More than ever, business leaders in the finance sector must show they care about their employees to build and maintain a strong workforce. Prioritising employee wellbeing isn’t just critical to improving your employer brand and attracting more talent to your team in an era of skill shortages – the benefits are numerous.
By prioritising employee well-being, you boost your chances of retaining top talent and significantly reduce talent acquisition costs. Plus, companies with healthy, happy employees are more profitable and productive. Over 90% of companies implementing wellness initiatives say they see a positive return on investment thanks to reduced turnover, absenteeism, and disengagement.
Here’s how investing in employee wellbeing can significantly impact your company’s financial health and retention rates in the years ahead.
The Current State of Employee Wellbeing
Barriers to employee well-being are everywhere in today’s world. In countless industries, employees are experiencing higher stress levels and increased burnout due to evolving customer expectations, technology trends, and employer demands.
Employees in the finance sector suffer more than most. Faced with constantly changing regulations, heavy workloads, and economic challenges, finance professionals are burning out faster than staff in other sectors. A study found that 69% of finance employees have suffered from severe workplace stress—a percentage higher than in any other industry.
The challenges for finance professionals will only continue growing in the years ahead as teams are forced to adapt rapidly to demands for new skills and changing work patterns.
For employers in this sector, team members’ rising stress levels lead to an increase in absenteeism and burnout and an increased chance of staff turnover. In one survey, a team member said they planned to leave entirely because of the high-pressure environment they were constantly.
exposed to.
The Link Between Employee Wellbeing and Talent Retention
For business leaders unsure how to calculate the ROI of employee wellbeing programs, focusing on talent retention and the costs of hiring new employees is a good place to start.
While employees might leave a business for various reasons, a lack of focus on well-being is a key cause of turnover. According to HRE, 77% of employees would consider leaving a company that doesn’t focus on well-being. Another 83% say the right well-being strategy is more important than a good salary.
While estimates of how much turnover costs companies can vary, one Gallup report suggests that UK employers spend up to £25,000 to replace a lost employee. Beyond advertising for job roles and training team members, there are countless other costs to consider, such as the indirect costs of low employee morale and lost productivity.
In some cases, turnover can also lead to the loss of crucial knowledge in an organisation, forcing businesses to spend more on retraining and upskilling their remaining staff.
Focusing on employee well-being helps businesses significantly reduce their chances of losing employees due to stress or poor job satisfaction. According to a Johnson and Johnson case study, their well-being program saved them more than $250 million over a decade.
Healthy, Happy Employees are Good for Business
It’s not just the ability to retain talent for longer that makes investing in employee well-being worthwhile for finance companies. Research consistently shows that a healthy, happy workforce pays dividends. For instance, the World Economic Forum found that firms that receive awards for their well-being initiatives have a 115% growth in earnings per share.
Beyond boosting retention rates, employee wellbeing initiatives contribute to a company’s financial health by:
- Improving engagement: Healthier, happier employees are more engaged at work. Employees with high well-being are more likely to be motivated in the office and more productive in the workplace, leading to better overall performance.
- Reduced absenteeism: Financial employees with excellent well-being are less likely to take time off work due to burnout or stress. Less absenteeism means reduced downtime and fewer disruptions in your organisation.
- Improving talent acquisition: An employer focusing on wellbeing is more likely to attract high-quality talent to its team when it decides to grow its organisation. This reduces the cost associated with sourcing new team members.
How to Implement Your Employee Wellbeing Program
Implementing an employee wellbeing program that delivers the best possible return on investment for your company and positive results to your team requires a careful strategy. In today’s world, simply giving staff access to healthy meals or gym memberships is insufficient.
Here are the key steps to consider when introducing your employee wellbeing strategy.
1. Assess Employee Needs Carefully
First, it’s worth remembering that “wellbeing” can mean different things to financial employees. For time-pressed team members, achieving a higher level of wellbeing might mean accessing tools and resources to help them be more productive or automate certain tasks.
Flexible work initiatives and customisable schedules might improve work-life balance and reduce stress levels for employees with busy personal schedules. Learning about your employees’ specific needs will ensure you can create programs tailored to their requirements.
Conduct surveys or ask your team members questions about how you can improve their sense of wellbeing at work. Be ready to adapt your strategy to different segments of the workplace.
2. Take a Holistic Approach
Building a successful employee well-being program means focusing on the various factors that can affect your team’s health. The right strategy should encompass everything from mental health support, to solutions for dealing with financial stress. Look at options for:
- Mental health: Workers miss 12 billion days at work each year due to mental health issues. Look into supportive solutions like counselling services and stress management workshops.
- Physical health: Physical health support makes your team members more resilient. Consider offering gym memberships, nutritional meal options, and ergonomic workstations.
- Work life balance: Good wellbeing requires balance between a person’s personal and professional life. Explore opportunities like flexible working hours or schedules.
- Financial wellbeing: Stress about money can cause employees to lose sleep and focus. Offer access to fair compensation, financial planning assistance, and budgeting support.
- Social wellbeing: Strong interpersonal connections make us happier. Invest in strengthening company culture with team-building activities.
3. Lead by Example
Employee wellbeing initiatives won’t pay off if employees don’t feel comfortable taking advantage of your programs. If you encourage your team members to take regular breaks or use their paid time off, but business leaders don’t do the same, this will lead to confusion and concern among your team members.
Your team’s leaders must lead by example, showing others how important it is to care for their mental and physical health. Provide your leadership and management teams with training to help them implement a significant cultural shift in your workforce.
Show them how to demonstrate empathy and emotional intelligence and remind them to reward team members for investing in their wellbeing.
4. Measure the Impact of your Efforts
Finally, it is important to measure your wellbeing initiatives’ full impact on your team and your company’s financial performance. Collect feedback from your team members for insights into how your strategies are improving their engagement and satisfaction levels.
Pay attention to critical metrics that help you calculate the ROI of your initiatives, such as absenteeism, productivity, or employee retention rates. Also, consider how your wellbeing strategies are contributing to other business efforts.
For instance, if recruiting new team members, consider how many employees participate in referral programs or advise people in their network to join your team.
The Tangible Benefits of Employee Wellbeing
Investing in employee wellbeing isn’t just a good way to make your business more appealing to today’s top talent. It’s the key to increasing retention rates, optimising your teams’ productivity and engagement, and saving money on talent acquisition.
The right employee wellbeing strategy can impact your company’s performance, increasing your revenue and reducing operational costs.
Don’t underestimate the value of investing in employee wellbeing in today’s financial market.
Thanks
Rachel Mitson
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we understand employer and employee needs and match them perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team members today or call us at 01282 930930.
