Engagement biggest HR challenge

More than half (54%) of respondents said improving employee engagement is their biggest challenge in 2014, according to research by Secondsight.

Its HR challenges survey found that only 17% of respondents cited developing a reward and benefits package as the main challenge.

More than a third (39%) of respondents cited implementing legislative and regulatory changes as a top challenge, while 52% cited retaining talent and 25% training and development.

When asked what their priorities were over the next 12 months, 77% of respondents said they will be working on their salary review process, while 43% are looking to increase awareness of their benefits package and 40% plan to review their benefits providers.

The research also found:

• 60% of respondents have yet to reach their auto-enrolment staging date.
• 63% of respondents will use their existing provider to implement auto-enrolment.
• 14% of respondents provide any form of financial education to their staff.

Mark Bingham (pictured), senior partner at Secondsight, said: “It is interesting to see that organisations believe employee engagement is their biggest issue for 2014.

“We are firm advocates of employee engagement and the communication of employee benefits. We know that talking with employees and helping them to truly understand their benefits leads to higher engagement and appreciation.

“Given the onset of auto-enrolment, I was surprised to see that implementing legislative changes is less of a challenge to employers.

“The HR backdrop remains tough, for the time being, and activities are very much centred around making improvements, changing perceptions and improving employee engagement.”