"The perceived value of health and wellbeing support should not be taken for granted. "
- Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD
Although 45% of those surveyed (503) don’t measure the impact of supporting the health and wellbeing of their staff, of the 51% who do measure the impact, 42% said that supporting health and wellbeing holistically has helped them manage absence, mitigating the number and length of absences dramatically. This was followed by 39% saying it was integral to their company ethos to support employees, 36% recognising they were more likely to succeed financially as a business when their employees are fit, healthy and engaged in their work, and 30% saying that employee support has improved productivity.
Overall, of those employers who measure the impact of their employee health and wellbeing support, 98% agreed that it’s having a significantly positive impact on their business, but only when benefits are properly communicated so that those in control of budgets can understanding the importance of prioritising employee support.
However, 30% of employers have said affordability is the biggest barrier when providing employee support. GRiD believes this affordability barrier goes beyond price, but is about whether decision-makers in the business perceive the value and effectiveness of it, which is why it is so important to measure the impact.
Commenting on these findings, Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, has said:
“Unlike an investment in other business assets, evaluating the business benefits of health and wellbeing support can be more nuanced. That’s why it’s so important that HR teams have measurements in place that demonstrate the worth of their selected employee benefits to ensure they can retain and grow their budget for this type of support in the future.”
Moxham continued: “The perceived value of health and wellbeing support should not be taken for granted. It is down to HR teams and the wider business to not only provide health and wellbeing benefits for their staff, such as group risk – employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness - but to also measure and then demonstrate the inherent value within them.
“This doesn’t necessarily need to be undertaken by the business in isolation: advisers and providers can also help determine how to measure success in order to build the business case.”
