Custom Platform Redesign Opens New Markets and Multiplies Revenue at Exit for EAP Provider
FAST FACTS
Industry:
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Work-Life Benefits
Specialty:
Behavioral health services, family care, and employer-sponsored well-being benefits
Solution:
Digital product development and platform modernization
Users:
HR leaders, employees, benefit consultants, and service delivery teams
ABOUT THE PROJECT
An established EAP and family benefits provider had built its success on highly tailored support programs for employees—but its legacy platform was holding it back. The business relied on phone-based intake and paper-driven processes. Competitors were moving to mobile-first delivery. Enterprise buyers wanted dashboards, APIs, and self-service capabilities.
PROJECT IDEA
- Transform a legacy EAP platform into a modern, modular experience while retaining personalized care delivery
- Digitize intake, benefit management, and HR-facing dashboards to meet enterprise buyer expectations
- Open new market segments by creating a web-native, API-enabled product offering
PROJECT CHALLENGES
- Outdated Delivery Model: Most services were initiated via phone, with no digital intake, history tracking, or user portal.
- Low Engagement: Utilization was below industry benchmarks—employees didn’t understand or trust the analog process.
- Enterprise Buyer Demands: HR leaders needed usage data, integration capabilities, and modern security compliance.
- Custom Plans, No System Support: The company’s selling point—plan personalization—was handled manually, limiting scale.
RESULTS
- Developed a full-featured SmartSaaS platform tailored to EAP delivery and HR management.
- Opened access to new online buyer segments with self-service employer onboarding.
- Increased employee utilization across existing clients due to improved UX and accessibility.
- Contributed to a successful company exit at a significantly higher revenue multiple.
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
This company had something unique: EAP and wellness benefits that felt personal, not transactional. They curated service bundles per employer and had high satisfaction when employees actually used them. But that was the problem—usage was low.
Everything ran through phone banks. Appointments were booked by call center staff. Benefit explanations came by mail. In an era of mental health apps, real-time messaging, and remote therapy, the client’s analog workflow made them invisible—even to their own users. Enterprise HR buyers liked the model. But they needed a tech-forward partner. Without a digital transformation, the client risked becoming obsolete.
WHY BENEFITS PROVIDERS TRUST COGNATIV?
Cognativ helps wellness and employee benefit companies modernize their delivery stack—without losing what makes them unique. We build secure, scalable platforms that reflect each organization’s care philosophy, delivery structure, and compliance requirements. Whether you’re digitizing mental health access or rolling out benefit customization at scale, our SmartSaaS and RAPID frameworks get you there faster—with clarity and confidence.
OUTDATED DELIVERY MODEL
All benefits were accessed via call center—creating barriers to use and perception of friction.
LOW ENGAGEMENT
Employees were unaware of what was offered or confused by access processes—leading to low uptake.
ENTERPRISE BUYER DEMANDS
Clients wanted digital usage dashboards, APIs for eligibility management, and SOC 2-aligned architecture.
CUSTOM PLANS, NO SYSTEM SUPPORT
The client could personalize per employer—but tracked plan configurations in spreadsheets.
NO DIGITAL FRONT DOOR
The brand had no mobile presence, no intake app, and no ability to meet users where they were.
ACQUISITION BARRIER
Private equity buyers had flagged tech limitations as a valuation issue and growth risk.
THE SOLUTION
Cognativ deployed its RAPID methodology to rebuild the company’s offering—from product design to go-to-market positioning.
- Phase 1: Conducted stakeholder interviews across HR clients, internal delivery staff, and service users. Mapped legacy workflows, plan rules, and call center scripts. Identified patterns across employer tiers, services used, and UX pain points.
- Phase 2: Launched a secure SmartSaaS platform with HR benefit tools, mobile-friendly employee access, secure messaging, telehealth integration, and scalable plan administration without custom code.
- Architecture: The platform was built to preserve the human-first feel of the client’s service model while delivering modern access, reporting, and scalability. It included full audit trails, role-based access control, and HR dashboarding that mapped directly to common benefit consultant frameworks.
HOW RAPID WAS USED...
"“Digitizing an EAP isn’t just about building an app—it’s about preserving empathy while scaling service. RAPID gave us the discipline to focus on what mattered, and build without losing trust.” "
– Ali Davachi, Cognativ Founder
What is the RAPID Framework?
RAPID —Research, Analyze, Plan, Implement, Decide— is Cognativ’s proven method for executing high-impact transformations with speed and clarity. Used by providers in wellness, finance, and SaaS, RAPID brings strategic structure to complex change. Read more in RAPID Transformation: An Outcomes-Based Approach to Drive Results.
RESULTS OBTAINED
Cognativ was brought in to redesign the platform from the ground up—modernizing both the product and its go-to-market capabilities. Using the RAPID framework, Cognativ rebuilt the offering as a digital-first, scalable SmartSaaS solution. The platform preserved the client’s core strength—customizable plans and human support—while unlocking digital accessibility, better reporting, and new online market entry. The result: wider reach, increased revenue, and a strategic acquisition at a strong multiple.
Product Redesign
The new platform became the face of the business—replacing analog confusion with clarity and confidence.
Employee Engagement
Utilization jumped as employees could explore, book, and track benefits in real time—on their terms.
Market Access
The client could now serve smaller employers, digital brokerages, and regional providers via self-serve onboarding.
Valuation at Exit
The transformation positioned the company for a strategic sale at a higher multiple than traditional EAP benchmarks.
IMMEDIATE BENEFITS
- Stronger Client Retention: HR teams saw better engagement and renewed contracts confidently.
- Faster Sales Cycles: Digital demos and integration options made new client onboarding smoother.
- Operational Efficiency: Manual intake and call center load decreased significantly.
- Brand Refresh: The new platform modernized public perception—making the offering competitive again.
ONGOING BENEFITS
- The new platform supports ongoing innovation—including AI-driven triage, content personalization, and SMS check-ins.
- Client HR teams now use built-in analytics to track engagement, allocate spend, and improve care outcomes.
- The product is now positioned as a digital-first wellness partner—not just a legacy EAP vendor.
- The platform serves as a blueprint for other productized care verticals, from substance use to family services.