Employers seem to be aware of the value of having a better understanding of the risk profile of their employees’ health and wellbeing but are struggling in their efforts to measure it in practice, research conducted by Towergate Employee Benefits shows.
According to the research, 89% of employers agree that it would be valuable to have a better understanding of the risk profile of their employees’ health and wellbeing, but only 46% of them strongly agreed that they have a good understanding of it.
Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits, one of UK’s largest employee benefits advisers, said that assessing the health and wellbeing risk profiles of employees would be beneficial to the business.
And employers seem to agree. Sixty (60) per cent of the respondent employers think that risk profiling their employees will allow them to tailor their health and wellbeing support programs to keep their employees healthy and working; fifty-four (54) per cent of them think that risk profiling will help in the recruitment and retention efforts of the company, and 53% think that risk profiling will help them focus on the most relevant support they offer.
The methods use to assess these risk profiles need not be expensive. There are various options available for employers, but conducting questionnaires and medical assessments seem to be the most common methods used.
The research showed that 53% of employers used questionnaires, preferred over medical assessments, which is the more informative and accurate method, but more expensive. Of those who do conduct medical assessments, only 17% do so for risk of serious illness, while about 33% conduct them for weight and fitness assessments.
Still, 18% of the employers asked do not conduct any risk profiling at all.
The conduct of these assessments also seems to be lacking, the research showed. Only 69% of employers ask all their employees to complete a questionnaire about weight and fitness. Profiling all of the employees is advantageous, the research said, as it will offer a fuller understanding of the workforce, which will help tailor the most appropriate support system for the employees.
“It is great that employers see value in risk profiling, but now they must take action to gain a stronger understanding of their own specific workforce, so they can offer the most appropriate support,” Clark said.
