4 in 10 employers report difficulty in filling vacancies over the last year

Looking at the biggest challenge businesses are facing today, Brexit has taken a back seat with talent acquisition and retention becoming central worries for businesses across the UK. With this in mind, it has never been more important to provide your employees with valuable benefits. A thorough employee benefits strategy not only retains your current employees but also attracts new staff to your business. The report outlined:

The importance of wellbeing support‍

The report found that pay has remained largely stagnant over the last few years. Without offering large pay increases, businesses across the UK are turning to employee benefits to fill the gap and provide their employees with health benefits they may not think they can afford.

Employee protection schemes such as group life insurance, private health insurance and everyday health cash plans provide employees with discounted access to health care. These types of benefits can be relatively inexpensive to your business but have a large role in showing employees that you care about their wellbeing.

Mental health services such as employee assistance programmes are another wellbeing strategy that must be considered. Mental health in the workplace has become a topic that has been under increasing scrutiny over the last few years; with work environments becoming more pressurised and employees working longer hours, stress-related illnesses are becoming more prominent. Offering benefits that protect employees and their mental health has become a key factor in implementing a thorough wellbeing strategy.

A need for better communication‍

The Labour Market Outlook also found that 6 in 10 multinational companies based in the UK currently do not communicate total reward or the value of pay plus benefits, to employees. A high statistic, but it is also worth noting that these businesses understand that they need to change. Two-fifths of the businesses believe that if they continue doing what they're currently doing with regard to benefits, their recruitment and retention processes will become even more problematic.

The implementation of benefits requires strong communication with your employees to effectively deliver the programmes and articulate the benefits. Advances in technology have made it far easier for employers to do this than ever before. Employee benefits platforms such as the Smart Hive make it easier for all employees, even those who are working remotely or in different locations, to gain access to information about their benefits. The employee benefits platform can deliver both tailored benefits and regular communications to meet the needs of your employees. It has never been easier to communicate with your workforce.

Get started today‍

Benefits will always be important to your employees. Incorporating wellbeing strategies and communicating effectively with your employees appear to be the first steps in implementing an employee benefits scheme that both attracts and retains staff.

Even if you don't appear to be having any problems with attraction and retention, it's important that you make regular changes to your offering and stay up to date with employee benefits trends. Find out more and book a consultation by calling 0330 333 9100.