Five ways to get your employee wellbeing strategy right

By David McCormack (pictured), CEO of employee benefits and outsourced payroll specialist, HIVE360

The workplace and working practices as a whole, have undergone 18-months of disruption, but as the new normal begins to stabilise, ensuring your people are happy in the workplace, feel supported and less likely to leave, is essential to ensure business continuity, productivity and sustainability.

With new research revealing that in fact nine out of 10 (89 per cent) workers in the UK are looking or thinking about looking for a new job in 2021, and over three-quarters (77 per cent) already actively searching, businesses must visibly demonstrate that they value their employees and care about supporting their wellbeing.

Indeed, prioritising staff wellbeing is central to retaining and attracting employees as businesses emerge from disruptions caused by the pandemic, as a new report from Gallagher confirms, and highlights the need for UK employers to enhance their benefits packages and improve internal communications.

Employee wellbeing is fast becoming a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘nice to have’ for employers and their talent attraction and retention strategies, as growing number of workers actively seek a more positive work/life balance and employer support to achieve it. It’s encouraging that the vast majority of businesses are acting on this, with 91 per cent of UK companies confirming they have employee wellbeing initiatives in place.

For these companies, there are many benefits of improving employee wellbeing support with a robust and competitive rewards programme boosting employee engagement, morale, productivity, job satisfaction and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line.

Top five benefits

Key benefits to include in your employee wellbeing strategy to boost retention and stand out as an employer in a crowded marketplace, are:

1. Mental and physical health support

For many, the stress of the last 18 months is beginning to take its toll, with presenteeism, ‘technostress’ and burnout on the rise, and many working longer hours. Employers have a duty of care to ensure their workers are healthy, and this has never been more important as we work towards fully emerging out of lockdown. Recent user data for our customisable engagement app Engage, which delivers dynamic employee benefits, recorded a 70 per cent increase in employee demand for GP support in lockdown three. Having 24/7 access to confidential physical and mental health support and advice, not just now, but on an ongoing basis, is key to fostering wellbeing and to counter the onset of stress and health issues.

2. Gym memberships and lifestyle discounts

With 70 per cent of adults in England wanting to become fitter and healthier, employee benefits that make this easy and affordable are topping the list of perks used by the country’s workforce. Employers can help encourage healthier lifestyles and facilitate a better work/life experience for their employees by offering gym memberships, retail and other lifestyle benefits.

3. Flexible working opportunities

Covid-19 opened the floodgates to a remote working revolution and, whilst many are ready to return to the office for much-needed social interaction, it has proved that workers can be just as productive at home as in the office. Businesses are therefore adapting, offering a hybrid way of working, and including flexible working opportunities in your benefits and rewards solutions will be relevant and innovative and even something existing and prospective employees may expect.

The Wellbeing Centre on HIVE360’s customisable mobile app, Engage

4.Workforce training and development

To put it simply, employee training is an integral part of any benefits strategy. It can open workers up to new experiences, make them feel valued, and increase overall productivity. Having in-house promotion systems within a benefits system is a good solution. The more extensive and accessible training opportunities are, the more likely they’ll be to improve the effectiveness of a company’s employee rewards programme.

5. Rewards and recognition

It’s easy to overlook, but employee recognition has a huge impact on staff wellbeing, job satisfaction and loyalty. Whether this be an e-card recognition system to say thank you to employees, or a monetary reward to show appreciation for a department’s good work, acknowledgement of employee accomplishments shows a company and its management team cares about and values its workers and their efforts.