In the current economic climate, it comes as no surprise that employee morale can be low. Never-ending headlines of the latest private firm to introduce wide-scale job cuts coupled with the implementation of a public sector pay freeze are no doubt concerning for every echelon of the workforce.

As an employer, have you considered the impact that low morale amongst your staff can have on both the quantity and quality of the work they are producing? Low morale invariably leads to a lack of employee motivation and engagement which, in the long term could prove to hinder the success of your business.

Whilst the idea of offering pay rises may be inconceivable in these uncertain times, it remains equally, if not even more important to reassure your staff, as your greatest asset, of their worth.

In recent years, a popular method of boosting staff morale whilst ensuring that business continues to run both smoothly and successfully has been through the introduction of health and wellbeing benefits. With 88% of workers believing that employers should provide health and wellbeing incentives, (www.reed.co.uk) it is evident that such benefits have been, and will continue to be well received.

Having recognised the need to improve their benefits package, City College Norwich have recently introduced health and wellbeing incentives in the form of a health cash plan.(www.simplyhealth.co.uk) For companies worried about incurring huge costs, a health cash plan allows you to contribute as little as £1 a week, per employee towards the cost of their everyday health care needs.

The results of these benefits speak volumes. Since the cash plan was introduced, City College Norwich has observed a 16% decrease in sickness absence as well as a dramatic reduction in staff turnover. (www.simplyhealth.co.uk)

With the annual cost of absence per employee estimated at £692 (www.hi-mag.com) and the rate of staff turnover proving problematic for many companies, offering health and wellbeing incentives could in fact benefit employers and employees alike.

If one of your employees was to fall ill or incur an injury, what impact would waiting weeks for treatment on the NHS have on your business?

What’s more, the growing uncertainty of today’s society has had an undeniable impact of the mental health of the population. According to a recent article published in the Guardian, between 20 and 25% of adults will have an episode of mental illness this year. This means that it is increasingly important to look after the emotional resilience as well as the physical wellbeing of your staff in order to avoid prolonged absence from the workplace. In offering private medical insurance or a cash plan to your employees, you could reduce absenteeism by ensuring that they have access to a range of counselling services which may otherwise be deemed too expensive.

Whether you opt for comprehensive private medical insurance or a budget cash plan, looking after the wellbeing of your staff could have an invaluable impact on the performance of your company.

For a free, no-obligation company health insurance quote, or to find out more about health cash plans contact our expert advisers on 0800 073 0582. At Best Health we work with all the leading insurers to ensure that we find the right policy for you at the best price.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 9:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.