Global Employer Insights Survey: Health and Wellbeing

Using health and wellbeing offerings to manage staff churn and attract talent

Each year, Optum has surveyed employers around the world to better understand trends in health and wellbeing (H&W) strategies and practices. In our 2022 survey, we asked 347 employers how H&W programmes have impacted recruitment and retention.

On this page

Helping retention and attraction

Ranking retention and recruitment

Gauging success

Tracking ROI

Overall H&W strategy

Do your company’s health and wellbeing programmes help you retain and attract employees?

Almost all companies believe their H&W programmes help with recruitment and retention.

Graph showing employer beliefs about employee recruitment and retention over the last 2 years.

In 2022, 98% of global employers strongly agreed that their H&W programmes help retain and attract employees versus 93% in 2021.

In determining the success of your H&W programmes, how important is increased retention and recruitment?

Half of global employers think retention and recruitment are very important measures of programme success. And that trend has increased over the last 3 years.

Graph showing employer beliefs about employee recruitment and retention over the last 3 years.

In 2022, 52% of employers said increased employee retention was very important in measuring the success of their H&W programmes compared to 47% in 2021 and 48% in 2020. Half of employers surveyed in 2022 said increased employee recruitment was very important in gauging the success of their programmes versus 40% in 2021 and 39% in 2020.

How successful have your company’s H&W programmes been in terms of increasing employee retention and recruitment?

Most employers think their H&W programmes have been successful at increasing retention and recruitment.

Graph showing employer beliefs about employee retention and recruitment over the last 3 years.

Over the last 3 years, most global employers think their H&W programmes have been successful with increasing employee retention: 89% in 2022, 79% in 2021 and 83% in 2020. The percentage of employers who think their programmes were strongly successful in this area are: 41% in 2022 and 2021 and 38% in 2020. The percentage of employers who think their programmes were somewhat successful in this area are: 48% in 2022, 38% in 2021 and 45% in 2020.

How do you measure ROI of your wellness programmes?

Most companies said increased productivity is a key measure of H&W ROI. Employee turnover is the least-used metric when it comes to measuring programme ROI.

Graph showing metrics employers use to measure H&W programme success.

Over the last 3 years, the criteria companies use to measure H&W ROI have been about the same: increased productivity — 70% in 2022 and 2021, 72% in 2020; increased employee engagement scores — 62% in 2022, 64% in 2021 and 2020; decreased absenteeism — 43% in 2022, 36% in 2021 and 41% in 2020; and, decreased employee turnover — 37% in 2022, 38% in 2021 and 34% in 2020.

Is your company able to effectively track programme metrics?

In 2022, less than half of employers strongly agreed their company can effectively track H&W programme metrics.

Graph showing employer beliefs about how effectively they can measure H&W programme success.

Over the last 3 years, less than half of employers strongly agree their company can effectively track metrics used to evaluate their H&W programmes: 49% in 2022, 43% in 2021 and 48% in 2020.

The most successful part of our overall health and wellness strategy is that our company has a low turnover rate.

— Employer in Norway

How can you better leverage your H&W programme to attract talent and reduce turnover?

Optum can help. We’re on a mission to create a healthier world. At Optum, we understand that corporate success starts with a healthy workforce. Our integrated health solutions, including our global Employee Assistance Programme, help advance your health and wellbeing strategy to build a culture of health within your organisation.

Learn more at optum.com/globalemployers.

Global Employer Insight Survey: Recruitment & Retention

(PDF 117kb)

Using health and wellbeing offerings to manage staff churn and attract talent

Do your company’s health and wellbeing programmes help you retain and attract employees?

In determining the success of your H&W programmes, how important is increased retention and recruitment?

How successful have your company’s H&W programmes been in terms of increasing employee retention and recruitment?

How do you measure ROI of your wellness programmes?

Is your company able to effectively track programme metrics?

How can you better leverage your H&W programme to attract talent and reduce turnover?

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