"Offering support without measuring its success makes it difficult for businesses to learn, improve and stay ahead of the market. "
- Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD
Of those surveyed (500), over three quarters (76%) said they now measure employee health & wellbeing – this is 25% higher than in 2023. Group Risk Development (GRiD) believes this demonstrates that employers are recognising the importance of ensuring both their staff and business are profiting from health & wellbeing support.
GRiD emphasised that measuring this impact is an extremely effective method for adjusting which benefits are available, to improve outcomes. Without measuring the impact, it’s difficult to establish improvements (or deterioration) in employees’ health & wellbeing.
Notably, almost all (99%) employers who’d measured the impact of health & wellbeing benefits for their workforce said it had positively impacted their business. 43% said it’d influenced a positive return on investment/financial impact, while a further 43% said it had increased productivity.
42% believe that health & wellbeing support encourages loyalty and engagement amongst employees. This aligns with the latest research commissioned by MetLife, which found that 40% of employees in the UK would opt for lower salary employment if generous employee benefits were offered. This could include Group Income Protection (GIP), Death in Service, or flexible working.
READ MORE: Competitive salaries are important but not as much as employee benefits
Additionally, 42% said health & wellbeing support is integral to their company ethos, 41% thought these services were a point of differentiation, and 39% disclosed that holistically supported health & wellbeing helps manage absence.
Despite this, 38% of employers continue to claim affordability challenges have stop them from investing in health & wellbeing support, with nearly a third (31%) saying they struggle with getting buy-in from the business that such support is necessary.
“Businesses that are not measuring the impact of supporting the health and wellbeing of their staff are now in the minority and that could mean they may struggle to keep up with their competitors,” explained Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD.
She believes that these services contribute to “real and tangible difference to the physical, mental, and financial wellbeing of employees,” and that offering support without measuring its success makes it difficult for businesses to learn, improve and stay ahead of the market.
Responding to GRiD's findings, Jane Hulme, HR Director at Unum UK, said “If you aren’t actively measuring your workforce’s wellbeing then you may be missing out on valuable insights that help you manage health and wellbeing more effectively.” She believes this could mean that not only do your people miss out on the benefits of a workplace wellbeing strategy, “they might also feel the impact of this at home.”
Highlighting that more than half of working adults think that their job affects their wellbeing outside of work, according to WPI Economics research commissioned by Unum UK, Jane said “Monitoring key measurable data on absences and return to work rates alongside anonymised data collated from various platforms such as health and wellbeing apps and Employee Assistance Programmes puts your people at the heart of what you do.”
“It can also help prove return on investment and help employers align their benefits to wellbeing strategies to ensure employees get services and resources that they actually need — both now and in the future,” she added.
