HR professionals in large UK organisations tend overestimate employee satisfaction with rewards and benefits programmes, according to a report by Hawk Incentives.
Surveys in September 2018 by Sapio Research, which canvassed 500 employees and 103 HR professionals, revealed that around half of employees (52%) said they are happy with the benefits offered by their employer, while three-quarters (77%) of HR professionals said their workforce ranked at seven or above on a 'happiness scale' from one to 10.
The research, for the report Pulling the benefits lever: closing the gap between HR expectations and employee satisfaction, published today (25 October 2018), also found that 44% of employees agreed with the statement that their employer does not understand the real needs and wishes of its workforce, and 62% said their organisation's rewards and incentives programmes are not applicable to them.
In addition, 59% of employees disagreed with the statement that their organisation regularly surprised them with new incentives and benefits programmes, although 62% of HR professionals said they regularly review their rewards.
Some 69% of HR professionals believe classic benefits such as a private healthcare scheme would be a powerful pull factor for recruitment, but only 47% of employees agreed it would have a significant effect on their decision to work for an organisation.
Over three-quarters of employees (77%) across all ages and levels of seniority said they wanted more benefits that help them cut the cost of their everyday lives.
Heather Rogers, senior sales and marketing director at Hawk Incentives, said: "What this research shows is that HR leaders are now actively deploying their rewards and incentives programme to help them achieve their business goals. But simply offering a range of rewards is not enough.
"We know that the real results come from fine-tuning your packages to reflect the current needs and wishes of your people, as they progress in their careers and personal lives."
