Everyone gains when staff are engaged with their benefits, says Ann Flynn, head of marketing communications, corporate pensions at Scottish Widows
The recession is still at the forefront of all our minds. With low pay rises and little or no bonus for many, workers are feeling the pinch. Employers are under pressure to attract and retain the best staff to drive their business forward, but can no longer afford to do so by offering high salaries or increasing their benefit spend.
But despite the lack of significant pay rises, people do still want to save. Scottish Widows UK pensions report 2009 showed a rise in the savings index to 54%, up 3% on the previous year and indicative of the trend of the past three years. Overall, workers are feeling worse off than they did five years ago and for some, saving for the short term has become the priority. One-fifth of the population is not saving at all, however.
Despite short-term saving being a focus for some, workers do want help in making the right decisions about their longterm financial management. Scottish Widows workplace research 2008 showed that access to financial education, guidance and advice is their number one need.
The population’s trust in financial services has been shaken by the recession, with doubts cast on the security of their savings and the industry’s integrity damaged by the banker’s bonus scandals. Employers are well placed to help staff fulfil these needs because they are still trusted by their workforce. The Scottish Widows UK pensions report 2009 showed that workers trust their employers and many enjoy access to employer sponsored savings, seeing these as a major incentive to save.
A quality company pension scheme is a key factor for just under half of workers moving jobs and 54% of staff say their workplace pension scheme is an incentive to stay with their current employer. We know employers are concerned about employees not appreciating or making use of the benefits they are offered despite being stressed by money worries.
Value of good pensions
So if workers are attracted by, and value, the provision of good pensions, why do employers still have the problem of their staff not fully making use of, or valuing, the benefits they are offered?
The answer is effective worker engagement. If an employer can put in place a compelling programme to engage workers with the benefits they offer, then both parties stand to benefit. But what is the key to success? Employers have publicised their benefits offer for some time, but can still experience low takeup.
The key is perhaps empowering workers to take control of their own finances. That means giving them access to the financial guidance, information and tools they need to make the right decisions about their long-term financial management and doing so in a way that makes it convenient for them to access. For most (87%), online access is the perferred route; workers want to be able to see and manage their savings online. Some employers we spoke to for the Scottish Widows workplace communication research October 2009 have advocated allowing staff time at work to manage their finances.
Providing needs-based information can make it easier for staff to identify how best to use the benefits that are available to them.
Once employees feel they are making better-informed decisions about how to use their benefit package, the value of those benefits becomes more obvious.
Employers also benefit because that value their workforce places on their reward package will increase without needing to increase the benefits spend. So, if executed correctly, a worker engagement programme could produce a win-win situation for both workers and employers.
Read more from: Employee Benefits / Scottish Widows Pensions Roundtable: engaging staff in pensions
Teach, let the conscience Zhi roast to persist
Foreword: In the dead of night, I at deliberate and write a virtuous article of a relevant teacher what should start to write, review from teach ten next years, didn’t once began Canada Goose Jackets Online to the student, young once poured in a thundering rage, but now also have no, carry on self-examination still true nothing important material.Want to want to can not help a review rising in the past …… The teacher is the engineer of mankind’s soul; The teacher is the business of the sun most glorious underneath; The spring silkworm arrives to die silk square exert, wax torch become the ash tears start stem; Three Chinese foot platforms, tongue, three, 3,000 peach Lee; 10-year tree, 10 years breeze, 10 years rain, 10 years tree person. When I am still a student, usually laud my teacher with the phrase sentence like this, in my heart, the teacher is what sacred and great, do the dream that a teacher became my childhood years.The decade cold window studies hard, I tested to go into teacher particularly and became a people’s teacher of honour. Step to go into three Chinese foot platforms, brief of excitement proud strength later on, feel that everythings didn’t imagine so fine:With my age differ a not old kid allied put together to”humiliate” I am a new hand, did for three months return the penny wages didn’t deliver and signed to strengthen language to gradually go to fade in color under the Hao speech of going to work need not penny ten cents in the home in Mom and Dad’s in front.Especially be an elder sister to get married to need one set color television but have no money to purchase, stretch hand to lend money toward me;When I helplessly looking at I the teacher ever because the husband’s youth early die(all of husband and wife is I the teacher ever) destitute