All Analysis articles – Page 112
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Analysis
Buyer’s guide to motivation vouchers
The debate continues over paper vouchers versus electronic cards as technological growth offers more reward options, says David WoodsTechnological advances in recent years have helped transform the motivation voucher market which, historically, has not been the most innovative on the product development front.The introduction of electronic motivation gift or pre-pay ...
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Analysis
Technology's growth boosts voluntary plans
As technology advances, employers can make use of personalised communications and detailed management information, explains David WoodsThe phrase 'we live in a changing world' has become something of a clich», but it is true in the field of voluntary benefits. Technological advances and the widespread use of the internet in ...
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Analysis
Get a little bit more from group income protection
In a push to increase take up, group income protection schemes are commonly being bundled with additional healthcare cover, but Debbie Lovewell questions whether the extras really add valueEmployers have historically focused on cost when buying group income protection as there has been little differentiation between providers' various product offerings. ...
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Analysis
Look into 2008: legal update
Corporate manslaughter and statutory holiday entitlement laws may hit employers in 2008, says Victoria FurnessWhile benefits managers have spent the last couple of years frantically preparing for pensions simplification and busily complying with a raft of family-focused legislation in the Work and Families Act 2006, many seem non-plussed by the ...
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Analysis
Contract hire schemes help transfer risk
Contract hire schemes can help employers to predict the cost of funding their fleet over a set period of time and remove the hassle of having to dispose of vehicles, says Nick GoldingAs the future of cash-based employee car ownership plans (Ecops) continues to hang in the balance, while the ...
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Analysis
Need for financial education around stakeholder pension schemes
All too often employees in stakeholder schemes simply plump for the default investment option due to a lack of interest and knowledge, so should employers provide more education, asks David WoodsSelecting which fund to invest in through a stakeholder pension scheme can be a tricky task for many employees, particularly ...
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Analysis
Could longer life expectancy be the death of pensions?
Matthew Craig asks whether old age could be the death of pensions, as widly varying longevity scales muddy the accounts.For finance directors with a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to think about, rapid increases in longevity are causing scheme costs to skyrocket.It is estimated that each extra year of life ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice schemes can help FDs save on payroll bill
By escalating the use of tax efficient benefits via salary sacrifice schemes, finance directors can make significant cuts to the payroll bill, and in doing so organisations can offer staff a greater array of perks, says Sarah Coles.Employers are slashing tens of thousands, or even millions of pounds off their ...
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Analysis
The impact of benefits on business performance
As the war for talent rages, employee benefits have a key role to play in helping to retain and engage our most valuable assets - our workers, says Debi O’DonovanIn today’s knowledge-based, service economy, a substantial proportion of an organisation’s value is held in its employees. Customer service levels, sales ...
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Analysis
Hiscox ensure staff value their employee benefits
Specialist insurance firm Hiscox has spent the last six years consolidating perks and emphasising calue, says Clare Bettelley.Hiscox group finance director, Stuart Bridges, cites the equality and transparency of his company's employee benefits as key to their take up, which no doubt explains why staff costs constitute 40% of the ...
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Analysis
FDs lack data to asses real risk of staff absence
Healthcare perks are increasingly being used by people managers to fend off the blights of sickness absence, but FDs lack hard data to assess the real risk to business, says Clare BettelleyPublicly-listed companies are under increasing investor pressure to maximise the transparency of their businesses and return on investments, yet ...
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Analysis
Bringing health and wellbeing services onsite
Bringing health and wellbeing services onsite may keep staff at work, and can be helpful if employers are in a remote location, but any potential cost savings may need to be justified against an in-depth risk assessment, says Stephanie SpicerAlthough it is inevitable that employees will need to attend healthcare ...
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Analysis
Overall health strategy rather than ad-hoc benefits can be beneficial
Implementing an overall healthcare strategy rather than ad-hoc perks can be beneficial for employers, says Sally HamiltonSickness absence can be expensive for employers. Last year, for example, the issue cost the UK economy £13.4 billion, according to the CBI/Axa Absence and labour turnover survey 2007.Most employers know that the effective ...
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Analysis
Absence issues and the benefits to keep them at bay
Absence issues can involve a complex web of reasons, but although there may be no way to combat coughs and colds, perks can be strategically positioned to help tackle bouts of sickness caused by stress or musculo-skeletal injuries, says David WoodsSickness absence is a problem that never seems to go ...
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Analysis
Create engagement with wellbeing
Providing employees with access to wellbeing benefits such as exercise classes, health checks, free fruit and information on nutrition and relaxation can reduce absence, improve staff morale and drive up productivity. But, with wellbeing still being a relatively new concept in benefits, gaining management and employee buy-in isn't always guaranteed.Management ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing supplement November 2007
Keep abreast of developing trendsCreate engagement with wellbeingKeep attendance levels up to avoid illsClear agenda may be fit for purposeBring health services all under one roofHealth and wellbeing perks for PricewaterhouseCoopers staffSponsor's Comment: Wellbeing trends look healthyHealthcare is a costly business for employers and could become more so as the ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing perks for PricewaterhouseCoopers
Financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers believes that health and wellbeing initiatives are an integral part of trying to create a great place to work, says David WoodsHealth has been given top priority at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its bid to attract and retain employees. For years it had offered various health and ...
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Analysis
Sharesave and Sips can help staff recruitment and retention
Sharesave and Sips can be tactical incentives in recruitment and retention battles, says Sonia SpeedySharesave schemes and share incentive plans (Sips) can prove invaluable tools in an employers' arsenal for improving staff retention and boosting motivation. But the advantages of each need to be carefully weighed up to ensure employers ...
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Analysis
Is the provider market responding to employer demands?
As employers often require perks that do not match products that are available, Nick Golding questions how willing the market is to respond to these demandsNot understanding customers' needs is one of the fastest routes to business failure. No matter how innovative and creative an organisation's products or thinking might ...