Barchester

At Personal Group, we have long prided ourselves on a face-to-face approach to drive maximum engagement with the workforce. Our specialist team typically meet with around 75,000 employees each year, right across the country, to help them see the value of the benefits on offer. This human touch has been key to employee engagement.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we've developed new approaches to ensure our clients' staff remain engaged, connected, and supported through their employee benefits. By being flexible to clients' needs, we can continue to provide personal, meaningful interactions in a COVID-safe way.

We carried out virtual visits for care home provider Barchester Healthcare. As key workers, these staff have been under extra pressure and their employer wanted to ensure they get the best out of their employee services, particularly employee wellbeing.

At Barchester sites we built a buzz with delivery of our 'visit in a box.' These boxes are delivered safely by hand and sanitised upon delivery, and include an iPad, anti-bacterial wipes, flyers, and branded giveaways like soft toys and chocolates. The box stays on-site for one week, and workers can book in an appointment to have a virtual face-to-face session with one of our experts via the iPad.

The response to 'visit in a box' has been fantastic – staff are excited for its arrival! Virtual visits mean that employees at restricted access sites can still have a personal interaction to explain their benefits, including an Employee Assistance Programme, retail discounts and Online GP services. In our staff survey, 80% said they were 'Satisfied' or 'Very satisfied' with the overview of information and resources available on the Hapi platform.

Employees were pleased to find out about Protection Plans, with one staff member commenting "It's peace of mind just in case I fall ill and have to go in to hospital… the bills don't stop just because you are ill."

Our short but engaging one-to-one sessions connect employees with their employee benefits in a time-efficient way that minimises disruption to their working day. Across Barchester sites we have been able to engage with 96% of available staff – a brilliant result!

Personal Group's innovative approach means staff can still find out about the benefits and wellbeing support on offer, which will enable them to stay healthy and productive even in difficult circumstances.