The Bupa success story

The challenge

Before 2022, only 35% of Bupa’s employees had access to a full portfolio of healthcare benefits, while a further 30% had minimal or decentralised options, making it difficult for many to get the support they needed. Bupa wanted to ensure that all employees, regardless of location or role, had access to essential healthcare and support, reflecting their mission of helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives.

Due to Bupa’s healthcare benefits previously being spread across multiple systems, it was hard for employees to understand their benefits options and access wellbeing support. They wanted to simplify and centralise their benefits system, making it easier for employees to understand and access their options.

By providing better benefits, Bupa also wanted to engage and support their care-home workers, while improving employee retention and reducing their reliance on agency staff.

They set themselves the following targets to achieve:

• 40% engagement rate (previously <10% for healthcare benefits)
• 30% submission rate

The solution

Creating flexibility with a brand new, innovative health product to support their people 

In 2023, Bupa partnered with Benifex to launch OneHub, branded internally as Viva Benefits. OneHub centralises all their healthcare and wellbeing benefits, consolidates data across 21,022 global employees, and simplifies complex eligibility requirements, delivering a modern and inclusive benefits experience for employees. The Viva Benefits platform provides a consistent, user-friendly interface, with tools like a mobile app for wellbeing resources and meditation, helping employees navigate their benefits effortlessly.

To meet the diverse needs of their people, Bupa created a fully funded, tax-free healthcare product, ‘MyHealthcare’, combining their private medical insurance, health screening, and cash plan products. The benefit includes primary care services like GP access, physiotherapy, mental health support, and wellbeing resources. Alongside the unique ‘MyHealthcare’ product, Bupa introduced a £350 annual ‘MyHealthcare Allowance’ that lets employees select the benefits that matter most, like dental check-ups or health assessments. They can even use Viva Benefits to gift health benefits – like cancer checks and menopause support – to dependents and extended family members, promoting inclusivity and extending the programme’s reach.

Effectively communicating the launch to frontline staff 

With approximately 15,000 of Bupa’s UK employees based in hard-to-engage frontline roles, Bupa deployed on-site Employee Health Benefits Advisors to reach these workers. They ran roadshows, platform demonstrations, and distributed merch, while a multichannel communications strategy included brochures, posters, scavenger hunts, and even a group dance to generate excitement and awareness about their new benefits platform.

Bolstering employee financial wellbeing

Bupa continuously explores new ways to support their people – even during their benefits revamp! Upon discovering many frontline care staff on statutory sick pay faced financial stress when unable to work, Bupa launched a groundbreaking sickness benefit trial for employees on hourly pay. This company-funded scheme represents a major investment in employee wellbeing and provides 30% of an employee’s average salary for up to 30 days. Bupa also helped employees build financial resilience with an opt-out savings trial through the Wagestream app.

Results

• Bupa pledged to plant trees for the first 2k logins to the new benefits platform within the first two weeks. Hitting this target by 11:30 on launch day, they achieved 3,913 logins and have now reached 18,834 unique logins overall (79% of employees have signed up!)
• 47% of employees submitted a voluntary benefit
• In the first month after launch, more people added beneficiaries to the system than in the previous five years
• 42% of people opted-in to the Allowance in 2024, compared to 28% in 2023
• 1,000 appointments across GP, physio and mental health practitioners were booked in the first year
• Bupa’s employee wellbeing score increased from 77 to 80 YoY, and their eNPS score across their care services population increased from 76 to 80 over five years
• Attrition fell from 29% in 2023 to 24% in 2024; the industry standard is 27%
• Employee sickness absence fell from 4% in 2023 to 3% in 2024

Overall, Viva Benefits has simplified processes for Bupa’s internal teams and provided an accessible space to house their benefits information – allowing staff to focus on value-add services, while providing benefits that will make a real difference to their employees’ lives.