Employee benefits are a critical part of any HR strategy, empowering businesses to attract and retain top talent while supporting their people during the moments that matter. Although the global workforce has been forced to cope with unprecedented change in the past few years, this can be a unifying experience that helps build trust and loyalty, and needs to continue to be nurtured.
So, while providing a globally consistent employee experience has been the number one priority for multinational organisations for the past few years, it has now been propelled even higher up the corporate agenda. Many organisations have turned to technology to deliver this consistency to their employees.
The big win for employers from this investment is that they have been able to adjust their employee benefits in order to deal with the unprecedented challenge of keeping employees connected, engaged and supported across the world.
Organisations using centralised benefits software saw significant advantages, as they were almost twice as likely to be able to respond quickly to the changes brought about by Covid-19 (Coronavirus) than those using solutions at a local level, resulting in more engaged and supported employees. Employees who felt supported by their employer during the pandemic are more likely to say their employer cares for them. This has made them more energised at work and more likely to remain loyal.
Technology is integral in keeping employees engaged with their benefits, allowing them to view and use them from any location and at any time, delivering real value. This level of flexibility was important before the pandemic, but has become a must-have in today’s highly distributed work environment.
HR and benefits teams have made great strides in making their reward strategies fit for purpose in a post-pandemic world. Now is the time to underpin these good intentions with robust data-enabled technology solutions that can truly elevate employee benefits offerings and create a first-class, competitive and globally-consistent employee experience.
Norman Dreger is chairperson of the International Employee Benefits Association
Read more:
How is technology changing the delivery of employee benefits on a global scale?
