Bringing invisible benefits to life: A guide for HR leaders

Navigating the intricate world of benefits, rising healthcare costs, and ever-evolving employee expectations is no small feat. Benefits represent a significant portion of total compensation—30% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—yet employees often overlook their value. This leaves HR professionals stuck in reactive mode, justifying costs, driving utilization, and addressing ROI concerns. The question becomes: how can HR leaders make benefits feel real, relevant, and impactful for their employees?

The challenge: Invisible benefits and rising costs

Employees typically see salary as the core of their compensation, while the value of benefits remains hidden. While paychecks clearly reflect deductions for health insurance or 401(k) contributions, they don’t show the employer’s investment in these offerings. This gap in visibility poses a major challenge for HR leaders who must:

  • Justifying costs to leadership: Rising healthcare costs and expanded benefit offerings require robust evidence to demonstrate ROI.

  • Driving utilization and engagement: Low employee awareness translates into underutilized programs and diminished appreciation for total rewards.

  • Balancing rising costs: Healthcare costs have increased and are projected to rise further, creating additional pressure to deliver meaningful benefits within budget.

Recent data underscores the urgency of addressing this challenge. According to the Business Group on Health’s 2025 Employer Health Care Strategy Survey, healthcare costs are expected to grow at their fastest rate in a decade, with a more than 50% increase in costs since 2017. Rising costs, combined with employees’ lack of awareness, create a perfect storm for HR leaders.

Beyond healthcare, employees are demanding more personalized and holistic benefits, such as mental health resources, career development opportunities, and equity initiatives. 

By investing in robust wellbeing programs, early detection screenings, and chronic condition management initiatives, organizations can take a proactive stance in managing healthcare expenses. These preventive measures not only contribute to the overall wellbeing of employees but also have the potential to significantly reduce long-term healthcare costs. By catching health problems early and providing targeted support, can minimize the need for expensive treatments and hospitalizations down the line.

The reality is clear: traditional approaches to benefits engagement are no longer sufficient.

The solution: Navigate’s Total Health approach

At Navigate, we believe it’s time to rethink how wellbeing programs are designed and delivered. Our Total Health approach addresses the root of the problem by focusing on an employee’s readiness to change. Instead of overwhelming employees with a menu of options, we personalize the experience, delivering the right resources at the right time to meet their specific needs and interests.

Understanding readiness to change

Our process starts with the Total Health Survey, which provides deep insights into each employee’s wellbeing journey. This isn’t just about collecting health metrics; it’s about understanding:

  • Where employees need improvement.

  • Where they are ready to make changes.

  • What areas they are interested in improving.

Armed with this data, we design programs that align with employees’ psychological and emotional readiness for behavior change across eight dimensions of wellbeing—from physical health to career purpose.

The impact of personalization

This tailored approach simplifies the decision-making process for employees and ensures that every benefit feels relevant. For example, if an employee is ready to address their stress, their program will focus on mindfulness resources rather than a broad array of unrelated benefits. This thoughtful, compassionate strategy not only increases engagement but also maximizes the ROI of your benefits investment

We take all of the information about their population and tell them which wellbeing pillars have been recommended to their employees and where they are ready to change. This then enables HR to meet their employees where they are right now to drive impact with benefits. 

Jenn Lowry, VP of Product and Strategy

Data-driven insights 

By leveraging real-time engagement data, HR leaders can gain a comprehensive understanding of how employees interact with their benefits. This invaluable information enables them to identify trends, pinpoint areas of low utilization, and uncover gaps in their offerings. With these insights at their fingertips, HR can make data-backed decisions to refine their benefits strategy and allocate resources more effectively.

The real-time data empowers HR to respond swiftly to changing employee needs. In a rapidly evolving workforce, what may have been relevant last year might not hold true today. By continuously monitoring engagement metrics, HR can detect shifts in employee preferences and adapt their programs accordingly. This agility ensures that benefits remain aligned with the unique needs of the organization's workforce, ultimately driving higher engagement and satisfaction.

Data-driven optimization also allows HR to demonstrate the tangible impact of their benefits investments. By correlating engagement data with key metrics such as employee retention, productivity, and overall wellbeing, HR can build a compelling case for the value of their initiatives. This evidence-based approach not only justifies the allocated resources but also positions HR as a strategic partner in driving organizational success.

We listen first. We start with our Total Health Survey, which is more than data collection – it's a way to really understand where each employee is on their wellbeing journey.

Brooke Ossenkop, VP of Marketing

Real results: Prisma Health’s success story

Prisma Health offers a compelling example of how embracing readiness for change can lead to impactful results. When their employees expressed a strong need for financial health support, Prisma responded by introducing a financial wellbeing benefit mid-year—delivering impressive outcomes.

This success underscores the importance of aligning with employees' needs. By prioritizing readiness for change, Prisma Health fostered lasting engagement while maximizing the value of their benefits investment.

Prisma Health wellbeing program results

178%

increase in health coaching utilization

12x

increase in participation for webinars and video series

58%

growth in telehealth services

71%

activation rate for nutritional services

Easing the burden on HR leaders

Navigate’s Total Health approach isn’t just about improving employee engagement—it’s about lightening the load for HR leaders. Here’s how we make a difference:

  • High-touch service model: Our client services team is the largest at Navigate, and we’ve intentionally structured it by industry verticals. For example, if you’re leading HR in a health system, your dedicated team will have deep expertise in your sector’s unique challenges and opportunities.
  • Data-driven insights: We provide real-time data about your employee population, showing which wellbeing pillars are most impactful and where employees are ready to change. This empowers HR leaders to design benefits strategies that drive measurable results.
  • Strategic partnership: We’re more than a vendor—we’re an ally. Our mission is to do good things, and we work tirelessly alongside HR leaders to bring their vision to life.

Let’s bring benefits to life

If you’re feeling the weight of invisible benefits, let Navigate help. Our Total Health approach transforms benefits from a hidden cost into a tangible, impactful resource that empowers your employees and strengthens your organization. Together, we can:

  • Increase engagement.

  • Improve outcomes.

  • Maximize the value of your benefits investment.

Ready to start the journey? Let’s have a conversation and bring your benefits to life.

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