Employee expectations and engagement. Multi-generational workforces. Advancements in technology. Being an employer of choice. Aligning benefits with business strategy. Salary sacrifice changes.
These are all key challenges for HR according to the Employee Benefits/Staffcare Benefits research 2017. Some are old, some are new but they still keep many awake at night.
Today, we are all bombarded with information through many channels. Different people want information in different ways. Are you a digital-only, non-digital or a mix? When your bank asks you to go paperless do you accept or decline?
Today’s multi-generational workforces are likely to feature all of these types which means that communications need to address this. We believe it’s important to ask how they would like to be communicated with, rather than how you would prefer to communicate with them.
With only 17% of employees very engaged in their organisation, making communications personal and relevant is important. This is consistent with feedback from our own clients who appreciate the value of effective communications.
In the survey, 73% of respondents said better or more targeted communication of benefits was key to meeting future challenges with 68% planning to use digital communications, 60% face to face and 49% printed material.
Segmenting the target audience, using multi-channel distribution and delivering a range of communications to suit different situations, has enabled our clients to achieve real engagement.
After all the customer, in this case the employee, is king and technology is the key.
But just like a Ferrari in an inexperienced driver’s hands, when its full potential will not be maximised, so technology needs to be geared to each employer’s situation and workforce, and be deployed to best effect.
It was interesting to see that 88% of respondents rated ease of use as their top priority followed by functionality at 80%, which is in line with regular feedback from our own clients. Their experience shows that systems that are easy to use by employees have brought significant improvements in engagement and, for the HR team, delivered time and cost savings.
The research underlines the value of reward portals with 72% awarding them the top score of five out of five. With today’s portals offering instant access to benefit programmes 24/7/365 from anywhere on any device, including the powerful option to view and print total reward statements, it’s no surprise that they have become so widespread. By integrating with other HR systems such as payroll, and with single sign-on for employees, they offer a one-stop resource.
Use of portals is higher at younger ages reflecting their tech-savvy nature and expectation of instant information but they are also popular with older workforces. Powerful data analysis tools can enable the HR team to measure engagement, identify the impact of communications and popularity of benefits, empowering them to take appropriate action on an informed basis.
With the continuous advances in technology, it’s surprising that only 37% of respondents have reviewed their technology in the last year so they may be missing out on the latest developments. Also when doing so, the results reflect our own experience that 51% go direct to the provider and 39% use a broker or adviser.
These are exciting times in the benefits world with suppliers keen to work with HR teams to help them achieve their goals. This includes designing schemes using market insight and research such as this and helping to construct a business case followed by implementation, communication and administration. Aligning benefits with business strategy and demonstrating return on investment is key.
Jim Aitken is head of marketing at Staffcare
