Data has revealed a huge rise in employers measuring the impact of health and wellbeing services on their staff in just 12 months.
The findings come from Grid, the industry body for the group risk sector, which found that 76 percent of employers now measure this data, up from 51 percent a year earlier.
Grid said that this rise shows that an increasing number of employers recognise how important it is to ensure their employees, and in turn their business, both benefit from the health and wellbeing support they provide.
Measuring the impact enables employers to assess and adjust their offer to enhance and boost results, Grid said.
Almost all employers (99 percent) that measure this impact said supporting staff health and wellbeing has had a positive impact on their business.
For example, around two thirds of employers pointed to positive returns on investment, increased productivity, and greater staff loyalty and engagement. Employers also said these benefits are integral to their company ethos and that they help them deliver business objectives as well as being a point of difference that aids recruitment and retention.
Almost two-thirds, (39 percent) said that holistically supporting health and wellbeing has helped them to reduce the number and length of absences.
However, 38 percent highlighted the issue of affordability, saying that securing budgets for these types of benefits remained challenging in comparison to other business needs.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham said: “Businesses that are not measuring the impact of supporting the health and wellbeing of their staff are now in the minority and that could mean they may struggle to keep up with their competitors.
“Measuring this impact is of course about improving the health and wellbeing of each individual member of staff but there are real commercial differentiators too, and it’s great to see so many companies recognise this.”
