I recently came across this line from Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, in his 2022 letter to CEOs: ‘No relationship has been changed more by the pandemic than the one between employers and employees.’ 

Fink hits the nail on the head. As an employee services company, we’ve seen first-hand how COVID-19 has changed the game. In practical terms, this includes shifting expectations around hybrid/flexible working, responsibility for protecting employees’ health, business resilience, diversity and inclusion, the ‘Great Resignation’, the subsequent ‘war for talent’, and much more. 

Spotlight on wellbeing  

2020 saw a widespread recognition of the role employers can play in providing different forms of health and wellbeing support, with mental health provisions in particular emerging as one of the key growth areas.  

During 2021 this trend accelerated further – it has never been more important for organisations to look after their people.  

Whether due to the war for talent, wage inflation, the impacts of Brexit or a host of other factors, companies everywhere are fighting to retain their talent and appreciate that caring for employees’ health, wellbeing, and building a sense of community has become a non-negotiable. 

Looking forward, employers are considering the ‘Social’ element of ESG metrics in managing pay and benefits, especially as employee turnover activity and pay inflation drives more focus on attracting, rewarding and retaining the workforce. 

Personal Group is at the forefront of the ‘benefits of benefits’ 

One of COVID-19’s legacies is a long-term focus for employers on the importance of supporting the resilience of employees. Never has the importance of supporting your team, implementing effective remuneration schemes and ensuring they have access to impactful benefits been more apparent. 

Today clients are working with us to find more innovative solutions to improve the wellbeing of their employees, recognising that the pandemic has brought changing work patterns – for example, the option to work from home for office-based staff.  

We will continue to see acceleration of the need for employers to improve their employee value propositions. Whilst headlines often focus on increasing base salary, there’s much more to attracting and retaining top talent than big pay packets – which often aren’t sustainable and throw new hires out of whack with your existing pay architecture.   

Consider your whole employee deal: it may be time to interrogate every aspect and consider if it still represents the best of your business to both new and existing employees.  

The ROI of wellbeing 

Maintaining a team that is ‘well’ underpins a business’s ongoing operations and is also increasingly seen to be part of the employer’s moral responsibility. The drive to look after employees, creating a real, positive impact on lives rather than as a ‘tick-box’ exercise has never been greater.  

What’s more, employers want to see concrete ROI for their wellbeing initiatives, something which can often be difficult to quantify.  

Of course, we can track absence days, employee turnover, and the like. But for instance, how can you judge if providing wellbeing services that place emphasis on exercise, sleep, healthy food, and mental health support have had the desired impact on preventing underlying conditions? 

Find out more about measuring the ROI of wellbeing in our blog.

Summary 

Now more than ever, organisations need to look after their people’s health and wellbeing, both to protect organisational resilience and to keep up with changing expectations around wellbeing provision.  

Measuring ROI of your wellbeing will help you stand out as an employer of choice, allowing you to continually optimsie your offering in order to attract and retain the best talent in your sector. 

To find out more about how Personal Group can help support your employee wellbeing, call 01908 605000 or email letschat@personalgroup.com.  

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