Improving employee wellbeing has a direct link to how firms perform, according to a survey from global professional services firm Aon.
The research, conducted in partnership with IPSOS, reveals improvements to employee wellbeing performance within a company have an impact on customer satisfaction and retention.
Notably, while wellbeing performance overall has a direct connection to a strong and focused wellbeing strategy, a series of standalone wellbeing initiatives will have less impact.
The survey also found that organisations that improve employee wellbeing performance by 3% see a 1% increase in customer satisfaction and retention, those that improve employee wellbeing performance by 3.5% see a 1% increase in employee satisfaction and customer acquisition and those that improve employee wellbeing performance by 4% see a 1% increase in company profit and a 1% decrease in employee turnover.
While a high percentage of firms said employee wellbeing and resilience was important and had initiatives in place, few reported having strategies in place, and even fewer had fully integrated wellbeing into their business and talent strategy.
Globally, 82% of companies surveyed said employee wellbeing was important, 87% had at least one initiative in place, 55% had a strategy in place but just 24% fully integrated wellbeing into their business and talent strategy.
Regional differences
Across the EMEA region, although 82% of companies surveyed said employee wellbeing was important and 86% had at least one initiative in place and 51% had a strategy in place, only 19% fully integrated wellbeing into their business and talent strategy.
Firms in Ireland, the Czech Republic and South Africa were most likely to have an initiative in place, while those in Portugal, South Africa and Switzerland were most likely to have a wider strategy.
Companies in Portugal are most likely to have fully integrated wellbeing into their corporate and talent strategy (26%), with Poland, South Africa and Ireland all at 24%.
The survey found that overall, in EMEA, a quarter of wellbeing programmes were performing exceptionally or above average, with Ireland (37%), South Africa and the UK (both 34%) leading the way.
In the UK, 91% of companies claimed to have wellbeing initiatives in place, while 53% had a strategy and 42% said wellbeing was extremely important at their company and another 41% said it was important.
The survey also found that company culture was the main contributory factor in developing a business case for wellbeing.
But beyond financial resources and investment, one of the biggest challenges to starting or expanding wellbeing initiatives was employee engagement and interest – ranked as a challenge by 42% of survey participants globally.
Buy-in from management was also critical as 89% of firms surveyed agreed that the chief human resources officer (CHRO) was the biggest supporter of wellbeing initiatives, followed by the CEO (78%).
Commenting on the findings, Dr Avneet Kaur, EMEA wellbeing solutions leader at Aon, said: “Wellbeing is so much more than programmes and individual initiatives; it is a long-term people and performance strategy, using resources to achieve resilience goals over a sustained period.
“Cultures are the seedbeds that determine whether employee wellbeing programmes flourish or die, so companies should assess if their organisational culture is helping or hindering them in their wellbeing and resilience efforts.
“Leadership support and buy-in are critical factors in creating a culture and a wellbeing strategy that can positively impact workforce resilience and overall company performance.”