More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents use their induction pack to communicate employee benefits to staff, according to research carried out by eMedia on behalf of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare.
The research, which surveyed more than 200 HR directors from the UK and Ireland, found that 65% of respondents use an intranet site and 63% use email or online methods.
Just over half (53%) of respondents communicate benefits using their staff handbook, while 46% use noticeboards and meetings.
When it comes to managing benefits, 51% of respondents use a mixture of online and paper systems. Nearly a third (32%) have migrated to online methods and less than a quarter (24%) still use paper-based systems.
The research also found that 34% of respondents believe their employees would rather make their own arrangements regarding benefits by using an online system, while 31% believe employees would rather use a third-party administrator to arrange details on their behalf, 25% believe employees would like a mix of paper and online methods and just 4% believe their employees would prefer to be purely paper-based.
The research also found:
- 79% of respondents said the main advantage of administering benefits online is that it saves time, while 70% appreciated the cost-saving aspects.
- 55% of respondents like to offer employees a choice of how to manage their own benefits, while 34% of respondents would like employees to use a specific system.
Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare (pictured), said: “While organisations are embracing new technology and are keen to distil information digitally, they are still retaining the old paper systems while bringing in new online options.
“Choice does seem to be a major factor overall. Employers like to have various options or alternatives to benefit both themselves and their employees.”