Optimise your well-being strategy to boost employee engagement

Why do companies need a well-being strategy?

Not only does it create better employee morale and engagement, a more inclusive culture, better employee retention and builds a company's brand, but it also brings a lot of fun into the workplace. Thankfully, more and more companies are moving into the realm of understanding the importance of employees' well-being to help improve business performance, but it hasn't been easy. It has taken some time for every industry to catch up and we are still not where we need to be to create a supportive, welcoming and healthy culture in our workplaces. In fact, 44% of UK companies still do not have a well-being strategy in place.

What is a well-being strategy for employees?

An employee well-being strategy will?focus on the financial, physical and psychological well-being of your workforce. It should consider immediate support, as well as more long-term positive and preventative approaches to help people to thrive at work. Breaking these 3 well-being pillars down ensures companies are providing the right tools and schemes to maximise employee engagement. To ensure your well-being strategy delivers these benefits, it must be tailored to your organisational needs and be supported by senior management.

Physical

• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Exercise

Psychological / Social

• Positive emotions
• Relationships Meaning
• Accomplishment
• Work environment

?Financial

• Budgeting/planning
• Redundancy support
• Retirement planning
• Debt management

There may seem like there is a lot here to cover when creating a well-being strategy and if you were to try and tick these off in-house, it could seem overwhelming. However, there are companies that you can partner with who are experts in these areas.

Wellbeing initiatives to include in your strategy

The initiatives or schemes will be specific to your company's size, resources and people, and to start you off, if you offer the below, you will be on your way to creating a winning well-being strategy.

Promoting health

1. Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - Mental Health
2. Subsidised gym membership - Physical health
3. Training in relaxation techniques, conflict resolution, anger management and work-life balance - Mental health
4. Private healthcare - Physical health
5. Cycle to work schemes - Physical health
6. Online GP - Physical health

A good working environment

1. Flexible working
2. Reward & recognition schemes
3. Career and personal development
4. Review of job design, workload and job satisfaction
5. Buy holiday through holiday trading

Helping employees with their finances

1. Salary loans
2. Retail discounts
3. Check your tax code
4. Access to cars and technology through salary sacrifice
5. Sell holiday through holiday trading
6. Travel insurance
7. Income protection
8. Personal accident insurance
9. Financial health assessment

Key considerations for an effective wellbeing strategy

Well-being in the workplace does not need to be complicated, and as long as you're improving your employee's engagement, then you are implementing the right strategy. Employees want to know that they are being looked after and that they can come to a safe working place that enables them to thrive. You don't need to include every initiative above in your strategy, however, it is a good start if you can build a strategy on the 3 fundamental pillars of wellbeing. It is important not to address all areas of well-being at the same time, as it can be confusing for employees to get the most out of the initiatives you're implementing. There may be certain times of the year when you want to promote these initiatives, for example, physical health could be promoted at the beginning of the year when everyone is on their health kick. Or mental health can be promoted in May when there is mental health awareness week. Or perhaps you can promote financial benefits around Christmas time to help employees save money on their shopping.

One thing to always remember is always revert back to what your business objective is for your well-being strategy. If you always have this in mind, every initiative you launch should help you reach your objective. Is it to attract and retain better talent, improve employee engagement or improve business performance? Once you identify this, your well-being priorities will help you consider short, medium and long-term goals which should align with your company's overall strategy and business plans.

A great approach to ensure you are creating a winning strategy is to always include the correct stakeholders along the journey. This could be the senior leaders, middle management or the entire workforce. Having the senior leaders on board will help you promote your strategy, and they may even become well-being champions. Sending surveys to your workforce could give you a better idea of what they are expecting from you as a company. Engaging these stakeholders will help you identify the areas that require investment and focus, and their ideas could help shape your strategy.

What improvements are you looking for?

The improvements should always be related back to your overall objective, however deciding on how you will measure the success of your strategy is very important to know if it has been successful or not. If you partner with providers to help you promote certain initiatives, make sure you partner with companies that can provide data and analytics to prove that the initiatives are working. You should be looking out for improved workplace productivity, reduced absence rates, improved employee retention and an increase in employee engagement and satisfaction. These should all lead to improved business performance, which in turn should promote the business's brand, create a healthier culture, and help you on your way to becoming an employer of choice. Your talent within your company is what drives your results, and attracting the best talent means providing them with the tools to be healthy and happy in their workplace.