When employees don’t understand or are unaware of the benefits offered to them, productivity, engagement, and satisfaction plummets — but AI-powered solutions can be the answer.
Why aren’t employees using their benefits?
It’s a staggering statistic: 86% of employees say they’re confused about their benefits, according to Grokker Innovation Labs. Despite the growing investment companies make in comprehensive benefits packages, many employees don’t understand what’s available to them, let alone how to use it.
This disconnect comes at a cost. When benefits go unused, so does the potential for healthier, more engaged employees. Worse, confusion can breed frustration, leading to lower satisfaction and higher turnover.
In this blog, we’ll explore the hidden costs of underutilized benefits and how AI-powered solutions can bridge the gap between offerings and outcomes.
When employees don’t understand their benefits, they’re more likely to skip preventive care, not because they don’t need it, but because they’re unsure what’s covered or how to access it. This confusion can turn small, manageable health issues into serious conditions that require costly treatment and extended time off.
For example, an employee who avoids a routine check-up due to uncertainty may later need urgent care for a preventable illness. These delays increase claims costs and contribute to higher absenteeism and lower productivity.
Beyond increasing the cost of care, poor benefits comprehension drives up costs in other ways:
In short, benefits confusion doesn’t just affect usage. It undermines the entire intent of your investment.
For many HR teams, benefits support can quietly become a full-time job. Hours pile up explaining plan details, re-sending forms, and walking employees through the same processes again and again.
It’s an endless cycle:
The real cost is measurable in dollars. If an HR manager making $80,000 a year spends 25% of their time on basic benefits navigation, that’s $20,000 annually tied up in work that could be automated or self-served. Multiply that across a team, and the financial drain becomes obvious.
Plus, there’s the opportunity cost. Every hour spent re-explaining benefits and how to use them is an hour not spent on strategic priorities, like workforce planning, talent development, or culture initiatives.
Artificial intelligence is transforming the way employees engage with their benefits. With AI, we can create conversational benefits agents that make it easier for people to understand what’s available and how to use it. Instead of sifting through dense plan documents and calling 1-800 numbers, employees can get clear, personalized guidance.
Conversational benefits agents like GrokkyAi overcome the shortcomings of previous benefits navigation methods:
AI-powered tools like Grokky deliver measurable cost savings and help you prove the value of your benefits programs. With built-in tracking and analytics, AI can monitor engagement, measure outcomes, and deliver actionable insights that show what’s working and what’s not. This data-driven approach allows companies to continuously refine their offerings, improving both employee wellbeing and program ROI.
Early adopters have already seen a significant impact:
This data-driven approach means companies can continuously refine their benefits offerings, boosting employee wellbeing while driving program ROI. And HR teams can focus on making those strategic changes, since they’re spending less time on benefits inquiries.
When employees don’t understand their benefits, everyone loses. Low utilization leads to wasted investment, rising healthcare costs, and disengaged teams. HR teams burn time answering the same questions, while employees miss preventive care or make costly choices. The longer this confusion persists, the more expensive it becomes.
AI-powered navigation tools clarify complexity and deliver measurable results. From improved benefit utilization to reduced admin overhead and higher employee satisfaction, the ROI is clear. Investing in AI is investing in the long-term wellbeing of both your people and your business.
Would you like to see how much you can save with an AI-powered benefits agent? Our ROI calculator makes it easy to see how much time, money, and productivity you can save with a tool like Grokky.
Now is the time to assess how easy it is for employees to find, understand, and use the resources available to them. AI can help turn confusion into confident decision-making.