Employee engagement improves benefit useage and absenteeism

Increasing employee engagement improves absenteeism rates and take-up of benefit packages according to new research.

The report also finds that the benefits of a high employee engagement level can be significant to a company's bottom line.

This is illustrated as workers demonstrate a real commitment to their organisation and its values including showing a willingness to help out colleagues.

The research from Unum reveals that face to face communication is the most effective way to involve and engage employees.

It shows that 91% of companies with the highest recorded levels of employee engagement (above 80%) communicate details of their employee benefits packages through face to face meetings.

Printed handouts are the second most preferred method with 64% of these companies choosing this.

And an organisation is only half as likely to have a high employee engagement level if it opts to communicate information electronically.

Just over a third (36%) of companies with levels of employee engagement over 80% have been financially impacted by long-term absence, compared with 78% of companies with engagement levels of less than 60%.

Marco Forato, chief marketing officer at Unum, believes the importance of taking time out to meet with employees to explain the benefits of employee benefits packages should not be underestimated.

"Our findings indicate that there is a strong association between face-to-face contact employees have with the HR department and overall employee engagement levels," he says.

"By not taking this time out to speak to employees in person and address any queries or concerns, companies are not only doing a disservice to their staff, but may also potentially be affecting the financial performance of their business.

"This is underlined by our findings that show a correlation between companies who have poor engagement and those taking a financial hit due to long-term absence," he adds.