11% recall getting frequent communication around their benefits. This suggests that for many organisations, communication is happening, but not landing.

An annual enrolment email or a PDF attachment rarely changes behaviour. Workplace Pensions, Salary Exchange arrangements, Health Insurance options and flexible benefits all require explanation, context and repetition. Without reinforcement, valuable benefits can become background noise.

For HR and Finance teams already managing significant workloads (43.3% spend between 6–20 hours per week on benefits administration), communication can slip into being transactional rather than strategic.

Simply letting employees know about their benefits once isn’t enough. For employees to take action, they typically need to see a message three to five times. Without regular communication, your staff aren’t likely to engage with what’s on offer.

Nadeem Farid
Head of Health & Wellbeing Benefits

A Silent Benefit is a Wasted Benefit

When it comes to their employee benefits package, the report shows broadly positive perceptions of value for money, with 79.4% believing they receive good value for money. However, this confidence may not reflect utilisation levels.

When employees don’t fully understand their benefits, three things tend to happen:

• Engagement remains low
• Uptake of optional benefits stalls
• The perceived value of the overall package is reduced.

In practical terms, that means employers may be paying for benefits that are not influencing retention or productivity in the way they should.

Total Reward Statements are one example of how communication can shift perception. When employees see the monetary value of employer pension contributions, Life Insurance premiums and other provisions alongside salary, it reframes the employment package. More than a quarter of employers now use employee benefits platforms to generate these statements – an encouraging development.

Our employee benefits platform shows employees their rewards in a tangible format. They’re just a click away from their pension or being able to access medical care. It’s been revolutionary for our staff to take charge of their employee benefits themselves.

Kelly Games
HR Manager at Dryrobe

Frequency and Format Matter

Benefits communication should reflect the significance of your investment. With enhanced pensions ranking third among employees’ most-wanted benefits, and health cover growing in popularity (31.5% of employers now offer Private Health Insurance, up from 28.2% last year), relying on a single annual reminder feels insufficient.

Ongoing touchpoints linked to life events, pay reviews, or wellbeing campaigns tend to be more effective. Communication through multiple channels, including internal messaging platforms and 1-2-1 meetings (currently used by 28.9% of employers), can improve understanding and accessibility.

Technology also has a role. Centralised platforms reduce reliance on static documents and give employees access to up-to-date information when they need it. For employers juggling between three and seven providers (as 61.7% report doing), a consolidated communication hub can reduce confusion and administrative friction.

You could have the most generous benefits package in your industry, but if only a handful of your staff know about it, its perceived value plummets. Only 12% of employees are truly satisfied with their benefits package¹ – and communication is the common thread.

Danielle Bines
Employee Benefits Consultant

Your Benefits Deserve Strategic Communication

If employees don’t understand your benefits, they won’t value them, and your investment won’t deliver the return it should. Benefits communication should support your broader business and workforce objectives: retention, financial wellbeing, productivity and employer brand. That requires structure and measurement. Regular reviews (already undertaken by 80.2% of employers) provide an opportunity to assess not just what’s offered, but whether employees are engaging with it.

In our experience, the organisations seeing the greatest return on their benefits are those that treat communication as an ongoing programme rather than a compliance exercise. Investment alone does not guarantee impact. Visibility, clarity and repetition are equally important. If your team doesn’t see the value in their perks, the problem may not be what you’re offering, but how you’re telling the story.

Need Help?

Need help making your benefits impactful? We not only help UK businesses design competitive benefits packages, but also deliver them in ways employees understand and engage with. From benchmarking to ongoing communications support, we ensure your benefits are known, used, and appreciated. Call us on 02074425880, email help@drewberry.co.uk, or make an enquiry to talk through your options.

Other Top Stories From The Report

• Pension Governance: An Overlooked Risk for One in Five Employers
• The 40% of Employers Missing Out: Why Salary Exchange Deserves a Closer Look
• Ditch the Spreadsheet: Why Manual Benefits Admin Is a Risk You Don’t Need
• Employers Are Split on Benchmarking: Where Do You Fall?

Why Speak to Us?

Employee benefits can be a headache. But our specialists do this day-in, day-out, offering first class service when you need it most. Here’s why you should talk to us:

• Award-winning independent employee benefits consultants, working with leading UK insurers and benefit providers
• Assigned specialist on hand to help – every step of the way
• 4119 and growing independent client reviews rating us at 4.92 / 5
• Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Find us on the financial services register
• Claims support when you need it most.

Sources

• ¹2025 Employee Benefits and Workplace Satisfaction Survey: https://www.drewberryinsurance.co.uk/knowledge/research/employee-benefits-survey-2025
• ²2026 Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report: https://www.drewberryinsurance.co.uk/knowledge/2026-employee-benefits-benchmarking-report