Engage Health Group

Tag: employee benefits

  • Home working: a game-changer for Employee Benefits strategies?

    Home working: a game-changer for Employee Benefits strategies?

    Let’s face it, 2020 has been extremely challenging for HR decision makers. Employee safety and wellbeing have become the number one topic in organisations and senior management teams have had to move mountains to adapt working processes to cope.

    One of the most prominent changes has been in the number of employees who are working from home. And people seem to like this new arrangement. According to a March 2020 survey by Glassdoor, 67% of UK employees felt that they could be just as productive and benefit from the work-life balance and flexibility that comes with working from home. So if people’s attitudes are changing, what does this mean for an organisation’s employee benefits strategy?

    Of course, not all employees can or should work from home. But the pandemic has certainly erased assumptions that companies had about the necessity of all of their staff to be in their place of work to get the job done. Information gathered by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggests that 61% of employees who were not furloughed in April were working from home on a full-time basis. That’s an increase from 24% before the pandemic hit. If there’s anything certain in all of this uncertainty, HR departments can expect a future increase in the number of flexible working requests that they receive on the issue of working from home.

    Radical shifts in thinking are not just the preserve of employees who are wondering if working from home could be the ‘new normal’ for them. With dangers of financial losses from reduced trading in all kinds of sectors, senior managers are looking at empty offices and asking themselves if they’re all really needed when technology can carry the communications load.

    Is your employee benefits strategy still fit for purpose?

    Going beneath people’s desire to work from home reveals all sorts of emerging attitudes about wanting to feel safe and wanting to protect their families and others. But it has also resulted in people valuing some extra time with their loved ones or getting more work done and rejecting the prospect of returning to the dreaded commute. It’s not unreasonable for employees to ask for their changes in attitudes to be supported by their employers.

    From the company point of view, the debate revolves around the advantages and disadvantages of working from home versus the costs of paying for office space. Increasing home working options removes understandable concerns associated with social distancing, wearing face masks and using communal areas. And if people do go back to work in the same numbers, companies may also need to consider improved ventilation and additional cleaning, which only adds to the costs of what may already be an expensive line item.    

    The other aspect of a review of employee benefits revolves around employee costs. Sickness absence costs have probably risen and there may well have been an increase in demand by employees for wellbeing services such as counselling, occupational health consultations and health screenings. The pandemic has increased levels of anxiety and prevented people from getting their usual access to NHS medical and dental services, leading to further health problems. If your benefits strategy has no provision for these types of services, it may be time to ask for advice on what is available.

    Return on investment on employee benefits

    Achieving the best value for your employee benefits package doesn’t have to mean that values are compromised. For example, the trend for open plan spaces and smaller working spaces has compromised people’s privacy. A hard edged business proposal to reduce office space and redirect that savings into a revised benefits strategy may be pushing on an open door as far as employees are concerned.

    There’s no doubt that flexible working, including home working, is a benefit in itself. A successful review, though, should take account of the kinds of benefits that home and other workers are likely to value these days. Some examples are:

    • Dental plans – The pandemic has reduced access to dental services so funded dental plans will help employees to be treated more quickly when dentists open up fully.
    • Business Health Insurance – There are all sorts of packages for all sorts of budgets but the most successful option will focus on the explicit health needs of the workforce.
    • Group Income Protection – The media has covered the real worries that employees have had about being off sick without sufficient sick pay. Income protection can help workers to feel more secure and less stressed.
    • Group Health Cash Plans – These are low cost and can provide a range of benefits to help employees cover the cost of eyes tests, dental work and initial consultations or tests to help get staff diagnosed and back to work quickly. They also often come with an Employee Assistance Programme included, which provides mental health support and, where needed, face to face counselling for employee struggling with their mental health, financial worries and a range of other issues.

    To argue successfully for a change in your company’s employee benefits strategy, it’s crucial to bring some number crunching to the table. A thorough analysis may include the following:

    • The impact of employee benefits on engagement, motivation and productivity
    • Costs that can be saved or expenditure that can be moved into employee benefits – for example, reduced sickness absence levels or reduced office space
    • The key reasons why the proposal is required to allow the company to adapt for the better
    • Acknowledgement of any potential disadvantages or risks, with proposed actions ready to remove or reduce them.

    One route that can assist is an independent review of your current benefits package and what changes you would like to make. Our consultations are designed to analyse at a critical level the employee benefits options that would fit your company’s organisational needs and your employee’s changing desires.

    At Engage Health Group, we work across the health and wellbeing marketplace to ensure you find the right policies at the right price, and ensure your whole benefits package provides prices from across the market.

    Contact our expert team at enquiries@engagehealthgroup.co.uk or call 01273 974419 for FREE no-obligation advice and support.

