Almost half (46%) of multinational organisations said they are prioritising the use of employee-facing technology to support benefits management, according to new research by Towers Watson.
For its latest Global priorities for employee benefits survey, the Willis Towers Watson business surveyed 264 global organisations. It found that many are looking to expand their use of AI and other advanced technologies to improve benefits navigation and decision-making.
More than half (52%) of respondents consider the use of data-driven insights a high or top priority for enhancing the employee benefits experience, while 65% noted benefits are important as an employer to attract, retain, and engage employees.
Three-quarters (75%) focus on cost management, while 58% are actively involved in benefits cost budgets, focusing spend on areas that matter most to staff, and 79% prioritising promoting benefits and raising awareness to engage employees.
Aligning benefits with broader diversity, equity and inclusion, and environmental, social and governance policies is a key priority for 52%, while 70% are using global minimum standards and are more involved in directing local decisions around benefit design.
In addition, 50% are looking to implement the trend of using cross-country approaches to manage benefits strategy, across life insurance, healthcare, retirement and savings plans, in the future.
Nigel Bateman, managing director, global HQ solutions at Towers Watson, said: “Benefits have become valuable to employees, investors and leaders because they both support employees’ all-around health and signal what an employer stands for. Conversely, it can undermine what an organisation stands for when benefits are viewed as little more than a hygiene factor.
“Employers are getting involved at headquarter level, including setting global minimum standards. Importantly, more and more are making use of advanced technologies to elevate their benefit strategies and data insights to listen to their employees. Benefits and wellbeing programmes are no longer a ‘nice to have’, they’re becoming a reflection of an employer’s values.”
Gaby Joyner, Europe head of employee experience at Towers Watson, added: “To bridge the gap between what employers offer and what employees want, employee listening programmes are vital. Employers need to actively promote their benefits programmes and what they mean, around the world. They need to improve employees’ understanding and engagement with benefits to make a consumer grade staff experience.”
