Need to know:
- Bikes-for-work schemes and buying equipment for the home office have seen a surge in popularity.
- Communicating what voluntary benefits are on offer will help to engage employees, particularly if budget restrictions are limiting new benefit offerings.
- Core voluntary benefits will predominately remain the same but how these are delivered may change.
It is a challenging time and the voluntary benefits market is no exception when it comes to having to adapt to fit in with the changing landscape of the workplace. Season ticket loans, gym memberships, dental and eye care lost their footing during the height of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, while bikes-for-work schemes and technology equipment loans began to gain traction.
Where the market will be a year from now is anyone's guess as uncertainty still surrounds the global economy, however, in the short-term there are some patterns emerging. Andy Philpott, marketing and sales director at Edenred, says: "Employers aren’t looking to spend a lot of money on benefits because there is a cost challenge. No employers will be kick starting big projects anytime soon. They are going to be looking for better ways of connecting to a dispersed workforce."
Engaging communication
Connecting and communicating will be one of the main focuses for the next 12 months or so, says Joy Waugh, principal consultant at employee benefits platform Zest: "Primarily, it’s about the engagement with employees now that they are not in the workplace and whereas benefits were previously centered around work, such as season ticket loan and car schemes, now it's much more about communicating to employees and offering things that are more relevant."
Financial wellbeing
With some employees furloughed, the fear of redundancy and recession looming, financial stability is a growing concern for a lot of people.
"Salary-linked loans will continue to be increasingly popular, savings discount platforms will also see an uplift in popularity and we are seeing a different shift on the type of content that employees are saving money on," says Philpott. "Travel discounts were the biggest driver pre-lockdown but that has now been replaced by a surge in people wanting savings on buying things for their home and garden."
There has also been more interest in employees taking advantage of savings on supermarket food and takeaways. "The one thing about savings and discounts: they will always add value to your proposition, and in particular now when everyone's key focus is on saving money," adds Philpott.
Embracing technology
With a large percentage of the population working from home, there has been a move to employees upgrading technology, be it for personal use or to kit out a home office.
Due to this demand and lengthy delivery times, laptop and equipment-for-hire functionality is becoming increasingly popular, says Craig Williams, director at employee benefits consultancy Broadstone. "There has been some issues in the supply chain, typically with big firms not able to keep up with the demand and now instead of a two- or three-day turnaround, employees are having to wait six or seven weeks to get their new office equipment," he explains. "It’s opened up a new market. Employers want to provide employees with the kit to do their job, but if they can't physically get it for a while, hiring is the next best thing."
Physical wellbeing
The bikes-for-work scheme could now be renamed to bikes for leisure, as it seems like everyone is taking to travelling on two wheels. Although this benefit was implemented to encourage people to solely cycle to work, due to the exercise restrictions during lockdown and the limits on public transport, cycle sales have gone through the roof.
"There’s been a surge in cycle to work and discount cycle equipment," explains Philpott. "Everyone wants to get a bike now.The same goes for physical fitness, with employees working from home, they've wanted an easy solution to buy gym equipment, as well as the ability to easily access fitness content platforms."
Enhancing benefits
We have become more accustomed to staying local and some employers are reflecting that in their voluntary benefits offering.
There may well be more local offers added to benefits platforms as venues continue to open up, says Philpott."There will be a growth in wanting to support local restaurants and shops. Not the big brands but smaller brands. Employees will want to see local deals integrated into the platform and the good platforms will make this available."
Will writing was on the decline during lockdown after face-to-face services were unavailable but this voluntary benefit may now change to more of an online service, says Williams. "We’ve seen a move away from will writing which promised a face-to-face meeting to will writing that could be done through Skype appointments," he explains.
Pensions could also see a modification to take into account different generational needs."Pensions are important but for a Millennial or Generation Z, their lifestyle and immediate needs aren't quite geared in that direction, perhaps a flexibility on pensions, as legally as possible, in return for offering them other benefits, would encourage recruitment and retention," says Williams.
The future
Will we see organisations will increasingly merge all their employee benefits into one easy-to-use platform? Philpott believes so, and that voluntary benefits will become part of an overarching total reward strategy: "Organisations are no longer buying voluntary benefit platforms; they want an engagement platform that allows them to offer voluntary benefits, and at the same time allow people to be recognised and rewarded. It will become a lot more integrated. The traditional standalone voluntary benefits platform isn’t really going to cut it anymore."
