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Inclusively Is Selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer

Originally published June 6, 2024

As employers prepare for 2026, a clear pattern is emerging across every major industry source this year. Employees often know what they need, but the systems around them make it difficult to get there. Benefits, tools, and policies exist. In many cases they are generous.

The problem is not the offering. The problem is the path.

Employees cannot find what they need, cannot navigate to it, and cannot access it when it matters.

This hidden friction is now a major driver of cost, medical claims, absenteeism, and turnover. Charlotte Dales, CEO and Co-Founder of Inclusively, summarized it perfectly:

“This is not a benefits problem. It is an access problem.”

Forrester’s 2024 employee experience analysis reinforces this theme:

“A great employee experience is characterized by seamless access to essential tools and resources.”
 — Forrester, June 2024

And when access breaks, ROI breaks with it.

The Real Story of 2026: Programs Are Not Underperforming. Access Is.

Insights from Aon, Mercer, WTW, Gartner, Forrester, and Inclusively’s Q4 signal data all point to the same conclusion.
Employees believe support exists, but they cannot reliably find or use it.

These themes highlight rising confusion, fragmented experiences across systems, delayed access that leads to higher costs, managers who cannot guide employees clearly, and low utilization of high-value programs such as mental health, family support, and accommodations.

Our Q4 signal data shows the same pattern. Respondents are not struggling because support is missing, they are struggling because the pathway to support is unclear.

This sets up the three areas employers must focus on in 2026:

  1. Improve ROI on Underutilized Programs
  2. Contain a Rapidly Rising Cost Trend
  3. Make Support Reachable Early and Easily

1. Improve ROI on Underutilized Programs

Most employers already offer strong programs that should deliver value. The challenge is not the content of these programs. The challenge is that employees do not know where to go, what to click, or whom to ask.

Employees try one system, the resource lives in another, and the experience varies depending on the route they choose.

Industry data confirms that underutilization is often caused by lack of awareness or confusing access pathways — not lack of need.

The ROI already exists, it is simply not being unlocked.

2. Rising Costs Are Getting Worse When Employees Can’t Access Support

Industry data shows a straightforward pattern: when it’s hard for employees to get the support they need, costs go up across the board.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

  • Medical claims increase when employees delay care because the path to support is unclear.
  • Claims become more severe when people can’t easily find mental health, chronic condition, or family-care resources early.
  • Absenteeism rises when employees lose hours or days trying to solve basic issues.
  • Burnout gets worse when system friction stacks on top of workload pressure.
  • Retention risk grows when support feels inconsistent or hard to trust.
The simple takeaway:
Helping employees reach support early and easily is one of the fastest ways to slow rising costs. When access improves, many of these cost drivers start to ease on their own.

3. Have the Data to Prove Investment Strategy

Finance leaders need more than participation rates or vendor dashboards.
 They need evidence that programs contribute to lower claims, stronger productivity, and better retention.

This year’s research reinforces that real-time search signals, behavioral patterns, and workflow friction data are now essential measures.
 Without visibility into what employees are actually trying to find, investment strategy becomes guesswork.

Data-driven access insights are becoming the new requirement for proving value.

What the Best-Run Employers Are Doing Right Now

Organizations with strong results share three practices.

1. They capture employee needs in real time

Search signals across Teams, ServiceNow, intranets, and HR systems show what employees were trying to find today, not last quarter.

2. They map those signals to the full support ecosystem

They bring together benefits, policies, IT tools, accommodations, and wellbeing programs into one consistent experience.

3. They close access gaps before they become costly

They fix unclear steps, slow processes, inconsistent manager guidance, and underused programs.

They turn what already exists into something employees can actually reach.

How Retain Helps Employers Turn Insight Into Impact

Retain supports a continuous cycle that employers will need in 2026.

  • Capture anonymous employee needs
  • Map those needs to existing supports
  • Reveal friction and underused programs
  • Strengthen manager enablement
  • Provide real-time visibility into access gaps
  • Align investments to what employees actually use and need

Impact:
Lower claims
Higher productivity
Reduced burnout
Improved retention
Measurable ROI on programs that were previously underutilized

Turn Insight into Action

Employees are not asking for more benefits. They are asking for easier access to the ones they already have. Benefits leaders need real time search signal data paired with a complete map of every benefit, tool, and resource they offer so they can finally see what is working and what is being overlooked.

Retain helps employers and brokers uncover access friction, unlock ROI, and give employees a clearer and more consistent path to support.

Book a fifteen-minute walkthrough:
https://www.inclusively.com/request-demo/

Watch a quick demo:

https://www.loom.com/share/4148ed27dae34801b1289c75515bba71

Source Notes