One in five UK employers have no set objectives for the employee benefits they offer, making it difficult for them to measure impact on things like engagement and retention.
According to CIPD’s Reward Survey: Focus on Employee Benefits 2026, supported by Everywhen, most employers, 77 per cent, link benefits to at least one objective; these are most commonly aimed at retaining employees, 44 per cent, or supporting engagement, 37 per cent. Around one in five employers, however, provide benefits without a defined purpose, making it difficult to measure their impact.
But less than a third of employers with objectives link benefits to productivity or broader business performance. CIPD suggests that many might be missing an opportunity to use benefits strategically at a time when improving UK productivity remains a national priority.
According to the CIPD, benefits can play a significant role in supporting performance. Financial wellbeing initiatives can reduce the impact of money worries, which previous CIPD research shows can affect employees’ ability to perform, while health benefits help staff manage conditions and remain in work, lowering absenteeism and the associated costs for both employees and employers.
Many employers continue to offer a broad range of general perks, with flexible working, pay at or above the voluntary living wage, social events and free drinks and snacks among the most common.
The report suggests that employers set clear objectives for employee benefits and review them regularly which will also allow organisations to evaluate whether their investment delivers value for money.
The research also highlights weaknesses in how benefits are currently evaluated: around 15 per cent of employers with objectives do not review their benefits against them, while only a third of those who do reviews say their benefits fully meet their goals.
Additionally, flexible working stands out as the most effective benefit for meeting employer objectives, with 75 per cent of organisations offering personal and family benefits rating it highly but only 40 per cent of organisations provide it.
CIPD senior reward and benefits adviser Charles Cotton says: “Organisations invest significant time, money, and energy into employee benefits to boost performance, wellbeing, and engagement. So, it’s worrying that one in five don’t actually know what they want their benefits to achieve. That means a sizeable chunk of spend risks lacking clear direction or measurable impact.
“What turns benefits from a cost into a genuine strategic asset is having clear objectives that are regularly reviewed. Employers should be acting on employee feedback, or using data such as turnover and team performance, and tracking progress against defined success measures. Without this discipline, employers are fumbling in the dark when it comes to knowing if their benefits are truly delivering for both the business and its people.”
Everywhen CEO – health & benefits Iain Laws says: “Employee benefits are no longer peripheral to the employment deal – they are a central lever for shaping culture, strengthening resilience and enabling people to thrive in an environment where expectations are evolving rapidly.
“Organisations with a coherent wellbeing strategy consistently deliver more meaningful benefits, and that adds real value to both their employees and their company. A workforce that is well looked after is likely to be more engaged and more productive.
“At Everywhen, we see daily how a thoughtful, human‑centred and data‑driven benefits approach can transform organisational outcomes and individual lives.”