Help & advice: Introducing an employee benefits package
The opinions presented in this paper are subjective and are offered as a basis for further discussion and research only.
Most organisations now acknowledge that employee benefit schemes can make all the difference when it comes to engaging and retaining the best staff.
Where employers are planning to review their benefits programme in order to achieve this goal, they need to ensure that the benefits are both innovative and appropriate to their employees.
To attract and retain exceptional employees you need to ensure that the benefits on offer are also exceptional. Employers should start by engaging their staff in a consultation process on the proposals and plans for the benefits package. Also employers need to take an open-minded approach and look beyond offering standard voluntary benefits packages.
What makes a good employee benefits package?
Companies are now looking at ways to improve the social and economic well-being of their employees and this is reflected in the range of benefits that are offered. Discounts are extremely popular ranging from High Street stores, leisure, motor, home, and travel. Sports related discounts and entertainment offers are also extremely well received by employees.
It is vital that the benefits package is not linked with salary or bonuses as there will be a distinct risk that employees will fail to understand the value of the benefits package they receive.
Non-monetary benefits are provided to employees in exchange for their time, talent and effort. A particularly important factor in this equation is effort. Discretionary effort, or going the extra mile, is critical to business performance. The level of engagement between employee and employer is believed to drive the amount of discretionary effort by employees.
Communicating the benefits to employees
Although the past 20 years have seen an unparalleled expansion in communications technology, for the vast majority of employees most benefits announcements continue to be made on paper. Compared with those who harness the capabilities of modern technology, anyone still communicating solely by paper and traditional web services these days is unlikely to capture the audience they are seeking.
Limiting the ways in which benefits are communicated by not taking advantage of modern technology represents a lost opportunity for businesses. Electronic documentation presents an opportunity to deliver a far greater depth of information to employees, enabling them to enter into an interactive experience which could in turn personalise information in ways that are impossible with traditional paper communications.
Employers’ ability to get the full value from the benefits package they develop in future years is as likely to be defined by the communications delivery mechanisms they use as it is by the benefits themselves.