Debra Clark, Head of Wellbeing at Towergate Health & Protection, notes: “Being affordable is of course crucial to any wellbeing programme, but it is also important that it achieves value for money. It is many of the other factors identified by employers as important in a support programme that helps to ensure true value is received.”

Key elements in a health and wellbeing support programme:

• Cost-Effectiveness: 38%
• Adaptability: 32%
• Additional Benefits: 27%
• Comprehensive Nature: 24%
• Employee Engagement in Programmes: 23%
• Understanding Employee Demographics and Needs: 20%
• Customisation for Individual Employees: 20%
• Digital Implementation: 19%
• Tailoring to Specific Workforce and Business Needs: 19%

Adaptability

With the evolving needs of current employees and the shifting landscape in attracting new talent, a programme must be capable of adapting to these changing requirements.

Additional Benefits

Often, health and wellbeing programmes include extra benefits at no extra cost, enhancing their value. These might encompass services like virtual GPs, wellness applications, or counselling. Both employees and employers may be unaware of all the components of certain benefits, and a robust wellbeing strategy is key to highlighting these.

Comprehensive Nature

A health and wellbeing programme should be complete and well-rounded, encompassing various elements that work in unison. This includes core support and additional benefits, fostering a holistic approach to address all aspects of health and wellbeing.

Employee Engagement

The programme should foster enthusiasm and dedication among employees towards their work and the company. A strategy aligned with the company's values integrates into the corporate culture and fosters a sense of belonging among employees.

Personalisation

Tailoring benefits to meet the specific needs of the workforce is essential. Effective health and wellbeing programmes today should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, focusing instead on personalisation to provide relevant and valuable support to each individual.

Digital Delivery

Online programmes and digital platforms offer broader, more frequent, and accurate reach to employees, particularly important for hybrid workforces. Digital solutions facilitate easier monitoring of utilisation patterns and evaluation of different programme components' effectiveness.

Clark concludes: “Carefully targeting health and wellbeing support to match employee needs, as well as providing a range of regularly reviewed options, will help to provide value for money in terms of the positive outcomes.”