It has been an interesting year for the wellness industry with a firm shift in how workplace wellness programmes are delivered and designed.
New ways of working (i.e. remote working and flexible working arrangements) and a growing multigeneration workforce are creating new work-related stressors.
All of this has resulted in a focus on how employers can play their part in maintaining a healthy work environment for their employees and analysing the data to fully understand the effectiveness of a wellness programme.
The technology used to capture this data and deliver the wellness programme can promote engagement but only with a cultural change will businesses see real increased wellness levels.
With this in mind here are 3 ways wellness programmes can benefit your bottom line.
Attract skilled talent
A well-structured and engaging wellness programme can have a significant impact on an organisation's attraction strategy. A recent analysis we conducted confirmed that 65% of millennials highlighted the significance of a good wellness programme in influencing their choice of employer.
A LinkedIn survey found that 49% of respondents claim that the biggest challenge in their job search is understanding what working for an organisation is really like. A further study conducted by Cpl identified that the perception of an organisation has a strong influence on the recruitment of candidates.
Wellness programmes are fast becoming a key part of attracting skilled talent in the war of talent. Organisations need to take advantage of this and start utilising wellness as part of their employer value proposition.
Increase performance and engagement
A survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health further highlights that access to well-structured wellness programmes drives engagement markers such as:
Improved eNPS
Better relationships at work
Increased job performance
The connection between employee engagement and wellness is clear - a happy, healthy employee paves the way for an engaged employee.
To quote Geoff McDonald, former Global VP of HR Unilever - 'healthy employees are energetic employees and energy improves engagement and productivity resulting in improved client relationships so why wouldn't you invest in the health of your employees?'
McDonald identifies the most important driver of individual, team and organisation performance as the 'energy' of people; or the human capacity that individuals have to perform.
Ensure your wellness programmes looks after your people and gives them the 'energy' and motivation to perform to the best of their abilities, rather than diminishing the energy and motivation of your people.
Boost retention rates
There are many reasons a person will leave a company. A Cpl study revealed that company benefits such as health insurance, holiday entitlement and flexible working can all influence a person leaving a company.
Research also reveals that elements that increase retention rates are things like feeling valued by their organisation, career advancement, good leadership and job security.
In contrast, employees believed that lack of career advancement and job insecurity have an impact on their health and well-being. This further supports the rationale for ensuring wellness is part of your retention strategy.
Because of this, the focus of workplace wellness is moving beyond a tick box exercise and managing healthcare costs to truly making employees happier & healthier at work.
Once off implementation of employee engagement and wellness interventions are close to useless. When attempting to shift organisation culture, it is the monitoring of employee engagement and wellness measures, combined with ensuring intervention adoption rates are high and effective, are what will get you the results your business needs.
If you're interested in learning more about how wellness can help you improve your businesses bottom line check out The Cpl Future of Work Institute's latest whitepaper 'Workplace Wellness - Time to Get Strategic'
In this whitepaper, you'll find our analysis of emerging wellness trends and evidence-based workplace wellness research that will help organisations:
Identify the drivers that are shaping workplace wellness programmes
Explore how employers can benefit from these changes to attract, engage and retain quality talent
Provide proof as to why companies need to make wellness a strategic priority