How to leverage the power of early intervention
If someone is struggling with a physical, financial or mental wellbeing issue, any setback in accessing workplace health and wellbeing support is a barrier.
Employers have a vital role to play in providing easily accessible support. Implementing efficient, rapid access can help prevent minor issues from escalating into chronic absences and long-term losses.
“Prevention starts with speed. Rapid triage and a ‘no wrong door’ approach means employees are not passed from service to service, but get the right help quickly, with continuity of care as their needs change,” explains James Morgan, clinical lead at Mynurva. “Connecting employees to the right care sooner reduces the risk of problems becoming more complex or costly for both the individual and the business.”
For many, the first point of contact will be their line manager. They are the most critical link in workplace wellbeing because they can recognise behavioural changes in their team and initiate timely, supportive conversations.
While they can’t diagnose or provide medical advice, a successful employee wellbeing programme equips managers to recognise causes for concern and signpost people to the right resources and support.
Here are three ways to leverage the power of early intervention.
1. Keep it simple
For the support to be useful, it needs to be accessible.
A lot of wellbeing support stops at a website, webinar or app. While digital support is ideal for some, it won’t reach everyone in the same way. Staff working in the field, for example, may not have access to a desktop computer, so digital support needs to be via a mobile app.
Others may lack the skills needed to access digital support; more than half of UK workers (55%) struggle with everyday digital tasks.
Even the language you use to communicate support services matters. The National Literacy Trust finds that one in six (18%) adults aged 16 to 65 in England have very poor literacy skills, the rate is even higher in Scotland at one in four (26.7%)..
Therefore, keeping information clear and simple and in a format your people can access is paramount.
2. Understand what they need
Effective employee support involves anticipating needs before they arise.
Aggregated, anonymised data can help identify emerging needs among your workforce and gaps in your provision, while protecting confidentiality. If, for example, an entire department is reporting spikes in burnout or sleep deprivation, it might signal a wider systemic or management issue that needs to be addressed.
Likewise, search volumes or service use can identify where provision is lacking; for example, if all your teams are searching for financial wellness tools but your current package only covers physical health benefits.
The data can also reveal gaps, e.g. if high volumes of staff are reporting depression or anxiety, while only a small number are using the EAP, it could suggest a need to re-evaluate how that benefit is communicated or structured.
3. Listen to your people
The use of benefits alone won’t tell the whole story.
To truly get understand if your workplace wellbeing strategy is working, you need qualitative data too. Regular pulse surveys can help track employee sentiment and whether employees feel supported, while absence data and healthcare claims will help build up a picture of your people’s health and morale.
Tracking retention and recruitment trends will also show whether your offerings are having a positive influence on employee turnover rate or attracting top talent.
More than that, however, it’s about how they feel every day, and creating a culture of wellbeing, not just implementing isolated initiatives.
Be proactive, not reactive
If your workplace support services only step in after an employees’ health or performance is suffering, you’re already playing a losing game. Genuinely preventative and early intervention support stops stress and burnout before they start.
Connected services, clear signposting and responsive human support can help you and your team move from a reactive to a proactive health and wellbeing strategy.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, My Group
We work with UK employers to bring these three things together, offering practical benefits employees use, human support that reaches the people who need it, and a measurable difference to how your people feel about work.
