Eyecare delivers good ROI | Incentive & Motivation

New research from Specsavers Corporate Eyecare shows that three quarters of employers (75%) state their focus on wellbeing has increased in recent years. A significant 61% spend more than 1% of their wellbeing budget on eyecare and, perhaps surprisingly, 19% of employers allocate more than 5% of their wellbeing budget to eyecare. 

Furthermore, more than two thirds (69%) of employers think eyecare delivers a good return on investment (ROI). Less than one quarter (22%) are undecided if eyecare delivers a good return on investment, and just 8% think it did not actually deliver a good return.

Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: ‘A few years ago these results might well have been surprising, but employers are coming to understand the significant role eyecare can play in the health and wellbeing of employees.’

Indeed, research released earlier this year by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare showed how employers believe that having an eyecare policy in place helps with the overall health and wellbeing of their staff and can help to increase productivity at work.

While employers are becoming more and more aware of the wide-ranging positive effects of eyecare, cost and quality are, rightly, still a very important element of eyecare provision when choosing a supplier. Cost is the most important consideration for over half (56%) of employers. Some 47% stated quality as being vital, and 36% said flexibility was a deciding factor in choosing a supplier. These were followed in importance by ease of access to stores (32%), administration time required (27%) and reputation of supplier (25%).

Jim Lythgow continued: ‘The key to eyecare provision is communication – from eyecare specialist to employer, and from employer to employee – to explain the benefits. When asked about the most important aspect in choosing a supplier, just 15% said they look for help in communicating the eyecare policy to staff. However, in practice, this can be a big differentiator in terms of ROI – employers that are good at communicating their benefits demonstrate their value and this is the key in engaging a workforce.’

The independent survey of more than 100 heads of UK companies and organisations, represents a minimum of 300,000 employees.