The move is designed to ensure that health benefits are not just a ‘feel-good’ mechanism but are also designed to help curb employee attrition and measure performance.
Over the years, several measures have gained traction, including mandatory annual health check-ups, access to hospitals and therapists, insurance policies that look into a more fluid family structure where partners are included, and even gender surgeries. Now, things are being taken to a different level.
Who’s doing what
For instance, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services has rolled out health and life insurance coverage for employees’ household help and will also pay for the expenses incurred for vacations taken up by an employee’s parents/parents-in-law.
The company’s chief human resources officer (CHRO) Niren Srivastava said that these non-monetary benefits are being offered from the new fiscal to employees who have spent at least five years with the company.
“About 15% of the employees can access them, who meet the eligibility criteria,” Srivastava said. “We estimate that these measures will help us bring down attrition, which was ~52% in FY24, and about 40% in FY24. Early trends are very encouraging.”
To manage attrition even when there is pressure on costs, firms are depending more on health benefits when counter offers for exiting employees and out-of-turn hikes impact their coffers.
Aditya Birla Health Insurance, for instance, will amalgamate employee health goals into performance metrics. This means employee performance reviews will take into account progress towards things like weight management, improved sleep patterns, or healthier eating habits.
“We are encouraging employees to take health goals as part of their performance appraisal process,” said a senior executive in the firm who wished to remain anonymous. “So far, the goals were operational ones, sales target, customer goals, etc., and although it is not compulsory, the company has recommended its 6,500 employees to take one.”
While not being mandatory, health goals will be allotted maximum 10% weightage and those who achieve the goals will be “recognized” in the firm’s quarterly/annual awards, etc.
While objective settings are not completed for all, at least 40-50% would have taken a health goal already, the executive said. “Those who have not taken a health goal, we will go back and again encourage them to take one.”
Early days
Consultants who look after compensation and rewards note that it will take a while before these perks become part of an employee’s negotiations with a firm.
“The focus on well-being has been gathering pace and the feedback is quite positive given their high usage rates, particularly at a junior management level. However, we may take sometime before a candidate says ‘I need them’ while accepting a job offer,” said Dinkar Pawan, director at Deloitte who focuses on executive performance and rewards.
According to a report by insuretech platform Plum, “given that health insurance impacts only 8% of the workforce, there is greater demand for more holistic healthcare initiatives”.
The report, which analyzed 4,500 employee healthcare programmes, noted that since last year there has been a 66% increase in median sum insured from ₹3,00,000 to ₹5,00,000. Firms offering flexible benefits have doubled as well in the same period.
In June, e-commerce firm Flipkart introduced a scheme wherein its 20,000 employees and their families can get instant rewards with cashback through a mobile app on any health or medical bills paid by them or their families, immediately reducing their monthly healthcare costs.
Flipkart has introduced this in partnership with healthcare payments company QubeHealth.
“This partnership simplifies healthcare payments and supports the needs of our employees,” said Aakriti Chandra, the company’s vice president-HR (performance, total rewards, corporate function). “These initiatives are designed while keeping in mind the changing times and evolving needs of people.”
This May, Panasonic Life Solutions India introduced an annual health check-up for employees above 40 years that would be reimbursed by the company.