Research: Who are the respondents; key findings
Research: Employers’ attitudes to and evaluation of benefits strategies
Research: Responsibility for and communication of benefits
Research: How employers offer benefits
Research: Core benefits provision
Research: Voluntary benefits provision
Research: Benefits offered through salary sacrifice
Research: Flexible benefits provision
Research: Changes employers have made to their benefits packages
Sponsor’s comment: Placing a high value of employee benefits
Editor’s comment
Our now annual benefits research has been conducted among UK-based employers about their benefits strategies since 1998, thus providing compensation and benefits professionals with a well-contextualised framework within which to judge current reward trends.
This Employee Benefits/Alexander Forbes Benefits Research 2010 covers issues such as what employers offer, how they do so and why.
Inevitably, the recession has impacted on employer’s benefits strategies over the past 12 months, forcing many to sweep their plans aside and focus instead on the cost-effectiveness of their package. But the research shows it has not all been bad news, with a quarter of employers introducing new benefits in the past year - a higher percentage than said they were planning to do so in our 2009 research.
As we head into the economic upturn, retaining top talent and maintaining employee motivation and morale will be key issues for employers. To help them achieve this, many are looking at reversing cost-saving measures put in place during the recession. For example, over the next 12 months, more than one-third of organizations intend to end pay freezes, and a similar number are planning to introduce new benefits.
As the year progresses, we are likely to see more employers follow suit. This demonstrates the increasing importance placed on reward by UK organisations and recognition of the role benefits have to play in supporting wider business objectives
Debbie Lovewell, deputy editor, Employee Benefits
