5 data indicators that can shape a health and benefits strategy
Intelligence gathering is essential when developing health and wellbeing strategies and shaping them as workforces change.
For a programme to have value – and a greater chance of success – insight is required into employee health trends, the root causes behind these trends and an understanding of what motivates staff.
Effective use and analysis of collected data enables organisations to create strategies that meet employees’ needs, boost health outcomes and support business goals.
Despite the importance of understanding claims and health risk trends across employee populations WTW Emerging Trends in Healthcare Delivery research indicates that only one in seven employers have a good understanding of how to measure health and wellbeing programme effectiveness and less than one-third of employers understand employee health trends.
Here we identify five of the most valuable health risk indicators.
1. Sickness absence
Accurate information about sickness absence, and presenteeism, is crucial.
The ability to draw meaningful conclusions depends on absence recording being robustly and consistently applied across an organisation. Information should be collected in a standardised format that allows easy analysis, comparison and reporting.
This data can be used to compare absence durations and examine absence rates within particular areas of the business at different times of year. It can help identify prevalent causes and enable the business to identify patterns and possible solutions, as well as quantifying business cost implications.
If a high number of absences are caused by mental health or musculoskeletal issues, for example, benefits and employer sponsored support services can be reviewed, adapted and communicated accordingly.
2. Health risk assessment
Absence data may support a more in-depth health and wellbeing analysis, which could include online health risk assessments, health screenings and health questionnaires.
These can yield valuable insights on the underlying health – both physical and mental – of employees. They may also highlight influencing lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol consumption and the amount of exercise undertaken.
Organisations can then take targeted action to tackle concerning trends, either through prevention and proactive health management strategies, or through design and communication of health and wellbeing benefits and services to support employees to access appropriate care.
3. Medical insurance claims
Claims data, in conjunction with absence and other employee health data, can pinpoint problems that are causing insurance benefit premiums to rise. Early interventions, such as talking therapy and counselling, could help employees manage developing stress, depression or anxiety before they become debilitating.
Where there is a high number of claims relating to musculoskeletal conditions, for example, organisations could educate employees to recognise early symptoms and implement early intervention services such as remote diagnostics and physiotherapy treatment. There may also be a need to improve the ergonomics of office furniture, or an occupational therapist may be required.
Such options are preferable to staff developing chronic conditions that may lead to absences of many months and increase health and risk claims costs.
Analysis of this data could also reveal areas where NHS treatments may offer a more appropriate option for some conditions than private healthcare. Furthermore, it could identify employees with a high healthcare needs and be used to create bespoke programmes for them.
4. Diversity, equality and inclusion
With demand for Generation Z – those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s – in the workplace outstripping supply, competitiveness among employers has risen.
The younger generation attaches great significance to DE&I, which means the profile of employers matters greatly to them.
WTW’s recent Global Benefits Attitudes Survey: Benefits Preference report revealed that 69% of employees who put a high value on DE&I would leave for a minor pay increase (5%) if they saw their employer’s DE&I efforts as “poor”.
By contrast, only 36% of employees who rated it the employer’s DE&I as “very good” would leave for the same pay rise.
Organisations should therefore look at their DEI data to ensure it meets expectations.
5. Engagement and satisfaction
Engagement data can offer helpful insights into how employees respond to specific health and wellbeing programmes. It can reveal those that have a high participation rate and enable organisations to allocate resources accordingly.
Satisfaction data, obtained via feedback forms, online questionnaires, or verbally, can also make an important contribution to benefits strategies.
Soliciting the views of employees is a failsafe way of eliciting which benefits are relevant and effective, and those that need improving.
Intelligence can prompt a strategy rethink
A competitive benefits package, evidenced through benchmarking, can help workers to feel valued – supporting talent recruitment and retention.
Organisations that are demonstrably committed to caring for the health of their employees are more likely to secure engagement, higher levels of staff morale and greater productivity.
Indeed, WTW’s research found that health benefits as an attraction and retention tool are at the highest appreciation level in a decade. The survey found that 48% of employees regarded their company’s health care programme as an important reason for joining, and 51% said it was one of the main reasons for staying with their employer.
Intelligence gathering and benchmarking data can often initiate a benefits programme rethink. It may lead to a realisation that long-established programmes are no longer appropriate, or are targeted at issues that have been addressed.
Employee needs are not static. By carefully and consistently using intelligence data, businesses can be confident that their health and benefits strategies are fit for purpose.
In partnership with WTW
WTW is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.
