Listen first, act second: strategies for improving your wellness and benefits programmes

Research has found that 62% of employers plan to ramp up their focus on health and wellbeing in 2025.

However, employers are finding themselves out of sync with their employees’ true needs.

Data shows that only 24% of businesses are currently basing their staff benefits on actual employee requirements.

Many employers still operate from a checklist mentality, offering generic wellness programmes or one-size-fits-all perks, expecting these to meet the needs of a diverse workforce.

The truth is starkly different.

Employees are feeling disconnected from initiatives, which fail to address their actual priorities or challenges.

By rethinking your wellness and benefits programmes, you can create true drivers of productivity, loyalty and organisational success. 

In this blog, I’ve highlighted three key pieces of advice our expert panel provided when discussing this topic at the CIPD Festival of Work.

Listen to employee feedback

The first step in bridging the gap may sound obvious, but it’s often overlooked.

Actively listen to your people.

During the CIPD Festival of Work panel discussion, Naomi Cosgrove, HR Programme Manager at IRIS Software Group, emphasised the importance of creating a culture of listening.

It’s no longer enough to rely on broad demographic assumptions; you must give employees a voice in shaping THEIR benefits programmes.

Our speakers recommended using employee focus groups or staff surveys to gather insights.

They advised that these tools can not only identify what your people want but also spotlight their underlying pain points.

Are employees struggling with work-life balance? Are staff seeking more flexibility? Do people want access to mental health resources?

Seek answers to these kinds of questions and use them to shape your strategy.

Podcast: How to unite an equitable workforce

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Tailor benefits to diverse needs

The workforce spans many different generations, life stages and priorities.

For example, if you’re a Gen Z employee trying to get on the housing ladder, at that moment, will you really be worried about your pension contributions compared to a Boomer employee approaching retirement? 

Matt Armstrong, Senior Associate at Mercer, stated: “True flexibility is key. Allow employees to pick the benefits that support them during the moments that matter.”

For those looking to stand out as attractive employers, generic benefits are no longer sufficient.

Consider the diversity of your workforce and look to offer a wide selection of benefits, providing staff the option to choose what is most applicable to them, for instance:

• Private healthcare to support health and wellbeing
• Financial wellness guidance for younger employees entering the workforce
• Flexible retirement planning options for older team members nearing retirement
• Employee assistance programmes

Top Tip: If you’re not sure where to start when selecting your benefits, use the previous advice and work with staff to determine what would be most meaningful.

Make wellness a key part of your company culture

Wellness shouldn’t be an afterthought.

When creating your strategy, be proactive and look to align with broader HR goals.

This could include trying to reduce burnout, improve retention, increase productivity, etc.

Then communicate the strategy and benefits on offer to your employees, demonstrating their importance.

To do this, you could send out a comprehensive email, create a handbook or run a company-wide session where you walk staff through what is on offer.

Senior leaders should also champion your wellness and benefits programmes.

Note: To further cement your effort, you can shift how benefits are presented. Benefit portals ensure easier access and can significantly increase employee engagement. Naomi highlighted that at IRIS, we also recently moved all of our different free mental health apps to our benefits portal, so people have a centralised location rather than having to scramble around.

Building a future-ready workplace 

It’s time to step up, scrap the generic approach and craft wellness strategies built on listening and understanding.

Hopefully, the above has offered a starting point.

By investing more in your wellness and benefits programmes, you can create a happier, more engaged workforce.

Learn more about our HR solutions here and discover how they can underpin your strategy.

To learn more about our partner, Mercer, click here.