Employee Benefit Platforms: Why buy them?

Employee benefit platforms do not have to be complex either in terms of the IT infrastructure nor from an overall cost perspective. Our experience when we talk to customers is that too many of the benefit providers that they come across charge high monthly (per employee) prices and offer complex IT solutions. This means that companies often decide to wait or defer their benefit purchases.

Technology is transforming the benefits sector. It offers convenience, speed with the ability for staff to see and use their benefits 24/7 and for employers and their managers it offers excellent employee engagement. New technology also means that new players like Bravo Benefits can offer solutions that are much more cost-effective and offer more affordable running costs for employers whatever their size and benefits need.

The return on investment for an employee benefits platform is almost guaranteed when it comes to improved employee engagement. Here's how an employee benefits platform can improve employee benefits engagement.

‍Why is employee benefits engagement so important?

‍There are some immediate advantages that an employee benefits platform provides when it comes to employee benefits engagement. An employee benefits platform should be intuitive to use, where employees can find exactly what they need in an instant. This ease-of-use for employees creates stickiness, as employees are more likely to return and use the platform and take full advantage of the benefits being provided.

An easy-to-use platform also means there's less need for long training, webinars or demonstrations and employees can start using their platform right away, finding exactly what they need quickly.

Accessibility is key too. An employee benefits platform can be accessed on mobile, tablet and desktop making it quick to access whenever and wherever your employees need it.

‍Rewards Programme – creating positive word-of-mouth

‍An employee benefits platform helps overcome some of the barriers that prevent positive word-of-mouth from your employees.

Before employees will champion your benefits, they need to get real value from them. To get real value, your employee benefits at a minimum must be easy to access and easy to use. That is why a strong element within the platform offering has to be recognition and rewards, that offers employers the opportunity to reward employees with perks such as tickets to events, travel cards, gift cards, flowers and gifts and personalised certificates.

Linked with a Retail Discount Scheme, that gives employees perks to hundreds of savings across many different retailers helping their pay go that much further.

‍What's the value of a recognition scheme?

‍Employees feel appreciated, motivated and will engage with their employer more when they receive recognition for their hard work and achievements. Leadership-led recognition is a powerful tool, however, recognition from peers can have a much larger positive impact on employee productivity and morale. The Bravo Benefits peer to peer employee recognition scheme is a platform where employees can give each other recognition based on various organisation goals and values.

• Immediate reward delivery
• Customised e-cards
• Peer-to-peer nominations

How does a recognition scheme work?

‍The recognition platform is designed to enable employees to highlight achievements and standout work of their colleagues. Values and goals are set for the entire company or for individual teams, from which, employees can give kudos, thanks and congratulations as and when it is deserved to those employees who achieve the values. Recognition is monitored by administrators via the Engagement Dashboard, from which managers can assess who their most active champions are. Budgets can be set to incentivise outstanding efforts, as well as running employee of the month nominations.

‍Why provide a recognition programme?

‍Implementing a recognition scheme will not only increase employee satisfaction and reduce staff turnover, but it will also assist with engaging employees as well as attracting talent.

Management information provides an insight to help drive a recognition culture, gives employers the ability to assess which values and goals are being achieved and by who, as well as monitoring who the key team players are.

A weekly round-up email is sent to employees with activity updates from the previous week. This is designed to encourage employees to use the platform effectively and think proactively about giving kudos to colleagues.

‍Make your benefits fit seamlessly into your day

‍By hosting your benefits on a dedicated platform, your employees will use it like they use Microsoft Teams or Zoom and they're much more likely to log in out of working hours too.

Wojciech Dochan

Managing Director Bravo Benefits

‍Provider of the SmartHive Platform

‍Smart Hive is an integrated, cost-effective employee benefits platform that provides your employees with access to all their health and wellbeing benefits in one place. Talk to a member of our team today or book your very own demonstration.