Ryan FowlerHow employers support the health and wellbeing of their staff will play a crucial role in attracting and retaining talent in 2025, with 61% of organisations identifying it as a key factor in their workforce strategy, according to the latest research from Towergate Employee Benefits.
The report highlights a shifting job market, with 39% of UK employees considering a job move in the next 12 months. This follows the so-called ‘Great Stay’ of 2024, where disengaged employees lacked incentives to switch roles. As the competition for talent intensifies, employers will need to work harder to retain experienced staff while also appealing to new recruits.
The research found that 47% of employers believe recruitment will become more difficult in 2025, while 44% expect retaining talent to be harder.
Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits, said: “Our research shows that recruitment and retention will be big challenges for employers in 2025. A real shake-up in the way employers go about this is going to be required this year if employers are to find and retain enthusiastic, experienced and productive talent.”
More than a third (36%) of employers said their health and wellbeing support was a key reason why people choose to work for them, while 35% said it was a major factor in employee retention. Additionally, 32% said it helped attract and retain key demographic groups, highlighting the need for tailored support that meets the needs of a diverse workforce.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of businesses ranked health and wellbeing as the most important factor in recruitment and retention, above mental health support (20%) and well ahead of financial health (12%), physical health (9%) and social interaction (9%).
However, 16% of employers admitted they do not offer enough health and wellbeing support, which they believe negatively impacts their ability to recruit and retain staff.
Clark stressed the need for employers to tailor their health and wellbeing benefits to their workforce. “Benefits that will be crucial in recruitment but also in retention must be carefully crafted to match the demographic of the workforce. Employers should consider whether their existing support packages are suitably targeted, with consideration to gender and age, so that the supportive ethos of the company does not just attract employees through the door but also nurtures them to keep them with the business.”
Communication is also key, with even the best wellbeing support failing to deliver results if employees are unaware of the benefits available to them. Clark urged businesses to review their approach, saying: “Only if health and wellbeing support is comprehensively targeted and communicated will it meet the demands of its role in recruitment and retention. Then it will also achieve so much more in terms of the business as a whole.”
