What Does Employee Vision Care and Vanilla Ice Have in Common?

It’s not the start of a terrible dad joke (though, I bet it would be an absolute crowd-pleaser!), but world-renowned scholar Vanilla Ice was onto something when he said, “Stop, Collaborate and Listen” in his famous song Ice Ice Baby.

When it comes to employee vision care, most businesses should be aware of its importance and ensure they’re offering it to comply with DSE (Display Screen Equipment) regulations. Yet many still treat it as a “grudge purchase” or stick with the dreaded “this is how we’ve always done it” approach.

This isn’t another article about:

• Why vision benefits are one of the most requested employee perks (they are).
• How regular eye tests boost productivity (spoiler: they do).
• How they can reduce absenteeism (yes, that too).
• Or even how they can literally save lives (seriously, they can).

It is however an article on three simple steps you can take to ensure your employee vision care provision is hitting the mark, based on the immortal words by Vanilla Ice in his 1990 banger, Ice Ice Baby (cue the fact you are reading this while also singing it in your head, #multi-tasking!).

STOP: Outdated Employee Vision Care Processes

“We’ve always done it this way” may be a fair argument for many things in life but it doesn’t quite cut it with employee vision care. Things change, tax laws change (if you’re not aware of potential P11D Benefit in Kind tax obligations regarding vision care, that should be your next read… after this, of course). How you provide your employee vision care should be a considered approach.

Claim backs are largely a thing of the past now for multiple reasons. EAP’s are great, but often severely under-utilised. And, simply doing nothing really shouldn’t be an option. Stop relying on outdated processes and spend time looking at options that are user-friendly, support compliance and simplify the process, all while meeting employee and business needs.

COLLABORATE: Or Rather… Don’t

Historically, employee vision care costs were serviced by a claim-back process, which worked at the time, but hasn’t aged as well as the song Ice Ice Baby.  The claim-back process involved a lengthy procedure with too many people just to get approval. Processes like the below weren’t uncommon (and are often still used by some organisations):

1. Employee realises they need an eye test and possibly glasses.
2. Employee asks their manager, who says, “Sure, just claim it back.”
3. Employee books the appointment and pays out of pocket.
4. Employee finds out they need glasses too.
5. Employee embarks on a corporate scavenger hunt to locate the right reimbursement form.
6. Employee fills out said form and submits it for review to the Line Manager.
7. Line Manager gasps at how much the eye test and glasses cost but accepts it’s “the way it has always been done.”
8. Line Manager submits the form to HR to review.
9. HR gasps at how much the employees’ glasses and eye test costs but accepts that it is their policy and “it’s the way it has always been done”.
10. HR spends what seems like 3.5 weeks finding their spreadsheet they have saved in a folder called “random stuff” to record the employee as having an eye test and purchased what can only be gold plated, diamond encrusted glasses personally signed by the designer based on the cost of them.
11. HR pass it on to Finance to pay the employee back, one month later in the payslip while also gasping at the cost of the glasses and working out how much vision care would impact the bottom line if all their employees spend this much.
12. Finance acknowledges the claim with the employee, Line Manager and HR.
13. Employee waits patiently for their claim to repaid while wondering what else they could have spent their hard-earned money on just so they can read a screen and do their job properly.
14. Employee finally gets paid back – only to find out they had a spending cap they didn’t know about.

The result? Employees are left frustrated, out of pocket and possibly rocking an unfortunate pair of ‘70s-style glasses they didn’t even want.

This isn’t the ideal process of employee vision care. It shouldn’t require multiple layers of approval and employees shouldn’t have to cover costs upfront (think working poverty). There should be no confusion about budgets or long waits. Employee vision care should be easy to utilise, provide a clear and streamlined journey, and offer accurate and accessible metrics for HR and Finance teams to monitor. Most importantly, it should clearly demonstrate value, with known costs and budget management options.

So, in this case, you shouldn’t need to collaborate with several departments and have a process that takes a month from end to end. It should be easy, quick and painless (and preferably without the 1970’s glasses).

LISTEN: Your Employees Have a Lot to Say

Feedback, good or bad, is always useful. Pay attention to what your people are telling you:

• Employees: “Why am I paying upfront for something my employer is supposed to cover?”
• Finance Team: “Tracking and controlling vision care costs is a nightmare.”
• HR Team: “We’re still using a spreadsheet. We have zero visibility on compliance and evidence of duty of care.”
• Belinda in Accounts: “I don’t want to visit a random retailer for my eye test, I want to use my regular optician where I feel comfortable.”
• Bill in Customer Service: “I’d rather support a small local optician.”
• Jenny in Sales: “I want a choice of frames that actually fit my style.”

Above all, listen to Vanilla Ice – because Ice Ice Baby really is a great song.

Ready to Stop, Collaborate (Efficiently) and Listen?

If you want to simplify your employee vision care, reduce admin and control costs – all while keeping your employees happy – let’s talk.

At EyeMed UK, we make eye care nice nice, baby.