As our Maximising Benefits Week in association with Tusker draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.
This dedicated week was designed to bring you exclusive insights and opinions, uncovering the latest trends and best practice around maximising the value of employee benefits.
Most employers know that staff appreciate being offered perks at work. What they might not necessarily be clear about is how to use these initiatives to boost engagement, performance and potential. After all, it stands to reason that if they are spending money on providing benefits, they need to ensure they are getting a return on their investment.
Factors such as how schemes are promoted and communicated can have a significant impact on their value. So too can the way in which they provide motivation, as well as how they support work-life balance and employee wellbeing.
This applies to all initiatives, old and new, so organisations have a lot to gain from reviewing the positioning of existing benefits, as well as any they are planning to introduce.
Another area employers would do well to explore is how they promote and showcase their hygiene factor benefits. There are currently plenty of quirky or trendy perks taking centre stage when, in fact, the core ones are going unnoticed. Highlighting these can ensure they have good take-up and are used in the best way, which is particularly important because they are often the ones which employers are spending the most time and money on.
When considering how to get the most value from their benefits offering, organisations must also remember that if they offer tax-efficient salary sacrifice initiatives these must not fall foul of minimum wage regulations. This can be a tricky area to navigate, but employers that are found guilty of such violations could face severe consequences.
For all these reasons and more, getting the most out of a benefits offering is becoming much more of a priority for employers. Whatever stage you are at, and however you implement benefits strategies in your organisation, Maximising Benefits Week was designed to help take this to the next level through exclusive insights and opinions uncovering best practice in this area. These included:
- How can benefits packages help maximise employee performance and potential?
- Admiral Group supports employees financially to lower stress and boost performance
- Michael Brown: Online learning is an important tool for wellbeing and development
- How can employers put their core benefits in the spotlight?
- Welcome Break uses multiple channels to inform employees of core benefits
- How to help employees manage their take-home pay when in a salary sacrifice scheme
- UK Power Networks clearly communicates salary sacrifice rules to employees
- Jo Moffatt: Benefits packages need engaging communications to be a success
- Suzanne Peck: Understanding benefits can build engagement and productivity
- Alison Argall: How to create the perfect benefit launch
Kavitha Sivasubramaniam
Editor
Tweet: @kavithasiva_EB