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A holistic approach to wellness

What’s the key to recruiting and retaining workers during the current war for talent? Higher pay? Fully remote work? In an extremely competitive environment, make sure that you’ve considered all of the levers of employee well-being and strategies to increase engagement, retention and morale.

Talent Trends

  • Chief human resource officers report that only 19% of their organizations were prepared to bridge the gap resulting from a talent shortage.

  • 6 in 10 employees say well-being support will be a top priority when applying for new jobs.

  • Voluntary turnover among U.S. employees likely to jump nearly 20% this year from pre-pandemic annual quitting in 2022 (average of 31.9 million employees to 37.4 million employees).

12 questions to get started

In meeting with executives to discuss trends around benefit planning and employee well-being, BOK Financial Insurance and Institutional Wealth leaders identified the following topics as important elements of innovation. The following 12 questions help companies start on a holistic employee wellness journey.
  • Understanding your company’s motivation, values, priorities and your general “why” provide insights to help inform decisions on which benefits best align with your company culture.

  • Company culture is a commonly overlooked concept in connection to employee benefits. However, your benefit offerings help demonstrate company priorities and what is important to leadership.

  • A formal benefits statement provides a quick view of your company’s philosophy on employee benefits, and therefore, a glimpse into company culture.

  • Wellness and preventative care are the best way to keep your population healthy and keep healthcare premiums stable. Considering areas beyond physical wellness — mental, financial, career planning — can enhance your benefits program significantly.

  • Employee surveys provide insights into what’s important to your employees in regards to benefits, culture, etc.

  • Identifying any trends around specific live stages of large numbers of employees, along with employee survey feedback, may help you more closely tailor benefit offerings and plans to the needs of your employee base.

  • Awareness is one of the most important components of a successful benefits program. Employees must be educated and knowledgeable about what is offered to make the most of the resources available to them.

  • Voluntary benefits are a cost effective way to provide employees with options that may not be available on the individual market.

  • Mental health is a significant contributor to an overall wellness strategy. A lack of access to mental health resources can have a negative effect on employee health, premium costs and employee productivity.

  • If employees are facing financial challenges, they will likely be distracted from daily work, impacting productivity. Helping employees understand the keys to financial wellness, and the tools to support that journey, can be a significant benefit.

  • A structured program and/or resources is an important element of talent retention. Providing a clear path to grow employees’ careers within the company can be a very attractive benefit to all parties involved.

  • If community giving is a core value for your company, formal benefits such as paid volunteer time off or structured employee group volunteer activities are attractive to many prospective new hires. Presenting these activities as benefits is reflective of company culture as well.

Next Steps

If any of these questions prompted you to ask more questions, we should talk. Exploratory conversations help our teams identify opportunities for companies to work toward a holistic wellness strategy in support of your talent recruiting and retention needs.

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