Employers overestimate how much employees appreciate their benefits, according to research by group risk industry body Grid.
Its survey of 500 HR decision makers and 1,200 employed adults found that, while just over 52% of employee respondents said they appreciate and value their benefits, 92% of employer respondents said they believe staff either very much (49%) or somewhat (43%) appreciate the benefits provided by their organisation.
In addition, just 57% of employer respondents measure employees’ appreciation of their benefits package. Of those that do so, 41% do so via informal feedback to managers, HR, employee benefits or wellbeing champions, 40% have an employee suggestion box and 39% undertake online activities that measure click-through rates on certain topics.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Grid, said: “There is a disconnect between how staff feel about their employee benefits and whether employers have an accurate understanding of employee appreciation in this area. Employers need to get better tuned in, as it is only with appreciation that staff will truly value what they are offered.
“The three most popular methods of measuring staff appreciation of benefits are all reasonably informal which may make them less accurate, so we’d encourage employers to use a mix of informal and formal measurements to get an accurate picture of staff sentiment.
”Employers need to ensure that all of the employee benefits that they offer are valued by staff. What is clear is that employers which do not take any steps to measure whether staff appreciate their employee benefits, and those who only do so informally, do not have a complete picture of whether or not their budget is being well spent.
“Ultimately, the effectiveness of a benefits package is measured not just by what is offered and utilised, but also by how well it resonates with the workforce.”
