Towergate Employee Benefits released a report today that revealed the majority of employers (55%) are passive in their approach to encouraging employees to use the health and wellness support they provide.
Research also shows that 36% of employers direct employees only to support if they ask for it. This is because the research assumes that the employees are aware that support is readily available and feel confident to contact them. Although 32% of employers claim to promote support via the intranet, more needs to be done to make sure employees know how to find it.
Debra C. Clark, Towergate Employee Benefits’ head of wellbeing, said: Our research has shown that employers often take a passive attitude to encourage the use of benefits. We encourage employers to work proactively to ensure that support is always top of mind and to make sure employees are aware of where they can get help when needed. “If you don’t, the money spent on benefits will be wasted.”
Engage
The better it is for employees to be involved and engaged in the health and wellness support, the more they will benefit. It’s great to see 34% of companies employ health and wellness champions who promote the available support. It is possible that more employees and companies could benefit from this route.
Track and promote
Although 40% of employers think that they make it easy for their employees to get support through apps or digital platforms, it’s still important to promote these options and track engagement. It is important to use a variety of media to reach as many employees as possible.
Get the most out of your expertise
30 percent of companies organize wellbeing events in person. This is a fantastic way to encourage people to seek support and promote the available benefits. 26 percent of companies hire advisers to help run these events. They take advantage of their additional expertise and knowledge. The 34% of businesses that use advisers to provide written material for online and email communication also capture this capability. Advisors can encourage the use of support by offering wellness calendars, online and offline help and even access to assistance.
Debra clark concludes: “The effectiveness of health-and-wellbeing support is often measured by how much is used. But it is possible for amazing benefits to be underutilized when access is difficult or not promoted. We encourage employers to encourage the use of benefits to maximize their value.
The original HR news article Most employers could do more in order to encourage the use of health and wellness benefits appeared.
