All articles by Clare Bettelley – Page 9
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ArticleClare Bettelley: Employers' support for employee health is lacking
Employee Benefits’ Workplace health report: strategies in practice is designed to help organisations do just that by exploring some of the key healthcare issues affecting workforces, so they can learn when and how to take a more preventative approach to supporting staff who are struggling to perform at their best, ...
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ArticleCost of benefits is biggest barrier to staff health and wellbeing
Most employers (69%) cite benefits costs as the major hurdle they face in managing the health of their workforce, with 48% citing employees’ lack of understanding about how best to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing as the second biggest challenge. Interestingly, just 19% of respondents to the ...
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Analysis
Top tips for engaging staff in at-retirement planning
If you read nothing else, read this…The Chancellor’s decision to scrap compulsory annuity purchase for defined contribution (DC) pension scheme members means employers must rethink their at-retirement strategies.But they should not forget to communicate basic pension information.Staff need to consider carefully the income they are likely to need in retirement.1. ...
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Analysis
Employers should provide appropriate care for musculoskeletal complaints
Musculoskeletal conditions are one of the main causes of workplace absence in the UK, and, unsurprisingly, represent the leading cost in healthcare claims and absence for almost all employers.In 2009, Aviva UK Health identified that early intervention and access to effective care pathways were essential to reducing workplace absence and ...
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ArticleHealth and wellbeing supplement 2014
Read the digital edition of the Health and Wellbeing supplement 2014 in full here.The supplement includes the following articles:Clare Bettelley: Data protection must be at the heart of employers’ healthcare strategies Health and wellbeing in numbersAndrew Kinder: How can EAPs support staff suffering from financial stress?How to win finance director ...
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AnalysisHow to conduct a global employee benefits audit
If you read nothing else, read this… Employers must decide their objectives before embarking on a global audit.A communication strategy must clearly explain the purpose of the audit and what it entails for all relevant stakeholders.Tracking global staff can be challenging, and larger employers sometimes write off the extra expense ...
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OpinionAndrew Kinder: How can EAPs support staff suffering from financial stress?
Some people have no trouble in managing corporate finances and other people’s assets, while others really struggle when it comes to their personal finances. In simple terms, they can get into quite a mess. The process of getting out of such a mess can really affect employees, perhaps resulting in ...
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AnalysisHow to recognise and manage workplace mental health issues
Although they have been overtaken by common mental disorders, physical conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders still account for a substantial proportion of long-term sick leave.But employees cannot be divided neatly into those with physical health problems and those with mental health problems. Physical and mental health conditions frequently co-occur. About ...
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ArticleClare Bettelley: Data protection must be at the heart of employers' healthcare strategies
Perhaps the most pressing driver of this is finance directors’ (FD) unwavering demands for a clear return on investment for any new products and services procured throughout their organisation, and in a language they can easily understand.Our feature on how employers can win FD buy-in to their strategies explores some ...
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Case StudiesJP Morgan overcomes challenges to win finance director buy-in
But when Adam Brooke, vice-president, employee benefits (UK), set out to introduce the initiative in 2010, he faced the same challenges many benefits professionals encounter.“We had always offered health screening to employees over the age of 40, but we wanted to open this up to all employees,” he says. “This ...
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Case StudiesWithers' CSR strategy supports local community
The organisation’s CSR programme comprises a charity of the year, volunteering opportunities, pro bono work for legal staff, and a mentoring programme for business support employees.The programme, which was launched in November, has been designed by Withers and its programme partner, Islington Council, to build the workplace confidence of programme ...
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ArticleEmployers with 1,000+ staff most cost-conscious about flex
The research found that 67% of employers with 1,000 or more employees track the cost of their flex plan, compared with 55% of employers with fewer than 1,000 staff.Perhaps this is because larger employers have the resources to track their benefits strategies, unlike their smaller peers. On average, the larger ...
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ArticleMore employers offer tax-efficient benefits as part of flex
This compares with 12% in 2011, showing an increase in the number of employers using salary sacrifice to structure their flex plans.More than half of respondents (56%) offer a formal flexible benefits scheme, either in the traditional formal sense or via a structured salary sacrifice plan. This is higher than ...
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ArticleEmployers increasingly offer more than 20 benefits via flex
The research shows that 10% of employers offer their staff access to more than 20 benefits, which is a steady growth from the 3% of respondents which did so in 2007. The proportion of employers offering between 16 and 20 benefits through their flex plan has also increased, up from ...
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OpinionPaul Brown: Fit-for-purpose and well-communicated benefits engage staff
Some 92% of our respondents reported an increased level of employee engagement as an outcome of flex. This is compelling evidence to back up the theory that flexible benefits are considered best practice and a necessary weapon in the continuing battle to retain key talent. The research suggests flex is ...
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ArticleClare Bettelley: Employee engagement drives flexible benefits growth
A large majority of respondents (79%) use staff motivation or engagement to measure the success of their scheme, and 59% use staff retention as a measure. This suggests that the value of flexible benefits in helping to recruit, retain and motivate staff is increasingly important to employers in the war ...
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ArticleEurope is top region to launch flexible benefits
The survey, conducted in January 2014, found that 29% of the 41 respondents that offer flexible benefits plans to staff based outside the UK have plans to expand their flex offering across Europe.Currently, 30% of respondents that already offer a flexible benefits scheme outside the UK do so in Europe. ...
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Article37% structure flex using salary sacrifice
Meanwhile, the number of employers that enable staff to trade up or down in their current package has steadily decreased. Now just 20% of respondents use that method, compared with 30% in 2011.What has remained relatively stable is that one in 10 employers (9% in 2014) opt to give staff ...
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Article84% monitor the cost of flexible benefits
This is based on 132 respondents, which excludes those that do not know if their organisations track their flex plan costs and those that have not yet launched a plan. Of this group, 16% of employers do not track the cost of their scheme. Read more of the Employee Benefits/Towers ...
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Article72% offer whole workforce same flex plan
The proportion of employers that give their entire workforce access to flex, but offer different plans to different groups of employees, is just 22%, highlighting employers’ declining interest in seniority-based employee benefits.Just 4% of employers now offer their management, senior staff and top-grade employees exclusive access to flex, and 2% ...