How can voluntary benefits schemes compete with other online discount sites?

 Voluntary benefits can help an organisation meet the needs of the workforce without breaking the bank. But, with competition from other online discount sites, employers need to ensure their schemes stand out.

The value of these schemes has never been greater. Ed Watling, head of health and wellbeing at Mattioli Woods., says: “Voluntary benefits enable employers to offer a suite of benefits to an increasingly diverse workforce. Everyone can choose what suits them without a huge cost to the employer.”

Giving employees access to voluntary benefits also lands well in times of slow wage growth. Gethin Nadin, chief innovation officer at Benifex, says: “Voluntary benefits give employees access to ways to make their pay go further. Offering a broad range of benefits will increase the success of these schemes.”

Workplace advantages

Organisations can also tap into key differentiators to ensure they stand out from other discount sites. Louis Kwakye, group chief revenue officer at Perkbox Vivup, says: “Employers have the advantage of trust. Employees expect their [organisation] to do the best thing by them when [it] builds a voluntary benefits package.”

This trust means discounts can be deeper than on other sites, especially once an organisation has 50 or more employees. For example, it is difficult to get a 5% supermarket discount outside of an employer scheme, says Nadin.

Employers can also take advantage of salary sacrifice arrangements to differentiate their schemes. Tax breaks make it more attractive for an employee to buy items such as a new car, bike or laptop through work.

Maximising these advantages does mean employers need to be careful to select reputable, and genuine, offers. Mark Pugh, head of consulting services at Towergate Employee Benefit, says: “Where an employer works with a consultant or benefits platform, [it] can rely on [it] to do this due diligence on [its] behalf.”

Total appreciation

Smart communication is key to getting the most out of an organisation’s voluntary benefits. Even the most switched-on employee is unlikely to want to sift through 2,000 or more offers to find the handful that are relevant.

Nadin recommends hanging promotions on seasonal and topical events. “If the weather’s good, employees might be thinking about spending time outdoors so employers can promote offers on items such as garden furniture and camping,” he explains. “Regular reminders of what’s available, employee case studies and short videos showing how easy it is to use the offers can work well.”

Another top tip is to ditch the percentages, adds Nadin. Rather than promote a discount voucher as 5% off supermarket shopping, employers could convert it into annual monetary savings. “Telling an employee they’d save £500 a year is much more compelling than offering them a 5% discount,” he adds.

It is also important to promote appropriate deals. Employees on minimum wage are more likely to appreciate savings on their regular spending rather than a discount on a luxury holiday.

Technological insight

Technology is taking some of the legwork out of this communication exercise too. “A platform can pick up data such as an employee’s date of birth, gender and the discounts they’ve been looking at and suggest further offers and benefits,” says Watling. As examples, a travel insurance discount might be flagged where someone booked a discounted holiday, or childcare vouchers where someone has browsed baby clothes.

Insight from a platform can also identify super users. ,“Every [organisation] will have some employees who take advantage of lots of different voluntary benefits,” Kwakye explains. ”A good supplier will help an employer identify these super users and learn from their behaviours to build promotions.”

Feedback from voluntary schemes can also inform the broader benefits programme. As an example, Pugh points to an employer offering a voluntary health cash plan. “As lots of employees were happy to pay for the cash plan, the [organisation] decided to roll it out on a company-paid basis. As it’s something they’re happy to pay for, they value it even more.”

Employees may be able to access all sorts of discounts and offers from other sites but, by taking advantage of trust and building smart, data-driven communications, employers can deliver deals they will value and appreciate.