How your employees can benefit from biometric screening at work

The wellbeing of your employees is of the utmost importance. It affects their productivity, morale and retention, which could affect your company’s goals.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in the UK over 2017/18 employers lost over 30.7 million working days because of work-related ill health and non-fatal injuries.

To help overcome some of these issues, some employers invest in employee assistance programmes (EAP). As part of the efforts to invest in the wellbeing of staff, other employers now include biometric health screening as part of their EAP offerings.

In this piece, we’ll explore the benefits of this type of assessment.

What is a biometric screening?

Simply put, it’s a quick health exam used to offer insight on the current health status of your employees.

Ideally, a biometric wellness screening would be taken by an experienced health professional. With the data collected, they’ll:

• Identify employees that’ll benefit from health support.
• Provide data for result-based incentive programmes.
• Measure employees progress over time.
• Help employees make lifestyle changes.

It serves as a baseline for employee wellness and a means of tracking their progress over a period of time. And for convenience, on-site biometric screening services mean your staff can complete the exam without having to book time off.

It’s worth noting, while you may receive a general overview of the current health status of your workforce, you can’t see the result of individual employees. The Data Protection Act 2018 controls how the government and businesses use personal information.

What does a biometric screening test for?

This screening aims to obtain the current health status of your employees. It’ll require a blood sample and the examiner will also measure various physical characteristics including:

• Lipids – to calculate cardiovascular disease risk.
• Cotinine — to detect tobacco use.
• Body mass index (BMI).
• Blood pressure.
• Blood cholesterol.
• Blood glucose.

Benefits of biometric screening

For organisations that invest in wellbeing initiatives, biometric screenings at work can help to reduce the costs associated with absences.

For employees, benefits span from learning about their health metrics to tracking the progress and improving motivation.

It serves as a baseline analysis of the current health status of your workforce and with it, a starting point for designing a health and wellness strategy specific to your organisation. Other advantages include:

• Promoting positive health and preventing diseases: Learning about their current health status can motivate employees to make improvements. Using the data from the exams, staff members can also take preventative action again signs of chronic diseases.
• Boosts loyalty, morale and engagement: By showing concern for the health and wellbeing of your employees, you’re encouraging their loyalty to your organisation. And with high morale comes an increase in productivity and engagement as well as decreases in absences and turnover.
• Specific wellness strategies: With a company-wide health assessment, you’re able to identify and address the specific needs of your workforce. With the data collected, you can create a precise wellbeing strategy that addresses issues specific to your organisation.

How long does biometric screening take?

The duration of the health screening depends on the test option selected. On average, these screenings take 15 to 20 minutes per employee.

How to do biometric screening

While it’s an examination of ‘physical traits’, employees will need to fill out a questionnaire about their lifestyle behaviours and health status.

Examinations generally involve body measurements and a blood sample (by venous blood draw or finger stick).

Expert support

For more information on occupational health assessments, contact Health Assured. Call us today on 0844 892 2493.