  • Canada Life introduce “We Care” proposition across Group Risk product lines

    Canada Life introduce “We Care” proposition across Group Risk product lines

    When businesses consider the likes of Group Life, Group Income Protection and Group Critical Illness for their staff, it’s fair to say that their motivations are predominantly formed from concern of the worst happening, and protecting their people in that event.  

    You certainly couldn’t accuse the Group Risk market of being overly sexy and engaging.  In fact, when one imagines the discussion the Employee Benefits Advisor has with their client, you can’t help but envisage the drab, stony-faced scenes at the beginning of The Matrix in which Agent Smith interrogates Keanu Reeves; “Are you sure a benefit term of 2 years will be enough, Mr Anderson?”

    Wouldn’t it be great if instead of focusing purely on the stark protection elements of these products, insurers developed a range of services which employees could actually utilise when they are alive and well? 

    Enter Canada Life’s “We Care”, offering a range of FREE additional employee benefits for companies which purchase ANY of their Group Risk products, including Group Life, Income Protection and Critical Illness. 

    Available solely via Canada Life’s CLASS range, employees will now have unlimited access to the following tertiary services.  What’s more, the additional services are available to every member of the employees’ immediate family as well as all staff within the organisation, even if they are not included on the insurance cover! 

    So what do employees now have access to?

     

    Virtual GP Consultation

    Speak to a GP over the phone or via video call from the comfort of your own home. 24/7, 365 days of the year with no limitations on how often an employee calls.

     

    Second Medical Opinion

    Access to over 50,000 leading consultants worldwide, offering expert second opinions on diagnosis and treatments for almost any condition.

     

    Smoking Cessation

    A team of specialists to support employees all the way, helping to set goals and give tips to beat smoking.

     

    Mental Health Support

    Anxiety, stress and depression are just a few health difficulties many people suffer from.  Up to 10 therapy sessions to guide employees in the right direction.

     

    Burn-out Prevention

    Addressing symptoms as early as possible is the best way to beat it.  Up to 10 sessions with a specialist to assist with coping mechanisms and reduce stress.

     

    Life-events counselling

    If an employee is suffering bereavement, going through a divorce or has had a traumatic experience, talking to someone can help.  Up to 10 personalised sessions with an expert means staff can get the right support.

     

    Healthy Diet at Work

    A professional nutritionist can assist employees in devising a personalised diet plan, plus top tips on staying healthy when eating out.

     

    Get Fit Programme

    Four or eight week get fit programmes with a specialist, providing a structured exercise regime.

    With all of these great benefits, it’s easy to forget that they are additive to the core insurance purpose of protecting the lives and health of employees. But that’s the point really.  It’s sensible to put measures in place to protect ourselves against the worst happening, but now employers can feel good about mundane insurance plans in the knowledge that their teams have access to a range of genuinely useful additional services.

    There are lots of Group Risk insurers now bucking the associated image of their industry, and this can only be a good thing, as ultimately, it means more employees and their families are protected.

     

    But I can only show you the door Neo, you’re the one that has to walk through it!

    Contact our expert team of brokers at enquiries@engagehealthgroup.co.uk or call 01273 974419 for FREE no-obligation advice and support.

  • 5 employee benefits which are FREE or inexpensive to implement

    5 employee benefits which are FREE or inexpensive to implement

    Attracting and retaining the best calibre of staff, and then keeping them engaged throughout their tenure is more important than ever. While benefit provision has historically been a significant focus for large businesses, it’s clear to see that smaller organisations are now making this part of their core business strategy too.

    Of course, big corporates have big budgets, and the ability to deliver a glossy range of benefits and rewards which might be out of reach for many smaller organisations. Thankfully that doesn’t mean employee benefits are a non-starter for SME’s, and there are some very effective ways to engage staff without breaking the bank.

    Below we have listed our top five benefits which can be implemented at a comparatively small amount, but still offer a fantastic return on investment.

     

    1. Employee Assistance Programme

    Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) can be thought of as a “Citizens Advice Bureau” for employees. Its main aim is to provide confidential, independent, impartial and unbiased guidance to employees who could be suffering in a range of areas including Health & Lifestyle, Legal, Work Life and Home Life.

    With a 24/7 helpline and up to 8 sessions of face-to-face counselling included, employers can feel assured that they are not only satisfying their Health & Safely obligations, but also supporting employees who might otherwise not have a sounding board or advice outlet available to them.

    Some of the key areas that employees utilise an EAP are as follows:

    • Mental Health
    • Eldercare
    • Addiction
    • Terminal illness
    • Debt problems
    • Bullying and harassment
    • Stress
    • Identity & LGBTQ
    • Domestic abuse
    • Bereavement

    Finally, due to the rich Management Information available to employers in terms of how the EAP is being used, this can assist in identifying underlying risks in the organisation which mightn’t otherwise have been obvious.

