How to build an SME employee wellbeing strategy

Written by Katie Buckingham from Altruist

You wouldn’t invest in marketing activity without first understanding your audience, their needs and how these fit with other strategic objectives. You’d have a marketing strategy.

The same principle applies to employee wellbeing. Effective wellbeing initiatives shouldn’t be introduced in isolation. They should be shaped by a clear understanding of your employees’ needs, your existing culture and what your organisation is trying to achieve.

An employee wellbeing strategy provides a structured, intentional approach to support the health and wellbeing of your organisation’s most valuable asset, your people.

Employee wellbeing statistics

• 63 per cent of employees are experiencing at least one characteristic of burnout, such as exhaustion, mental distance from their job or a decline in work performance (Deloitte).
• Mental ill-health remains the leading cause of long-term sickness absence (CIPD).
• Happy employees are 10 per cent to 12 per cent more productive (Reward Gateway and LSE).

From 2025 to 2026, employment costs increased significantly, with employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) rising to 15 per cent in April 2025. At the same time, recruitment costs have continued to increase, making it more expensive than ever to attract and retain talented employees.

As costs continue to rise, some organisations may be tempted to reduce or remove their investment in employee wellbeing.

However, this can prove to be a false economy. Poor wellbeing can contribute to higher sickness absence, lower engagement, increased staff turnover and greater pressure on managers, all of which carry significant financial and operational costs.

Rather than reducing wellbeing budgets, organisations should focus on investing where it will have the greatest impact. A robust employee wellbeing strategy helps ensure that time, budget and resources are directed towards initiatives that genuinely improve employee wellbeing while supporting wider business objectives.

In this blog, we'll walk through five practical steps to help your SME build an effective employee wellbeing strategy.

Download your comprehensive 28-page guide for practical, step-by-step advice on building an effective employee wellbeing strategy, including key ROI calculations, templates and a proven framework.

1 Develop a business case

Build a strong business case that demonstrates how investing in employee wellbeing supports financial performance, productivity and organisational culture.

Presenteeism – Employees are at work but unable to perform at their best due to poor physical or mental health, reducing productivity and performance.

Absenteeism – The impact of sickness absence on costs, productivity and service delivery.

Staff recruitment and retention – How a strong wellbeing culture helps attract and retain talented employees.

Staff turnover – The financial and operational costs of employees leaving the organisation.

Leavism – Employees using annual leave or personal time to work or recover from work-related stress, masking underlying wellbeing issues.

Legal costs and litigation – Reducing the risk of employment disputes and claims by meeting your duty of care.

Stress and workplace accidents – The impact of stress on concentration, safety and workplace incidents.

Return on Investment (ROI) – Measuring the business value and outcomes of your wellbeing strategy.

2 Gather and analyse organisational data

Before writing your strategy, it's important to understand your starting point. Gather and analyse organisational data so your wellbeing strategy reflects the needs of your workforce rather than assumptions.

Returning to the marketing analogy, you might carry out an SEO or user experience (UX) audit before investing in a new website. Similarly, a workplace wellbeing audit helps identify priorities, target resources effectively and establish a baseline to measure the Return on Investment (ROI) of your strategy.

This information will help you answer questions such as:

• Why are we developing this strategy?
• Are we meeting our legal responsibilities?
• How will we measure success?

3 Write your strategy

Your wellbeing strategy should be more than a document stored on a shared drive. It should be a practical framework that evolves as your organisation grows and you learn what works.

At this point, you'll have a strong evidence base to shape your priorities. Your strategic objectives might include:

• Integrating wellbeing into your wider people strategy.
• Strengthening your position as a top employer.
• Supporting ESG commitments and tender requirements.

Your strategy should also set out the key areas of focus, including communication and engagement, learning and development, policies and procedures, manager capability, and wellbeing initiatives.

4 Launch and implement your strategy

Your employee wellbeing strategy represents a commitment to supporting your employees’ health and wellbeing. Clear communication, employee engagement and a realistic action plan are essential to turning your strategy into meaningful change.

Consider the following:

• Communicate clearly – Tailor messages for different audiences, such as managers, office-based and frontline employees.
• Create an action plan – Break your strategy into realistic, measurable actions with clear ownership.
• Align with the wellbeing calendar – Use awareness days and campaigns to maintain momentum throughout the year.
• Make support accessible – Ensure employees know what support is available and how to access it.
• Challenge stigma – Encourage open conversations and equip managers to support employee wellbeing.
• Embed wellbeing – Integrate wellbeing into recruitment, induction, management practices and everyday decision-making.
• Review and improve – Regularly measure progress, gather feedback and refine your approach over time.

5 Evaluate your strategy

Evaluating your strategy helps you understand its impact and identify where improvements can be made. Regular reviews should help answer questions such as:

• Have we achieved our objectives?
• Has employee feedback or organisational data improved?
• What impact has the strategy had?
• What have we learned?
• What should we do differently?

Evaluation should be an ongoing process rather than a one-off exercise. Regularly reviewing progress helps maintain momentum, demonstrate impact and ensure your strategy continues to meet the needs of your organisation.

Your initial wellbeing audit provides the baseline against which you can measure progress and assess the return on investment (ROI) of your wellbeing strategy.

Review the same data sources over time, including:

• Sickness absence rates and reasons.
• Presenteeism levels.
• Staff turnover and retention.
• Employee engagement survey results.
• Participation in wellbeing initiatives and training.

Use a combination of quantitative data and qualitative employee feedback to build a complete picture of what's working and where further improvements are needed.

A successful wellbeing strategy isn't about introducing more initiatives. It's about making better decisions, using evidence to target investment where it will have the greatest impact, and creating a healthier, more productive organisation for the long term.

Download your free 28-page Employee Wellbeing Strategy Guide for practical, ready-to-use content, ROI calculations and templates to help you build, implement and evaluate your strategy.