ADVERTORIAL
Return on Wellbeing Investment
There’s no escaping the fact that employee absence impacts significantly on a business’s bottom line. Some organisations may factor these costs into their business projections. Others may just hope for lower absence rates. Forward thinking companies, however, look at root causes, address them and ultimately benefit from reduced absence
COUNTING THE COST In their most recent report on Sickness Absence in the Labour Market, the Office of National Statistics showed that in 2013: • 131 million days were lost due to sickness absence
• Nearly 1 million UK employees are on sick leave for a month or more each year
• Employers face a yearly bill of around £9bn for sick pay and associated costs
According to the CIPD, the overall cost to employers of sickness absence is £609 per employee per year, and there is no indication that this is reducing. While minor illnesses, such as coughs
and colds account for almost a third of all absences, a significant proportion relates to musculoskeletal conditions (typically back and neck problems) and mental health problems such as stress, depression and anxiety. Initiatives that address both the physical and emotional wellbeing of your employees will help you to managing employee absence rates.
STRATEGIC WELLBEING PLANNING With numerous health and wellbeing initiatives available, it’s easy for decision makers to implement a few with the hope that they will have the desired effect of reducing absence. However, developing a strategy with specific objectives and metrics related to their business and job functions will have a much greater effect. A Health and Wellbeing Strategy should be built around organisational objectives, company specific health and wellbeing issues, documented health and wellbeing goals, and the company’s statutory obligations. Measures of success can relate to
absence rates, employee engagement or increased productivity all of which affect profitability.
dofonline.co.uk
CHANGES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE Introducing a health and wellbeing strategy doesn’t need to involve radical changes or expensive solutions. Wellbeing initiatives can simply involve giving your employees access to services that help them to be proactive about their own health.
Some of the more common initiatives that companies put in place include: • Health checks and screening • Employee assistance programme • Occupational health • Health cash plan • Hospital treatment insurance • Cycle to work schemes • Access to healthy snacks • Private medical insurance
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR STRATEGY Having developed your strategy and launched your chosen initiatives, the key to success is maximising employee engagement. This is achieved through effective communication so your staff know what your strategy is, why it’s in
place and what the benefits are, both to them and to you, the employer. It helps to demonstrate buy-in from
the top of the business down, with the executive team and line managers making use of the products and services that have been introduced.
It is also worth sharing the results of the
success measurements, demonstrating how absence rates have reduced as a result. Employees perform better when they’re
healthy, motivated and focused. Smart and forward-thinking employers effectively communicate and listen to their staff, make decisions based on research and insight, have clear objectives of what they want to achieve and, importantly have support from the whole company.
westfieldhealth.com/dof 0800 456 1000
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
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