A third of employers are not matching benefits with staff needs, as 30 per c of companies offer the same benefits regardless of age, lifestyle and risk factors, while 40% of companies offer the same benefits to staff regardless of their gender.
This is according to new research from Everywhen, which suggests many employers may be overlooking key workforce data points when designing health and wellbeing strategies, which is potentially reducing the impact of the benefits.
Everywhen argues that understanding factors such as age, gender, working patterns and lifestyle can help employers create tailored benefits packages and suggests that it could be done by looking at the needs of its workforce through employee surveys, focus groups and internal demographic data.
It notes that businesses that are mostly desk-based may benefit from focusing on physical activity and musculoskeletal support. Additionally, employers looking to better support different demographics could consider targeted services such as gender-specific cancer screening and preventative care.
According to Everywhen, advisers can also analyse factors such as whether employees are office-based or remote, active or sedentary, and at different life stages, which can help employers take a broader view of workforce risk.
The firm says benefits that are more aligned with workforce needs are likely to improve engagement and employee health, as well as improve productivity.
Everywhen head of wellbeing Debra Clark says: “For health and wellbeing support to have the most impact, it needs to be appropriate to the needs of the employees. Offering employee benefits to match the demographic of the workforce means that more specific needs are likely to be met.
“Employers would be wise to take into account the demographic and associated risks of their employees when they put health and wellbeing support in place.
“Benefits are rarely one-size-fits-all. It is still, of course, better to offer something general than providing nothing at all, but health and wellbeing support tends to be much more effective if it can be matched to the needs of the workforce.”
