The Business Case for Smarter Benefits Design

In this Human Capital Insight episode, Chris Simmons, head of health UK for Aon, is joined by Anthony Kemp, pensions and benefits director at Deloitte, to explore how organizations can rethink employee benefits and strike a better balance between cost containment and employee value. Drawing on Deloitte’s experience redesigning its own benefits approach, the conversation looks at personalization, communication and the role technology plays in creating a clearer, more engaging employee experience — while still delivering measurable return on investment.

Key Takeaways:

1. As talent expectations evolve, benefits are a core component of attraction, retention and engagement — particularly in professional services organizations.
2. Employees are more likely to recognize and engage with benefits when they are tailored to individual needs and presented through a single, intuitive experience.
3. Smarter design supports both employee wellbeing and cost control: by focusing on preventative health, strategic sourcing and continuous review, organizations can deliver meaningful benefits while managing long-term costs.

Experts in this episode:

• Chris Simmons, Head of Health, UK, Aon
• Anthony Kemp, Pensions and Benefits Director, Deloitte

Key Moments:

(02:20) Anthony Kemp explains the challenge Deloitte faced when employees didn’t fully understand or value the benefits already available to them — and what triggered the need for change.

(4:45) Personalization and flexibility replaced a one-size-fits-all model, allowing employees to choose benefits aligned to their life stages and individual needs.

(6:45) Communication stands out as the biggest lesson learned, with even the strongest benefits falling short if employees don’t fully understand or engage with them.

Soundbites:

Anthony Kemp:

“Employees today are looking for more than just a competitive salary. They want holistic wellbeing support, flexibility and a sense of belonging.”

Chris Simmons:

“Looking at our employee sentiment study results, 72 percent of employees say customization and personalization of benefits is important to them. But actually, only 41 percent of employees currently experience that level of personalization in their benefits.”