Employee Benefits Programs

Our consultants can help you get the very best from your benefits budget

Maximize business value from employee benefits programs with smarter data

An employee benefits & wellbeing program is a mix of company policies, insurance products, mental and physical care initiatives and internal staff communications. Getting employee benefits right means balancing the needs of the business, its people and budget.

The best way to achieve ROI from employee benefits is with clear, insightful data and technology, and a service provider who can deliver the right level of support.

Howden presents the most methodical, scientific approach to maximizing value for money from your employee benefits & wellbeing programs. 

 Our consultants are ready and waiting to help you with:

  • A tailored employee benefits and wellbeing plan
  • Optional benefits
  • Total reward statements
  • A communicable benefits strategy you can have confidence in

Why Howden stand out from the rest

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Advanced data capture & analytics

Market-leading actuarial and analytics helps you see things you otherwise would not

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Time-saving service & technology

We operate as a genuine extension to your HR team, taking pressure off your people

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Stronger negotiating power

Superior data capability lets us investigate and challenge every insurer proposal, to get you the best possible deal

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People first

Putting employees’ needs first is a cornerstone of own our business culture, so we’re a great partner

Your amazing detail and comprehensive data driven and analytic review provided us with what I consider as huge savings on our group medical insurance policy.
CFO of major IT firm in the Philippines

Build benefits plans from a variety of options including:

Group Life Assurance or ‘Death in Service’ as it is often known, pays out a lump sum (usually tax free) to your employees’ dependents should they die, for any reason.

The lump sum is usually calculated as a multiple of the employee’s salary at the time of death.

Income protection insurance provides employees with a replacement income when they cannot work for an extended period of time because of illness or injury.

This sum is worked out as a percentage of their salary (often 75% of salary) and payments will continue until either the employee is well enough to return to work or they reach the end of the payment period insured under the policy. This may be a fixed number of years or until the employee reaches retirement age. 

Simple to administer and cost-effective, it’s regarded as a core component of any successful benefits package and highly valued by employees.

Critical illness insurance provides a tax-free lump sum to any employee diagnosed with a serious, life-threatening illness.

The exact list of illnesses covered varies from provider to provider, but most are set up to cover potentially life-changing conditions such as heart attacks, cancer, strokes, or Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Most policies will look to pay out within a month of the diagnosis for most conditions.

Private Health insurance, helps employees avoid waiting lists and be fast-tracked to diagnosis and treatment from experienced doctors and medical professionals – all in the comfortable surroundings of a private hospital.

You pay a monthly premium and the policy pays out, up to specified cover limits, for private treatment for your employees. 

The business benefits because staff can get back to prime health and work as quickly as possible. The workforce in general benefits because healthy employees don’t have to cover for co-workers who would otherwise be off sick for longer.

 

Virtual GP services allow your employees and their family to talk to real doctors about their health worries, either on the phone or using Skype-style webcam services.

Virtual GPs are fully qualified, experienced general practitioners who can diagnose, refer and prescribe, just the same as the family GP.

Virtual GPs are popular with employees as they can get the medical advice they need, when they need it, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

And they’re popular with employers because doctors’ appointments can be taken from the office or after work, minimising employee absence.

Dental pain can put employees out of action overnight. And prolonged discomfort and anxiety around dental care can have a serious negative impact on individual performance.

Dental insurance typically covers routine check-ups, as well as the costs of a wide variety of dental work, including dental accidents and emergencies. Treatments are usually carried out at either an NHS practice or at a private clinic.

It’s a popular benefit amongst employees and can support your talent recruitment and retention efforts.

There's a lot to consider when it comes to retirement. Not least that you are operating a compliant and well-governed scheme. And importantly, that your employees are educated and aware of their retirement benefits so they can plan for the future. 

We’re on hand to help with:

  • Scheme design and implementation
  • Scheme governance
  • Member guidance and communications

Money worries are one of the main causes of stress amongst employees.  A financial education program can help your workforce to:

  • Take control of their finances
  • Give them the tools to manage financial unpredictability and unexpected expenses
  • Manage debt and plan for their financial future

Our financial education programs are aimed at creating confidence for your employees to make well-informed financial decisions and eliminate stress.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide confidential access to services that help your people manage troubling times in their life.

Employees can call 24 hours a day to get advice, information and counselling for anything from mental health, relationship problems and stress issues, to childcare, debt and legal worries.

They’re becoming more and more popular as employers recognise the widespread prevalence of stress and mental health issues in modern life. 

EAPs are very affordable and extremely easy to set up. They can help to combat absence rates and boost engagement levels. Line managers can use the service to answer concerns they might have about employment issues or employee health. They are a valuable component in meeting your duty of care responsibilities. 

It’s the first time we’ve properly understood what is going on with the program.
HR Director of major BPO provider in the Philippines
Data visualisation examples of what we do with employee benefits data

Making a difference with data

We love data but we’re not robots – our consultants love a creative challenge, thinking outside the box to get you the results you need.

But collecting and analysing data helps everyone understand what is going on inside your business, and locating where some creative thinking needs to be applied.

So data, from inside and outside your business, is incredibly important.

We’re proud to say we lead the way in employee benefits & wellbeing data.

Think like a scientist: our methodical, data-driven approach to employee benefits:

The bedrock of any benefits study is developing a clear picture of who you have working for you and how that fits into your organisational structure.

You can set benefits and company working practices around the needs of different groups – but only when you understand them.

By understanding who uses what and how valued it is, you can target your efforts to the things where your business will see the best return.

This is where the data comes to life! Predict the impact of various changes to your benefit offer, and model people outcomes in the same way you could model financial outcomes.  

What is causing absences? If it is physical or mental health, you can address certain issue in the business, identify root causes and find positive solutions.

This could mean addressing stress levels, coping mechanisms, management styles and training for particular individuals. 

We can help you keep your people at work, and productive, instead of off work sick and claiming on your group policies.

By identifying trends, you can plan early interventions, targeted at the specific groups who would benefit from them most.

For example, you might look at ways to achieve health and wellbeing goals, such as providing access to activities that promote improved habits around diet, exercise, sleep, alcohol intake, etc.  

These in turn can lower your company’s income protection and healthcare claims. Done well, the ROI on these programs can be impressive.

Nothing helps you manage financials better than a true understanding of what is being spent where, and why.

Our analytical studies can break down your spending by claim type, claimant type, location, provider, gender, age groups etc.

Once you know how premium is being affected by your claims experience, you can create health and wellbeing programmes around them.

And not only that, our consultants can work with your insurers, to show they you are taking action. That way we can negotiate more strongly on your behalf.

Nobody wants to give their staff a benefit then later have to take it away because the company can no longer afford it.

Our data modeling and skillful program design will create an employee benefits offering that remains impressive long term.

By benchmarking your program against other businesses in your sector or region, we can help you see where some adjustments would help you attract and retain talent, and outmaneuver your competition. 

By monitoring data around service delivery, we manage your service providers and keep them to agreed metrics.

Is your current premium fair? Want to find out?

Contact our expert employee benefits team below.

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Tailored for you

Employee benefits say a lot about your company and the emphasis you give to looking after your staff. The rise of employer reviews sites means job seekers and employees can now easily compare perks from one company to another.

"The best talent will always have options. If you’re serious about attracting talent and keeping the best people, our consultants can help you get the very best from your benefits budget, and really help you stand out in a crowd".