2014-02-05

It’s essential that businesses move with the times and keep up to date with industry changes in order to maintain their competitive advantage. But how important is it for these organisations to review their employee benefits offering? Should employers be reviewing their benefits regularly to ensure they are fit-for-purpose?

Well, yes! As an employer you should be reviewing your employee benefits scheme on a regular basis.  It’s crucial that your benefit package is up to date and competitive. After all, benefit schemes play a critical role in enabling organisations to attract, retain and motivate the very best talent.  And when faced with the current economic climate of minimal wage increases, budget constraints, salary freezes and limited bonus pay-outs, the spotlight is very much on  benefit packages.

With this focus in mind, QCG (Quintige Consulting Group) conducted a survey earlier this year on benefit practices and trends. The results, based on responses from 54 organisations who were surveyed, found that the majority (85%) of respondents have either recently made changes to their organisation’s benefits provision or are due to do so over the next year.

 

So why change what you’ve got?

There may be many reasons employers are looking to make changes but the results of QCG’s survey found that such changes are being driven by organisations wanting to attract and retain talent, while creating value for money. Employee benefits play an essential role in helping employers to increase staff productivity so it is critical that they are offering what their employees want and are communicating it in an effective manner.

Employers need to be evolving their benefits in line with multiple contributing factors such as:

Diversity of their workforce – having a scheme that offers benefits to a broad range of employees often in a variety of locations.

Regulatory changes and reforms – ensuring the scheme is up-to-date with any new policies and legal requirements.

Communication – ensuring all employees know enough about the scheme to get involved. Is the current method of communication working or does it need reviewing?

Legacy benefits packages – in cases of acquisitions and mergers, organisations need to ensure these are harmonised and integrated across business divisions.

Feedback from employees – what level of engagement is there with the scheme, how could this be improved? What other benefits are employees asking for?

Competitor offerings – what are the employer’s market competitors offering? How can the benefits scheme be improved to offer the same, if not more, than competitors?

Value for money – are the administrative costs involved in the scheme manageable? Is there any way the scheme could be more streamlined to further reduce costs?

 

And our survey said…

50% of respondents review their benefits schemes at least once a year, while 22% vary the frequency of review depending on the benefit.

The QCG survey also highlighted findings on several of the factors already discussed:

 

41% of respondents offer flexible benefits schemes
Employers are increasingly looking to reflect the diversity of their workforce in the benefits that are offered.  Examples of this include offering childcare vouchers to those with families and flu jabs for an ageing workforce. This is highlighting another trend with a move towards more ethical benefits, particularly relating to health and well being.

72% of respondents use a benefits provider for at least some of their benefits, while 13% use a benefits provider for all their benefits

Outsourcing can often prove the most cost effective way of managing these schemes. It may also be the most effective way of tailoring the packages to suit the diversity of the workforce.

82% of respondents offer at least one benefit via a salary sacrifice arrangement
Once again this result illustrates the focus on employee choice and ensuring there are a range of benefits being offered that will appeal to different employee generations.

 

With such emphasis on employee choice and diversity, it is essential that these changes are communicated effectively. Without a strong communication strategy, you could be investing a lot of time, money and resource in your employee benefits and getting no return.

Reviewing benefits packages is absolutely key but so too is communicating the value of the benefits package to employees to maximise engagement. QCG’s research  showed that organisations are still using traditional methods of communication e.g. intranet and paper based as opposed to more innovative methods such as social media and webinars which may be more effective in catching an employees’ attention.

So perhaps it’s time for a review your complete employee benefits package?

 

Kuljit Kaur

Kuljit is responsible for business development at The Voucher Shop, a  division of p&mm ltd. Your one stop shop for corporate vouchers and gift cards for employee benefits, recognition or rewards. Connect with Kuljit on Google+

 

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