house, meal bean sprout or bean curd that can buy half-dollar allayed one’s hungered;Be willing to help but unable to do so of I, for educational of this Hao feeling life ambition and at the beginning believe firmly to start faltering ……but agitatedly of is a faith, constantly of is the heart to the student.Remember the most arduous time, the canada goose outlet Jie doesn’t open the teacher of pot helpless under organize to arrive to arrive county government to want wages to beg for parlance together, before facing to go, arrangement stay to guard a teacher so much, public security;Especially idea explaination good student’s self-study, arrange a good class of staff etc..Remember that evening, the teachers step early winter of the first snow faces chilly bise to return to campus, there is the teacher of the self-study in night such as often walk into a class to continue up and late self-study.I can not help heartache and move, teacher, give up not next kid, teacher impossibly for the sake of personal private or normal Wen Bao’s need but give up a kid, all of us is at by dint of the conscience firmly stands by.That night, parepare for war medium test of beginning the grade three teacher(include me) still have a class till 9:30 just class is over, is still to make a living by writing on the second day engaged with no stop. The cook led a cold winter for three years and finally welcomed reforming of teacher’s wages and issue the change of form, our wages could issue in time!I also passed a rigorous test and gradually grew up into a teacher who doubly is trusted and pays attention to in the very small county city.Although the reality whetted at the beginning to the pride of teacher’s occupation,I still nowise doubt of fancied to teach, again bitter again tired, a face students be all thrown at brain after.That is greatly a years that intense emotion burns, can have no circumstance of warm air in winter under prepare lessons till 10:30 in the office, can roll to greatly spread together with the students.The high-quality lesson contests, speech contest, the school manages to broadcast an etc., what all want participation, my aming like is fight the warrior of chicken blood, don’t know weariness. The person’s whole life is impossibly always Bon voyage, God says:Like you, the head quarter gives you some tests.I think God probably is to love mine very much, be my work is being placed in Bon voyage of time, home but Tu encounter mishap, everything all so suddenly, let me have no time to respond, dropped into a bottomless abyss a while, suffer from insomnia at numerouses at the mid-night, bear with heartache of molestation but can not from pull out.Aught I still keep as usual going to work and as usual teach.That time of I, can forget only on the platform not allly quick, so usually rob lesson up, usually steep with children together.Until one day discover that oneself is in the persisting of abnormal condition, basically be not at by dint of the conscience works, but uses work and kid to anaesthetize himself/herself and is taking the kid’s destiny to play trick, hence I chose to temporarily escape.At president father’s sort request in, I in a determined manner chose to continue to attend school at the afar.That a moment didn’t think the another, wanted to wait wound to heal, and the Chong refreshes to continue again to set out. The years for canning not bear to recall on the whole in the past, after the baptism of years, re- live to come over of I, didn’t go to the outside Qi companies of elder brother’s place and work, still chose Cheap Canada Goose vest that I like of, persist of education work.Walk till today in the Ke Ke Ban Ban, look back more than 10 years of teaching career, I don’t have the sacrifice spirit of “the wax torch becomes ash tears to start stem” and don’t up also talk to is the engineer who molds soul, I just silently do a matter that teacher should do and is responsible for my student and sincerely treat them, make the student of juniors not from vulgar, give kid’s more care and love of special family.I always think to teach be teach and teach a person, have to give the student the influencing of character and mold while teaching academics knowledge, let student’s academic association be a person.Always believe Tagore’s sentence:Isn’t the stroke of hammer, but aqueously carry song to carry a dance to make goose egg the stone become perfect.The growth of age lets me more and more comprehend my occupation, although doesn’t describe in book so lofty, I is by dint of own conscience is working, whenever see grade one a little love very far of excitement of call me the time of”MissWu” ;Whenever while using clean and pure eyes seeking knowledge to stare at me children;Whenever the student writes in the homework”MyfavouriteteacherisMissWu.”;Whenever the Teacher’s Day receives the time of fresh flowers ;Whenever while going into action, silently hasing smooth larynx sugar to deliver relax throat.My from the heart joy hangs a smile on the face, the in the mind overflows full happiness. The very small occupation silently does, not the Kui is at the conscience, not the Kui is at the world, year by year, day after day, the Ti concussed when young of fickleness, many is thin settle and also have that to never agitatedly persist calmly.”Peach Lee doesn’t talk, next from become Xi” writes this, feeling the nothing important is special, and also the nothing important writes so much.The lousy Man fresh flowers that in the moment can not help presenting an all over hills and countryside, also have the deep feeling in the flower bush smiles of I ……