Employers urged to adopt proactive approach to promoting health and wellbeing benefits

New research from Towergate Employee Benefits reveals that 55% of employers take a passive stance when it comes to promoting the health and wellbeing support they offer, potentially leading to underutilisation of valuable employee benefits. The findings highlight that 36% of employers only direct staff to these resources upon request, a strategy that depends heavily on employees being aware of the support and feeling comfortable enough to seek it out.

Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits, expressed concern about this approach, stating: “Our research shows that employers are often taking a passive approach to encouraging the use of benefits. We would encourage employers to proactively work to keep support front of mind, and ensure that employees know where to find assistance when it is needed. Otherwise the benefit spend will be wasted.”

While 32% of employers promote health and wellbeing resources through their company intranet, the study indicates that more can be done to ensure employees know where to access support. Encouragingly, 34% of companies have established health and wellbeing champions tasked with promoting available resources, which Clark views as a highly beneficial initiative that more organisations could adopt.

The research also found that 40% of employers believe they provide easy access to support via apps or digital platforms, but Clark warns that ensuring access is only part of the equation. She said: “It is still vital to ensure that these options are promoted and that engagement is tracked.” She added that offering a mix of mediums is crucial to reach a wider range of employees, with 27% of companies running webinars and regular promotions to raise awareness.

Clark also noted the importance of in-person wellbeing events, currently organised by 30% of employers, as a means of engaging employees and promoting available benefits. Twenty-six percent of companies collaborate with advisers to run these events, leveraging external expertise to enhance their initiatives. Advisers are also involved in providing written materials, with 34% of companies relying on them for communication via email and online platforms.

“Advisers can help to encourage utilisation of support in numerous ways, including offering wellbeing calendars and access to online and offline assistance,” said Clark.

In her concluding remarks, Clark emphasised the importance of proactive promotion: “The effectiveness of health and wellbeing support is often evaluated by how much it is used, but it is possible to have amazing benefits that are underutilised when access is not made easy or promoted. We urge employers to encourage utilisation of benefits in order to get the best value from them.”