HR’s role in supporting health and wellness as we return to work
As the world returns to normalcy, HR has taken the driver’s seat to guide employees safely back into the office.
When leaving the house pre-pandemic, most of us had our usual checklist: phone, wallet, keys. The pandemic forced us to expand that list, and we now grab our mask without a second thought.
In a similar way, the pandemic has expanded the checklist of health and wellness programs. Some services and offerings once deemed a luxury are now a necessity for supporting physically and emotionally disconnected employees. The pandemic has forced employee health into the spotlight and has even expanded that need past employees to their families.
Related: Self-care is faltering and mental well-being is failing
As the world returns to normalcy, HR has taken the driver’s seat to guide employees safely back into the office. This means informing employees about new policies and procedures around mandated mask-wearing or cleaning protocols. Additionally, it means reminding team members to take full advantage of their benefits. Most of all, organizations must support their employees’ health to create a successful work environment that’s productive, motivated and engaged.
How HR can influence employee health and wellness
Employees who use their health benefits and prioritize wellness are not only healthier, they also perform their jobs better, are more engaged, and feel more satisfied with their roles. However, health benefits are often underutilized, for a variety of reasons. It could be because employees don’t fully understand their benefits, they aren’t aware of the options available or simply because they don’t see the value. For others, the complexity of benefits are just overwhelming.
Health benefits are a core component of employee compensation and a longstanding draw for potential applicants. By highlighting the value of health benefits during onboarding, you encourage employees to take control of their health, especially in a remote work environment.
In addition to health, vision, dental and life insurance, organizations often pair traditional health benefits with nontraditional ones. Employers might offer free therapy sessions to combat increased stress from isolation or caregiving responsibilities. Others may offer discounted virtual fitness classes or fitness equipment stipends to stay fit while home. But if these benefits aren’t regularly communicated to employees in a personalized, timely manner, they will go unused– costing the company time and money.
Why personalization matters
It’s important to establish a personalized benefits communications strategy to influence employee health and wellness and encourage healthy habits. Personalization ensures that employees are learning about the benefits that are most relevant to them. The customized experience motivates employees to engage with the right health benefits at the right time and improves the physical and mental health of them and their families.
Not only are personalized communications crucial for increasing engagement with health benefits, but employees actually want personalized reminders to seek health care.
According to Evive’s Q4 2020 National Employee Journey Survey, two-thirds of employees would find it helpful to receive timely reminders from HR when due for health screenings. And more than half of respondents would find health reminders helpful for their spouse or partner.
So how do HR teams provide hyper-personalized communications around employee health and wellness benefits? The answer: data-driven messaging.
Personalized communications in action
It’s time for HR to take a lesson from marketing. Start using personalized communications, backed by data, to influence employees. By combining medical claims data with behavioral science and predictive analytics, we can identify employees with preexisting conditions eligible to receive the vaccine early on. If an eligible employee hasn’t signed up, HR can send timely reminders that they’re qualified. And even include trustworthy information regarding the vaccine’s safety in case they are worried about potential side effects.
Going a step further, HR can determine which employees might require therapy to manage the stress of the past year. Or recognize when an individual is neglecting their physical health, heading down a path that may result in costly treatments. Using data and a multi-modular platform to automate and distribute personalized messages to employees about the company’s unique benefits, like free therapy or discounted fitness classes, might encourage adoption of a healthier habit, help someone overcome mental fatigue, or motivate a loved one to visit a doctor.
For HR professionals, there is nothing more rewarding than engaging employees to ensure they have everything they need to connect their families with the right benefits for their health and well-being. Whether it is communicating with employees about their mental health and how to seek care or encouraging them to take control of their physical health, proactive engagement drives employees to act. It makes them feel like they’re part of an organization that genuinely cares about them and their family.
Elisabeth Duncan serves as vice president of human resources at Evive where she is responsible for planning, leading, directing and coordinating all the policies and activities of the human resources department.
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