All companies will now have access to the Business in the Community (BITC) Workwell benchmark enabling them to publically report employee engagement and wellbeing.
The benchmark launched last year with the reporting process restricted to just FTSE 100 companies. BITC has now opened to all companies of any size which can report voluntarily, with all members of the FTSE100 benchmarked on a mandatory basis.
Companies which participate in the 2014 BITC benchmark will receive a feedback report providing gap analysis of their performance in comparison to industry peers, as well as making recommendations for improvement.
Last year's inaugural benchmark results highlighted the need to ramp up transparency around employee engagement and wellbeing practices, to demonstrate whether robust people practices were in place to drive long term success.
In addition, results from the 2014 benchmark indicated that those who chose to self-complete typically scored much higher than those who did not.
To develop the benchmark, BITC consulted with members of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)-coordinated Steering Committee on Employee Relations. The committee consists of 11 global investors which all recognise the link between good employee practices and strong business performance.
RBS Group deputy head of sustainability and BITC Workwell Steering Group member Duncan Young said that the benchmark would help the bank to boost employee engagement and wellbeing development.
"Business leaders are increasingly realising that long term sustainable growth means implementing employee engagement and wellbeing on a company-wide basis. The result is these companies also become much more attractive prospects to investors looking for long-term, sustainable value," he said.
EDF Energy chief medical officer Dr Margaret Samuel concluded: "Over the past eight years the programmes undertaken by EDF Energy - a non FTSE 100 company - to improve employee engagement and wellbeing have helped to achieve a fall in sickness absence of 88% and made savings of almost £4 million."
The results of the 2014 BITC Workwell benchmark will be announced in April 2014.
