Today, as business leaders have become more attuned to the flow-on business benefits of a healthy workforce#, and people leaders have become more data-savvy, the two camps are building alignment around an agreed return on value (ROV) assessment – which considers the program, business, and people impact.
A key element of this is “putting in place mechanisms to measure performance [which] can enable organisations to achieve desired program impact, improve adoption rates, and enhance decision-making,” says Deloitte.
This blog post shares ROI statistics, an overview of ROV assessment measures, and an encouragement for health-savvy leaders to look beyond the metrics. To learn how to compare the business impact of EAPs (and EAP alternatives) in more detail, we invite you to download our 42-page buyer’s guide here.
# Sources: Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, Korn Ferry
Most HR teams are expected to quote ROI metrics in their EAP and employee wellbeing business cases. For that reason, here are some generic statistics that might be helpful for your business case:
However, we’re seeing more and more HR teams talk about replacing ROI metrics with more holistic ROV metrics.
An ROV assessment is a more comprehensive measure of the success of an employee wellbeing program than an ROI calculation.
Given the evidence^ that non-financial metrics can later impact financial metrics, ROV considers both direct and indirect financial benefits to paint a more holistic picture of how an employee wellbeing program is tracking.
An ROV assessment measures:
Direct financial benefits:
Indirect financial benefits:
Pre-2020, few employers meaningfully acknowledged that work and personal lives were inextricably linked. Instead, they sustained “the myth of separate worlds”, as labelled by Harvard Business School’s Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and did not see an employee’s wellbeing as their responsibility.
For example, if an employee lost sleep at night or needed a medical consultation, that was their out-of-hours problem. If their partner was ill and unable to fulfil childcare duties, that was their private issue to fix. If a worker’s safety outside of work hours was at risk, there was no reason for work to intervene. If an employee had mental health concerns, it was assumed they would ring the helpline number on the lunchroom poster after they clocked off.
But, somewhere between the blur of Zoom calls, living room intrusions, hybrid work discussions, lockdown stress, and an increase in family and domestic violence (FDV), the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a cultural shift that was already in motion, and the world of work irrevocably changed.
In 2023, employee wellbeing strategies and measurements need to recognise that:
# Sources: Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, PwC, Harvard Business Review
^ Sonder (October 2022 survey of 2,000 employees in Australia, conducted by McGregor Tan)
Sonder is an EAP alternative. We combine mental health support with safety and medical support. We also combine on-demand technology with 24/7 human expertise, as explained in our video:
For more information about how Sonder can help you rethink your employee and/or student support, we invite you to contact us here.
Today’s blog post shares excerpts from our new ‘How to compare EAPs’ guide, which we invite you to download here. This insider’s guide to employee assistance programs will help you:
Sonder is a technology company that helps organisations improve the wellbeing of their people so they perform at their best. Our mobile app provides immediate, 24/7 support from a team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals – plus onsite help for time-sensitive scenarios. Accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), our platform gives leaders the insights they need to act on tomorrow’s wellbeing challenges today.
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