     

    2. Group Health Cash Plan

    A mechanism to provide cover for the every-day healthcare costs which employees might face, Group Health Cash Plans are more popular today than they’ve ever been.

    Full Private Medical Insurance, whilst excellent, is comparatively expensive to provide, and for those with a limited budget, may be a non-starter.  Health Cash Plans on the other hand are not only available for a fraction of the cost, but are arguably more valued by employees, due to the fact that the benefits can be extracted and enjoyed on a more frequent basis.

    In practical terms, a Health Cash Plan allows employees to claim back money spent in a number of health-related areas, the following of which tend to be the most common;

    • Routine dental treatment such as check-up’s, scale and polish, fillings
    • Routine optical care such as glasses and contact lenses
    • Physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy
    • Chiropody, podiatry and homeopathy
    • CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
    • Health screening, massage and flu jabs
    • Virtual GP

    It is also typical for employees’ children to be included for free (up to 50% of employee limits) under the plan, and for individuals to have flexibility to add their partners and upgrade cover on a voluntary basis.

     

    3. Volunteering

    Employees of all ages, but particularly the younger generations now entering the workplace, are finding it increasingly important for their employer to play an active role in supporting the local community. 

    More and more employers are using this route to enhance their Employer Value Proposition (EVP), in addition to the traditional benefits which companies offer.

    A great way to embrace this growing requirement is implementing a volunteering benefit which is both free to roll-out and can supplement any existing corporate social responsibility or charity focus already in place.

    If you are considering putting this in place, here are some top tips to consider:

    • Set a dedicated person to manage this benefit, record days used and manage some of the below considerations.
    • Set a fixed amount of days per year which can be used, either in one go or throughout the year (Between 1 and 5 days is a common offering)
    • Consider which charities you want to support via this benefit;
      • Do you want one charity that your business wants to support with a key project that they have?
      • Consider providing a panel of pre-vetted local charities or good causes which you would like to direct employees towards.
      • Do you want to let your employees choose their own charities that are important to them? If so you should require prior submission for you to vet the charity.
    •  Employees should be required to give between one week and a month’s notice before their volunteering day in order to give you time to plan for their absence.
    • You should ensure that any charity that you are supporting has the appropriate insurances in place should your employee injure themselves while on their premises.

     

    4. Group Life Insurance

    Sometimes referred to as Group Death-in-Service Insurance, this benefit is designed to ensure that, in the event of an employee passing away, a tax free payment will be made to their dependants/beneficiaries, whether that is a parent, partner or child/children.

    Interestingly, employers considering this benefit often ask if the term “death in service” means that the employee must physically be undertaking their employed role when they die.  This is not the case, and the benefit is payable as long as the employee is in active service.

    Employers typically structure the benefit to provide either 2x or 4x the employee’s salary upon death, and it’s also possible to have different levels of benefit depending on seniority or grade.

    Each employee completes an “Expression of Wish” form upon joining which outlines who payment should be made to in the event of their death.  The form also allows for multiple beneficiaries to be recorded, allowing the employee to specify how any benefit should be divided.

    The other great feature of this type of cover is that in most cases, employees do not have to complete medical underwriting, unlike individual protection.

    With so few people taking financial advice and setting up their own personal Life Assurance provision, this kind of scheme is an excellent way of demonstrating to employees that you have their families’ interests at heart if the worst was to happen.

     

    5. FREE added extras to Group Risk Protection policies

    Providing a small Group Risk Protection policy for your exec team can provide FREE counselling, second opinion service, treatment sourcing and retail perks platforms for ALL employees.

    Did you know that if you purchase a Group Risk product (Group Life, Group Income Protection or Group Critical Illness) for a minimal number of staff, some insurers will allow you to extend a whole range of additional benefits to your entire workforce, completely free of charge?

    Providing Group Risk benefits to just two Directors, for example, could enable you to extend the additional value to hundreds of other staff!

    Group Life, Income Protection and Critical Illness are a fantastic way to cover your people in the event of death and illness respectively but the key benefit we want to highlight here is the value which immediately becomes available to all staff NOT insured under the Group Risk protection plan. 

