When it came to putting together a benefits package, it used to be enough to replicate what the competition offered. But, with attitudes to work changing, employers are realising the advantage they can gain by aligning their employee benefits with the organisation’s purpose.
“Employees’ relationships with their employers are changing, with this trend accelerating during the pandemic,” says Simon Cresswell, principal wellbeing consultant at Aon. “For a few years, we’ve seen younger employees seeking out organisations that share their values but this now spans across all demographics. Over the last few years, we’ve seen employers increasingly focus on how they communicate their purpose.”
Purpose priority
It makes sense too. By focusing on their purpose, employers can reach out to like-minded individuals, with benefits for both parties. For the employee, they get
to work for an organisation that shares their values, making their work more meaningful and fulfilling: for the employer, engaging with employees on this level drives motivation and productivity and supports objectives around talent attraction and retention.
There are also wider benefits for purpose-driven organisations. As an example, Simplyhealth is the first health insurance company to achieve B Corp certification, in recognition of its work around sustainability, the environment and social responsibility. “Being a B Corp demonstrates the values that are important to the business,” explains Annie Coleridge, product director for corporate business at Simplyhealth. “It’s also a key differentiator that has really resonated with our employees and customer base.”
Wellbeing matters
Aligning employee benefits with an organisation’s purpose can help to amplify the message. While just about every benefit can be aligned, for example offering ESG funds on the company pension or running an electric vehicle scheme through salary sacrifice, health and wellbeing benefits are an essential part of the proposition.
The importance of health has increased since the pandemic, with both employees and employers more aware of its value. On top of that, there is more of an expectation that employers will look after the health and wellbeing of their workforces.
“People are increasingly prioritising their own health and wellbeing and evaluating how a business’s offerings and beliefs match their own,” says Andy McClure, marketing and proposition director at Axa Health.
“An organisation’s health and wellbeing benefits are an extension of the wellbeing strategy organisations set, contributing to the culture and environment that helps people bring their best selves to work.”
Business benefits
Where an organisation can use its health and wellbeing benefits to demonstrate purpose, it can magnify the positives for both itself and its employees. Feeling part of an organisation that looks after its employees creates a sense of belonging that supports wellbeing.
In turn, this feeds through to improved customer service. “We know that to deliver great customer experience, we need to make sure our people are in great shape too,” says McClure. “An employee value proposition with wellbeing at its core can reinforce that an organisation genuinely cares for its people, resulting in positive experiences for both employees and customers.”
It can also increase wellbeing benefit take-up. As everything is linked to the organisation’s purpose, it’s easier for employees to see what they’re offered and why. This drives usage, with further benefits for employee health and engagement.
Implementing purpose
Adopting purpose requires a joined-up approach as, to be seen as genuine, it must be visible in everything the organisation does. Debra Clark, head of specialist consulting at Towergate Health
& Protection, recommends starting by defining purpose. “An organisation needs to consider what it wants to stand for and then apply this to everything it does, including its benefits,” she explains.
“If culture and the business’s overarching goals are not aligned to purpose, then it is never going to support the employee value proposition. They will see straight through it.”
She also recommends that organisations keep their purpose as broad as possible. “The world and its priorities are constantly changing,” she adds. “Having a broad purpose ensures the organisation can
adapt with it.”
It’s also essential to include employees when shifting to a purpose-based strategy. “Organisations need to find out which benefits employees do and don’t engage with but also why this is. A benefit may have low utilisation because it hasn’t been explained adequately to employees,” Cresswell explains. “The more data and insight you have the better.”
Wellbeing with purpose
Just about every health and wellbeing benefit will fit with a purpose statement, but with so many different options available, it’s worth making sure everything is aligned. Cresswell recommends looking at the benefits an organisation already has and mapping them against the employee population needs and the purpose agenda. “Are the benefits meaningful? Are there any gaps?” he says. “An organisation might offer medical insurance to look after its employee health but if it’s not being used by younger people then it might need to consider other options.”
Coleridge agrees. She says that where an organisation knows there are specific health needs across its employee population, it’s sensible to focus on these. “It might be musculoskeletal issues in a manual workforce, mental health and stress in an office or menopause among older female employees,” she explains. “Providing support for these issues will have a significant effect.”
As well as targeting needs, organisations that want to demonstrate support for employee health and wellbeing, should ensure a broad spread of products and services are available. This guarantees that, as employees go through different life stages and face new challenges, they can access appropriate care.
Constant communication
Aligning health and wellbeing benefits with purpose can help to make them more visible but it is also essential for organisations to have a robust – and regular – communications programme in place. “The range of health and wellbeing services has increased significantly over the last few years and it can be difficult for employees to know what they need,” says Christine Hubbard, commercial director at RedArc. “A service such as ours can help them navigate what’s available. Unless you’re a healthcare professional, you might not know what options are available, nor which is most appropriate.”
Although we’re not yet at a point where we can abandon more traditional methods of communication, technology can help
with this messaging. Cresswell says
that more and more employees want consumer grade technology, enabling them to access everything they want on their phone. While this can sound like a big jump from the days of sending out benefits literature by post or email, it delivers huge benefits as the experience can be much more personalised.
Measuring success
It’s also important to keep reviewing the strategy, speaking to employees, monitoring results and adapting where necessary. Purposes shift and new challenges emerge.
A good example of this is the cost of living crisis. Rather than a pay rise, employers have introduced benefits such as financial education and discount platforms to provide support during the financial squeeze.
When it comes to measuring success, organisations can use factors such as sickness absence, benefit take-up and claims, but Coleridge warns against fixating on metrics. “Aligning your benefits with your organisation’s purpose can bring value that is much harder to measure. It’s about how employees feel about their employer,” she explains.
Getting purpose right – and using benefits to demonstrate the organisation’s commitment – can filter down into all sorts of positives, from increased productivity and more engaged employees to lower staff turnover. Constantly reviewing the approach, with plenty of employee input, will ensure these positives are maintained.
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