Three-quarters, or 75%, of companies, do not tailor employee benefits to different staff demographics, despite 61% acknowledging requests for demographic-specific wellbeing support, according to Towergate Health & Protection.
This oversight carries the risk of undervaluing and underutilising advantages by making them irrelevant. Employers express a willingness to target benefits based on demographics, but almost half or 48 % find it too difficult.
According to the report, just 25% of companies tailor benefits according to risk factors, lifestyle, and age. Towergate Health says that providing health and wellness assistance based on risk factors, via medical evaluations or surveys, can improve the usefulness and relevance of the benefits.
Towergate Health & Protection head of wellbeing Debra Clark says: “While everyone is different, there are definite patterns surrounding demographic profiles, which can help employers to offer the right benefits at the right time. Age and gender demographics are a starting point. There is then a sliding scale of more in-depth analysis of the likely requirements of each individual.
“The more targeted health and wellbeing support is, the more it will benefit the individual and, therefore, the company with a greater return on investment. Making support more specific to the individual makes employee benefits more highly valued, utilised and cost-effective, as the money is spent where it will have the most impact.”