    These can include:

    Counselling Services

    • Confidential counselling
    • 24/7 telephone helpline
    • Up to 10 Face-to-face sessions with a psychologist
    • Putting employees in touch with support groups in their area
    • Financial and legal telephone services from an independent consultant
    • Guidance on a range of everyday issues such as debt, buying a home, tax and divorce
    • All delivered via easy to use apps
    • Access to service from anywhere
    • Wellbeing articles brimming with articles and podcasts
    • Meaningful Management Information to show usage and identify trends

    Second Opinion Service

    • Provided by leading services such as Best Doctors
    • For any employee who has been diagnosed with a medical condition (private or NHS)
    • Locates world-leading experts for the condition
    • Arranges full review of employee medical condition
    • Employees received full diagnosis, a comprehensive report and recommendations for treatment plan
    • Health questions answered by an expert
    • Access via phone and online portal
    • Extensive library of wellbeing tools, videos and literature
    • Medical and travel arrangements made if employee chooses treatment outside of the UK

    Treatment sourcing

    • For those without private healthcare but wanting to source private treatment
    • Competitive treatment costs as opposed to following retail route
    • Access to over 20,000 consultants around the UK
    • Treatment sourcing deal with 450 private hospitals and NHS private patient units
    • Fast and efficient booking process to facilitate quick consultations, tests and procedures

    Perks

    • 1000 + perks via app
    • Cinema discounts
    • Retails discounts
    • Restaurant discounts

     

    How will you deliver highly valued perks to your workforce within budget? Contact Engage Health Group’s team of impartial brokers to uncover the best FREE quotes and receive expert guidance. Email enquiries@engagehealthgroup.co.uk or call 01273 974419.  

  • Employee Assistance Programmes – A powerful employee benefit

    Employee Assistance Programmes – A powerful employee benefit

    Why choose Employee Assistance Programmes?

    With the cost being relatively low and with such an array of benefits for both the employee and employer, it’s easy to understand why more businesses are incorporating an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as part of their overall benefit strategy.

    An EAP (Employee Assistance Programmes) is often positioned as a highly valued employee benefit that promotes wellbeing and a strong work/life balance, but is also proven to:

    • Greatly reduce absenteeism (34% reduction on average – source CBI absence survey)
    • Improve productivity in the workplace
    • Reduce stress in staff members and colleagues
    • Improve staff retention
    • Demonstrate a caring approach towards employees
    • Add value to an organisation (a return of £14 for every £1 invested – source CBI absence survey)

    There is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to employee health and wellbeing, but an EAP can certainly tick a lot of the boxes and help employers to gain a better understanding of the risk factors which exist within their business. Furthermore, by providing a tangible tool to help employees navigate any personal issues they may be facing, employers can drive higher levels of engagement, and can have a meaningful and genuine impact when an employee needs it most.

     

    Some of the key benefits of an EAP are as follows:

    • Confidential support services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
    • Face-to-face counselling with fully qualified professionals
    • Stress related support
    • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
    • Support for substance abuse, domestic abuse, debt problems, bereavement
    • Family support services
    • Serious illness and accident support
    • Critical incident Support (in the event of a critical incident in the workplace)
    • Medical helplines (for general medical advice)

    These benefits can be invaluable to staff who mightn’t have an alternative channel available to them, and who also mightn’t be comfortable raising any personal concerns directly with their employer.

     

    Mental health awareness and early intervention

    Additionally, with the upward trend in mental health awareness, more and more employers are working hard to intervene where appropriate to do so, and assist employees in managing mental health conditions. Mental health is one of the greatest causes of sickness absence in the UK, and whilst the overall rate of sickness absence has fallen by 15%-20% since 2009, absence due to mental health reasons in this period has actually risen by around 5%.

    Stress Related Absence has a significant impact on productivity and the below chart, recorded over a 10-year period by a major Income Protection provider, demonstrates the important role that early intervention plays.

    The table shows that when an episode of stress related absence receives intervention at week four, the average total length of absence is 24.3 weeks.  Where intervention is received between 21-25 weeks, the average total length of absence is over 55 weeks.

    Many EAP providers will aim to assist employers to intervene within the first seven days, prompting early discussion and support, and facilitating a faster return to work for the employee.

    Mental Health Index during the pandemic by Morneau Shepell
    Covid impact on expats mental health

     

    Is just providing an EAP enough?

    It’s certainly the important first step, but if employers wish to get the most return on their investment and genuinely improve the lives of their workforce, promoting the service in the right way is key.

    All EAP providers will make supporting literature available, such as posters and leaflets, which can be displayed in common areas to spread the word, but employers can go further still. Many employers now incorporate the EAP service as part of their management training, and ensure that staff are continually reminded of its features during performance conversations/121’s. Direct managers are often the first to notice a change in employee behaviour and are usually best placed to guide people to the service.

    Finally, whilst the use of an EAP by employees is confidential, many EAP providers offer meaningful Management Information to the employer, which can assist in understanding which risks are most prominent within their business. This is extremely useful as it empowers the employer to deploy resource more appropriately, ensuring that any health and wellbeing budget is being spent in the correct areas.

    Investing in the right health insurance policy for you, your family or your employees is a great way to ensure that you’re prepared should anything negatively affect your health, which could be out of your control.

    At Engage Health Group, we work with the UK’s leading health insurance providers to find the best policy for you, at the right price. Get in touch for a no obligation quote.