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Well-being and the workplace: Delivering best practice employee experience through data

Employee well-being has been creeping up the business agenda for some years. But in the wake of the pandemic, employees are seeking unprecedented connection and support from their workplace.

Employee well-being has been creeping up the business agenda for some years. But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are seeking unprecedented connection and support from their workplace. In fact, 56% of employers have seen increased demand for well-being offerings from their workforce.

Added to this is the new challenge of delivering a consistent employee experience amid hybrid working arrangements. As a result, reward strategies have skyrocketed in importance as business leaders realise that overhauling employee benefits and the systems that deliver and manage them is integral to meeting these demands. It’s perhaps no surprise then, that employee benefits are now the number one HR investment priority.

That’s according to our new report, The age of adaptability: A digital-first approach to benefits in a post-pandemic world. It found a growing proportion of HR budgets are now being spent on technology. What’s more, 76% of organisations increased their budgets as a result of the pandemic, with a focus now on rewards and benefits and digital health and well-being.

With employees scattered across locations and geographies, it’s essential that HR teams are able to deliver good employee experiences and robust benefit programs to their people. Key to this is investing in the technologies and platforms that facilitate easy access to benefits and help employees choose the support that they need the most.

Meeting shifting expectations

During the ‘Great Resignation’, where competition for talent is high and many are seeking to shake up their roles and careers, HR must provide the most attractive offer to outbid rivals. Well-being, and its impact on employee experience, is now integral to HR teams’ holistic offerings.

For example, social well-being benefits have been key to connecting employees in recent months. Now, 42% of employees would highly value employer-based digital/social platforms to continue supporting social engagement and 46% would appreciate virtual support groups for those feeling lonely or isolated.

These changes are not short-term. Employers’ roles have extended beyond providing salaries. They’re now expected to be sources of social, physical, mental, and financial support. As a result, 7-in-10 organisations are planning to make investments in employee health and well-being a higher priority going forward.

Harnessing data to strengthen decision making

However, while employer intentions are good, many just aren’t investing in the data and analytics capabilities that will allow them to accurately respond to changing employee needs and offer a competitive, personalised benefits experience. For example, 47% of HR leaders aren’t reporting on benefits take-up levels.

This means almost half of businesses are lacking the insights to know whether employee benefits spend is providing ROI and serving the needs of their workforce. Put simply, if HR teams can’t measure how employee well-being is improving as a result of changes to employee benefits packages, how do they know that investments are having the desired effect?

HR teams need to take ownership of their analytics, consolidating and centralising data sources to ensure they have an accurate view of metrics across their organisation.

This will unlock actionable and meaningful insights, allowing them to pivot strategies as new challenges or issues emerge and make better, more impactful long-term plans for employee benefits programs.

Next steps

HR and benefits teams have made great strides in ensuring that their reward strategies are fit for purpose in the wake of the pandemic.

Now is the time to underpin these good intentions with robust data-enabled tech solutions that can truly elevate employee benefits offerings and create a first-class and competitive employee experience.

Report

Well-being and the workplace: Delivering best practice employee experience through data

Meeting shifting expectations

Harnessing data to strengthen decision making

Next steps

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Well-being and the workplace: Delivering best practice employee experience through data

Get an in-depth look at the latest HR, benefits, and technology trends

Meeting shifting expectations

Harnessing data to strengthen decision making

Next steps

Related insights

RiseUP for a Better Tomorrow: Mental Health Report 2024

Rethink your talent strategy: creating a thriving workforce

Health Trends 2025

Bridging the gap: It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace