"It makes good business sense that employee benefits are targeted at the needs of the masses and not the few."
- Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD
Of those surveyed (500), only 49% said their organisation considers benefits that support their entire workforce; Group Risk Development (GRiD) would like to see this figure significantly increase.
Notably, the industry body recently revealed that almost a quarter (24%) of employers don’t measure the impact of supporting the health & wellbeing of their workforce. 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.
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 health & wellbeing support encourages loyalty and engagement amongst employees. This aligns with 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
At the time, Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD, said 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.
“If you aren’t actively measuring your workforce’s wellbeing then you may be missing out on valuable insights that help you manage health & wellbeing more effectively,” highlighted Jane Hulme, HR Director at Unum UK. 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.”
“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.
In response to today’s figures, Katharine explained that “employees are a company’s biggest asset, and all need to be supported. It makes good business sense that employee benefits are targeted at the needs of the masses and not the few.”
She said: “As an industry, we see the difference that support for physical, mental, and financial health makes; from early intervention and prevention, helping employees to continue to work, to supporting people if they’re unable to.”
“Of course, this benefits the individual, but it’s a great benefit to the business too,” Katharine concluded.
