The toolkit
What is it, and why you should be using it.
Use our Cost Effectiveness calculator to help make a business case for wellbeing initiatives in the workplace. It illustrates the benefits of different types of wellbeing initiatives via improved employee wellbeing and boosts to productivity. As far as possible, the calculator gives benefits and costs in pounds and pence, allowing a direct comparison to aid decision making.
Business cost effectiveness calculator
The calculator explained
The calculator allows you to choose from a broad range of initiatives which aim to encourage healthy behaviours, such as:
alcohol or smoking reduction, improved physical fitness, healthier eating & health checks; and others which aim to support mental health and wellbeing, such as mental health, mindfulness, wellbeing apps, financial wellbeing & workplace volunteering.
Wellbeing effects
The calculator shows the estimated wellbeing effects that might arise in a workplace that offers the selected initiative. This includes the benefits per employee of improved physical or mental health and job satisfaction.
Improvements to productivity
The calculator will also estimate the value to the business of any improvements to productivity that arise due to reduced absenteeism or presenteeism per employee. These are estimated by the savings from reductions in time lost which are either evaluated at the average weekly wage for the UK or the user can supply their own wage information.
Indicative costs
The calculator will provide indicative costs associated with offering each type of initiative and any net savings per worker that might be expected due to improved productivity.
Employer benefits
The wellbeing and productivity benefits will depend upon whether employees are aware that their employer provides these initiatives and also upon how widely used they are within the organisation. The calculator allows the user to see what benefits may arise if there is greater awareness of the initiative.
Effective programmes
Finally, the calculator will provide details of which sorts of programmes are typically more effective.
Interested in finding out more?
This calculator has been developed using insights from Britain’s Healthiest Workplace Survey, and analyses conducted by Ritchie Woodard, Sara Connolly, Emike Nasamu (University of East Anglia) and Martin Stepanek (Vitality).
Participation in the survey is free and comes with a free in-depth report from Vitality on your current position and how to make improvements in workplace health and wellbeing provision. Run by Vitality, you can register to take part in the survey here.
In depth discovery
This simple calculator is based on an earlier version which was developed to help evaluate wellbeing initiatives which can be found here.
If you would like to hear one of the creators discussing the process of calculating cost-effectiveness in depth, watch this video of a recorded live event on the process: ‘Making a business case for a workplace wellbeing programme’ watch on YouTube.
Play Video
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