Guide
How to improve employee benefits utilisation
· Last reviewed 23 October 2026
Improve employee benefits utilisation by finding out whether staff understand and can access the benefits they need. Low claims alone do not prove a plan is poor, and higher claims do not automatically show success. Review awareness, eligibility, practical access and administration before changing the benefits or encouraging more use.
What does utilisation actually mean?
Define the measure before interpreting it. Unique users divided by eligible members is a participation measure. Claim count is a transaction measure. Amount paid is a cost measure. Event attendance is different again. Use a consistent period and denominator, and record whether the information is complete.
For example, an illustrative ten clinic claims from two employees in a 20-person team means ten transactions and two known users. It does not mean half the workforce used the benefit. Do not use these fictional figures as a Singapore benchmark.
What could explain low use?
| Possible explanation | Question to ask | Possible response |
|---|---|---|
| Low need in the period | Was care needed, without asking employees to disclose diagnoses? | Avoid treating low claims as a failure |
| Low awareness | Can staff find their schedule and instructions? | Improve the communication pack |
| Access friction | Are panel locations and opening hours practical? | Review access with the provider |
| Administration friction | Are documents, referrals or submissions unclear? | Clarify the route and support |
| Benefit mismatch | Does employee feedback identify a relevant gap? | Price a targeted change at renewal |
How can the review protect privacy?
Prefer aggregate summaries and broad feedback about access. Avoid reporting a category or team so small that a colleague’s treatment becomes apparent. Route personal coverage concerns privately. The aim is to improve the programme, not to monitor an individual’s health behaviour.
PDPC’s employment guidance provides context for personal-data handling. The specific reporting and access arrangements still need review by the organisation’s responsible owner; a report being available in a portal does not mean it should be circulated widely.
How do engagement and wellbeing fit?
The tripartite mental-wellbeing advisory considers workplace support across organisational, team and individual levels. Use that broad approach when employees describe access or workload barriers; an event should not substitute for addressing the working conditions that make support difficult to use.
SourcesMOM, SNEF and NTUC
What small improvement could HR test?
Illustrative test: publish a clearer claims route and a current panel link, then ask an anonymous sample whether they can find the correct next step. Review repeated support questions over the following month. Keep the wording and measurement period consistent so the results can be interpreted.
Do not claim the change caused a health improvement or financial saving from a small before-and-after observation. Record other changes, such as new hires or a new insurer, that could explain the result. Use findings to decide the next practical improvement.
What should feed into renewal?
- Unresolved access barriers and who raised them in aggregate.
- Benefit questions that remain unclear after communication changes.
- Administrative friction that needs a service improvement.
- A clear distinction between measured use, employee feedback and assumptions.
- Any proposed benefit change with its cost and eligibility consequences.
Questions
Should HR encourage staff to claim more to get value?
Encourage appropriate access to the benefits employees need. Claim volume is not a target on its own and should not drive unnecessary care.
Can we publish a participation ranking by employee?
This guide recommends aggregate programme reporting rather than individual health or claims rankings. Use a privacy review for any identifiable reporting.
Sources for this page
- Tripartite advisory on mental health and well-being at workplaces
Source version: Issued 20 November 2023
Relevant section: Recommendations for organisations, teams and individual employees
Voluntary guidance, not a promise about an insurer benefit or an assertion that proposed legislation is already in force.
- Advisory Guidelines on the PDPA for Selected Topics
Source version: Revised May 2024
Relevant section: Chapter 6: Employment
PDF retrieved from PDPC. The web viewer may require a browser challenge. Refer to the employment chapter for applicable exceptions and notification; the operational checklists here are Bene guidance.