The Analysis and Development of Employee Benefits

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As technology continues to develop, the provision of employee benefits becomes easier than ever before. Below, we list 3 commonly asked customer questions and explain how technology and our Smart Hive has helped.

1.    We are taking a closer look at the benefits we offer to make sure we are making the most cost-effective decisions. How can we analyse our employee benefits offering to increase attraction and retention?

First, it's great that you're recognising the need to analyse your existing employee benefits for attraction and retention. According to EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute), 78% of people said that the employee benefits offered is very or extremely important in their decision to accept a job.

When deciding what to incorporate into your benefit offering, you should consider how your existing reward strategy is performing. Are your employees engaging with your benefits? How often are your benefits being used?

The development of new agile technology has made this easier than ever. Online platforms such as Smart Hive allow you to communicate all the benefits you provide and let you see how benefits which are intended to be regularly used, such as retail discount schemes and employee assistance programmes, are in utilised. This means you can get a visualisation of your reward uptake.

Having regular contact with employees about their benefits is vital to ensure that your benefits are fully understood. Gathering statistical facts and figures means you can make informed decisions about your businesses future reward strategy and be truly receptive of your workforce.

2.    My employee benefits uptake is quite low. Why is this?

If your employees aren't engaging with your benefits and they're only being used periodically, this could be for two primary reasons: perhaps your employees want something different from what you offer, or maybe they aren't aware of the benefits your business provide.

Technological advancements can help regardless of reasoning.

As well as receiving statistical data about how many of your employees are using your benefits, technology allows these online platforms to act as a message board and push communication out about your reward strategy. As a UK employee benefits platform, Smart Hive can be accessed by computer, smartphone and tablet and allows employees to see the full range of benefits you offer easily and efficiently. With benefits such as retail discounts and cycle to work schemes, employees see the savings they have made. Likewise, it is also easier to promote benefits that can sometimes become invisible such as death in service funded benefits that provide valuable life cover for families.

With the communication process made easier, the statistical data gathered from your Smart Hive is truly reflective of whether your employees like the benefits you offer. If employees are aware of your reward strategy but numbers are still low it's time to make a change. After all, 80% of workers would keep a job with benefits rather than take one that offered more pay and no benefits (AICPA).

3.    We want to change what benefits we offer but how do we know which employee benefits our staff want?

With different generations in the workplace, it can be difficult to create a tailored benefits package that fulfils all your employees' unique needs. Employee benefits technology has revolutionised this.

Offering voluntary benefits can be a great tool to engage with a wider audience. They are personalised, flexible and appeal to the many needs of a diverse team. Voluntary benefits are rewards that are offered by an employer but paid completely or mostly by employees through their salaries. These benefits are beneficial as they are at no cost to you but offer employees a wide range of choice.

Through online platforms such as Smart Hive, employees can see what benefits your business already offers, but they also have access to a list of benefits that are available but not offered. Staff are then able to request information about any benefits they are interested in. This seriously reduces the legwork for you; you know exactly which benefits excite your workforce and can implement them into your offering as you see fit.

Providing adequate benefits for your employees is crucial to not only recruitment, but in also engaging with your workforce. Adopting a digital approach for these employee benefits will help further, increasing accessibility, wellbeing and motivation. Utilising an employee benefit platform is often of little cost to you, meaning you can install a smarter, more accessible approach no matter your budget. To find out more, call 0330 333 9100.

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