United Kingdom
NHS
8,200+
activation in the first month
employee savings
increase in Home & Electronics orders
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust supports communities across Dorset with a wide range of mental health and community services.
With 8,200+ employees across 300 sites, plus remote and shift-based workers, delivering a consistent employee experience is a priority.
For Kerry Pocock, Workforce Wellbeing Lead, the focus is clear. Make sure every employee feels supported and valued, wherever they work.
Before Perkbox, Dorset Healthcare used Vivup for benefits alongside a separate Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider.
This meant employees had to navigate multiple systems and often missed what was available. With benefits and wellbeing managed across different teams, bringing everything together in one place has helped the Trust align their communications and reach more employees more effectively.
"Things were available to them before… but they often didn’t know about it.”
With rising cost of living pressures and a continued focus on stress and burnout, the team needed a more visible, accessible way to support their people.
They made a clear decision. Move both benefits and EAP to Perkbox at the same time, bringing everything into one place.
“It was the right decision… that we now have one name, and once place that we promote. Our people are getting to know what it is and that they can rely on it.”
With Perkbox, employees now have access to Perks for everyday savings, Wellbeing support with resources and content, an Employee Assistance Programme, and benefits including Home and Electronics and Car Scheme.
All in a single, easy to use app.
“Having everything in one place… it just makes it simple.”
With a fast turnaround, the Trust launched both a new benefits platform and a new EAP provider at the same time across a large, dispersed workforce.
Despite the tight timelines, the launch ran smoothly with strong support from the Perkbox team throughout.
"We’re very grateful that you pulled out all the stops for us and made it possible to do that in such a short space of time.”
From implementation through to go-live, the team felt supported at every stage.
"The communication has been great. We’ve had no real issues, and I feel it’s gone as well as it possibly could.”
Perkbox provided practical support to help bring the launch to life, including promotional materials, live sessions and ongoing guidance.
"You’ve been at the end of the line whenever we’ve needed anything… that’s been really helpful."
Internally, Dorset Healthcare took a multi-channel, people first approach to drive awareness. This included internal comms and weekly updates, posters and QR codes across sites, desktop banners, roadshows and face to face conversations, and encouraging our staff networks to share about the new provider, including our community of over 400 Health and Wellbeing Champions.
"We went for a multi-faceted approach… using our comms, our Health and Wellbeing Champion network, and getting out to sites to speak to people."
Bringing everything together under one platform made communication simpler. One message, one place to go.
"When people start talking about it, sharing about what they have used it for that’s when it really comes to life."
The move from Vivup, combined with bringing EAP and benefits together, led to immediate improvements.
Employees are now actively using the platform to save money, access support and discover new benefits, often through conversations with colleagues.
"It’s a very convenient… the app works really easily."
"Once you’ve done it once… it’s really simple"
By bringing EAP, benefits and wellbeing together, Dorset Healthcare can now support employees in a more connected way.
From everyday savings to critical moments of support, everything is in one place.
"Having that free confidential contact point… is a really important part"
In a healthcare setting, those small moments of support matter.
"The small things make a big difference… especially in the health service."
With nearly half of employees already signed up in the first month, the focus is now on continuing to build awareness and engagement.
"We’re nearly at 50 percent of our staff signed up now… but that’s still a lot of people who haven’t, and I don’t want them to miss out."
By bringing everything together in one place, Dorset Healthcare has moved from a fragmented setup to a clear, connected experience. One that helps more employees feel supported and valued.