All articles by Sam Barrett – Page 4
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AnalysisHow can employers support staff who need an abortion?
Need to know….Pregnancy loss policies must be flexible, especially around paid leave, as employees’ experiences will vary significantly.Widening support to partners makes the benefit more inclusive by recognising they may also be experiencing loss.Support for employees needing an abortion can often be delivered through existing benefits supplemented with a pregnancy ...
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Case StudiesCo-op supports staff during all forms of pregnancy loss
Co-op employs almost 60,000 people in a wide range of customer facing and support centre roles across divisions that span from food to funeral care and insurance. It introduced its pregnancy loss policy in June 2021. This covers all types of pregnancy loss including miscarriage, molar pregnancy, embryo transfer loss ...
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Case StudiesPhoenix Group ingrains support for carers in its corporate culture
Long-term savings and retirement organisation Phoenix Group, which employs around 8,000 people, was recognised as a Carer Positive Exemplary Employer in 2020 for the support it provides to its working carers.Ensuring that employees are supported is important to the organisation. Claire Hawkins, director of corporate affairs and investor relations at ...
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AnalysisHow can employers compensate for the government’s lack of support for working carers?
Need to know:Implementing a working carers’ policy that details all the support relevant to employees with caring responsibilities can encourage staff to speak openly about their needs.Flexibility is essential, with options including paid and unpaid leave, flexible and part-time hours, sabbaticals and even allowing carers to take their annual leave ...
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Case StudiesIRIS promotes benefits to support mental and financial wellbeing
IRIS provides software and services to the UK accountancy, payroll, HR and education sectors. It employs 2,600 people globally, of which more than 2,000 are based in the UK.Three years ago, the organisation set itself a target of achieving Great Place to Work certification, introducing the real living wage as ...
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AnalysisHow are cost-of-living increases affecting employee health?
Need to know:Money worries can affect employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing, with research finding that financial concerns are leading to anxiety, sleep problems and cancelled gym memberships.Training line managers and promoting an organisation's employee assistance programme (EAP) can help employees access support for financial and mental health issues ...
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AnalysisWhat role does a reward strategy hold in a battle for talent?
Need to know:Benefits such as financial education, salary sacrifice, health cash plans and discount platforms can help to support employees during the cost of living squeeze.Higher inflation may help address existing pay inequalities but organisations must also guard against creating new ones with jobseekers demanding higher starting salaries.Paying attention to ...
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Case StudiesCare provider Elder uses reward package to attract talent to the sector
Attracting and retaining talent is a key part of care provider Elder’s strategy, both for its own employees and the 5,000 self-employed carers who find work through its platform. It set out to disrupt the market when it launched in 2015.Pete Dowds, CEO of Elder, says: “Care isn’t well incentivised ...
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Case StudiesSalesforce puts health at the heart of hybrid working
Customer relationship management organisation Salesforce employs 75,000 people globally including several thousand in the UK and Ireland across a variety of customer-facing and global shared-services roles.Looking after all aspects of their health has always been important. Terri Moloney, senior director, employee success, at Salesforce, says: “We have a very diverse ...
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AnalysisHow has the pandemic has affected employees’ physical health?
Need to know:Musculoskeletal problems, weight gain and long Covid are among the physical health issues affecting employees, with missed cancer diagnoses also causing concern.Encouraging healthy habits such as regular screen breaks, walking meetings and ‘fake commutes’ will help to replicate office working conditions and encourage more physical activity.Digital delivery of ...
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Case StudiesTall Group of Companies ensures staff feel valued and recognised for their efforts
The Tall Group of Companies specialises in secure print and payments solutions including cheques, electronic payment processing and election ballot papers. It employs 135 people across its three sites in Runcorn, Hinkley and Lisburn, in roles ranging from manufacturing to IT systems development and software creation.The pandemic significantly affected the ...
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AnalysisHow can employers ensure reward and benefits enhance the employee experience?
Need to know:More flexible working hours, agile/home working and better support for mental health are the top employee expectations.Organisations should consider more flexible options including part-time hours term-time work, career breaks and four day working weeks to support their talent management strategy.Reward and benefits can be used to demonstrate an ...
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AnalysisHow can employers improve their health and wellbeing offering to expatriate staff?
Need to know:Expat health and wellbeing benefits include initiatives such as maternity and chronic conditions cover, as well as more traditional medical treatment.More digital health and wellbeing services have evolved as a result of the pandemic and these are likely to remain a key part of support.Health awareness has ...
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Case StudiesRevolut offers range of health and wellbeing support to expatriate staff
Revolut is a global financial technology platform, offering a range of services to help business and personal customers manage their money. Launched in 2015, it employs around 2,700 people and has offices in 24 countries around the world.The global nature of the business means employees, both existing ones and new ...
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Case StudiesFlexible working patterns help Crawford and Company manage staff health and wellbeing
Crawford and Company is an independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions with offices around the world. In the UK, it employs 1,450 people in claims handling roles.Pre-pandemic, around 70% of its workforce was office-based with the remainder working remotely. “The world has changed post-pandemic,” says Lisa Bartlett, president, ...
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AnalysisHow can employers address presenteeism and leavism in the workplace?
Need to know:Presenteeism and leavism are common: 84% of employers observed presenteeism during 2020 while 70% saw instances of leavism.Blurred boundaries between home and work coupled with concerns about financial security exacerbated issues around presenteeism and leavism.Good corporate culture, strong leadership and a focus on health and wellbeing can help ...
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AnalysisHow can employers support staff who are neurodivergent?
Need to know:Neurodiversity awareness workshops can encourage employees to disclose their conditions and are a good way to start changing workplace culture.Clear, unambiguous communications are important for neurodivergent employees but also benefit the wider workforce.Technology such as noise-cancelling headphones and dictation software can help but employers must also rethink work ...
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Case StudiesAuticon supports neurodivergent workforce with adjustments and coaching support
Auticon is an international IT consultancy and social enterprise, employing autistic individuals to work on client projects. Set up in 2011, it employs more than 300 people globally, including 40 consultants and 10 back-office staff in the UK.Steve Hill, commercial director at Auticon, says: “Our objective is to provide long-term ...
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Case StudiesInspired Villages regularly informs staff of valuable benefits available
Inspired Villages runs six retirement villages around the UK, with a further 29 planned over the next 10 years. Since starting with 25 colleagues in 2017, it has grown its workforce to 300, with 200 working in the villages providing services such as catering, maintenance and exercise classes. The remainder ...
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AnalysisDo group risk benefits need a different communications approach?
Need to know:Too much technical information is a turn-off when it comes to raising awareness of group risk benefits.Focusing on the embedded health and wellbeing services enables employers to communicate group risk regularly and with messages that will be relevant to more employees.Simple steps such as changing a group risk ...