The truth about employee benefits
The truth about employee benefits
How do the best companies use benefits to drive growth and performance? What can benefits do for you?
Benefits 101
‘People are your most important asset’ is cliche for a reason - when you’re growing a business, the team you build can make or break your success. Suppliers will tell you that benefits are the magic solution to attracting and keeping the best people, but here’s the truth - nobody joins or stays with a company just because of their benefits. Still, benefits can be a powerful tool central to your overall people strategy.
Suppliers will tell you that benefits are the magic solution to attracting and keeping the best people, but here’s the truth - nobody joins or stays with a company just because of their benefits
When designing their rewards and incentives programmes, companies tend to focus almost exclusively on salary and bonus with benefits as an afterthought. So why do benefits go unloved, what are they actually good for, and what's best for your team? Let's dive in.
If benefits are so useful, why do they go unloved?
Short answer - because most benefits programmes stink. Here are some of the reasons why:
- They’re one-size-fits-all. In other words, they don’t cater to your team’s diverse range of needs and tastes. Most benefits packages offer the same things to every person in the company regardless of their personal circumstances.
- It’s hard to get people to pay attention. If your benefits don’t work for your team, it’s no surprise they won’t engage with them. On top of that, most traditional core benefits such as health insurance or pension are complex products that you don’t engage with regularly.
- They create a load of extra admin. Each new benefit you add can create a whole new list of things to do: researching what benefits your team wants, speaking with providers, setting them up, getting everyone onboard, organizing payroll adjustments, sorting out tax.
- They’re expensive. If you’re providing a package that no one uses, you don’t need an economist to tell you that it’s not the best use of budget.
It’s no surprise then that according to a recent survey by insurance provider Unum, only 1 in 3 employees actually understand and use their company benefits. When UK businesses spend between 5% and 9% of payroll on benefits - billions of pounds every year - it’s time everyone tried a different way.
What can benefits do for you?
Most companies just aren’t taking advantage of benefits as a flexible - and powerful - tool to grow your business. Here are four main ways the best companies use benefits successfully.
1. Shape culture, community, and behaviours
If you create a workplace that your team looks forward to every day, they’re more likely to stick with you in the long run.
2. Boost productivity and efficiency
We all know that life can get in the way of work sometimes. Benefits can help with this in various ways:
- Simplify daily life: Simplifying daily chores can help your team focus on doing their best work.
- Help people balance caring responsibilities: Supporting aspects like childcare can relieve stress and distractions from work.
- Look after their health and wellbeing: Benefits can support personal health goals.
3. Build your employer brand
Having a strong employer brand can make a significant difference in the calibre of the candidates you attract.
4. Be good (because it feels good)
Recognising when some things are more important than work is part of being a great business.
So what’s best for your team?
With all these options laid out, it’s worth having a think about your team’s unique needs. The best benefits strategy is the one that’s as unique as your team and tailor-made for them. With the right choice, you’ll get out far more than what you put in - and build your dream team.