CEO Reports – Employee Benefits Solutions – PIB Employee Benefits Ltd & Staffcare

SPECIAL REPORT

Employee Benefits Solutions

Published by Global Business Media

At PIB, we specialise in supporting organisations who want to formulate an effective employee benefits strategy.

Our team of experts can help with all aspects of a benefits strategy including consultancy, implementation and communication as well as on-going maintenance and regular reviews - enabling organisations to be in a stronger position to attract, retain, reward and engage quality talent.

GET IN TOUCH TODAY TO FIND OUT MORE employee.benefits@pib-insurance.com 0345 565 1617 www.pib-employeebenefits.co.uk Follow us on LinkedIn

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

SPECIAL REPORT

Employee Benefits Solutions

Contents Foreword 2 Tom Cropper, Editor

Captivating a Multi-Generational Workforce 3 Using Employee Benefits Matthew Shaw – Communications and Engagement Consultant, PIB Employee Benefits Ltd Published by Global Business Media

Published by Global Business Media Global Business Media Limited 62 The Street Ashtead Surrey KT21 1AT United Kingdom Switchboard: +44 (0)1737 850 939 Fax: +44 (0)1737 851 952 Email: info@globalbusinessmedia.org Website: www.globalbusinessmedia.org Publisher Kevin Bell Editor Tom Cropper Business Development Director Marie-Anne Brooks Senior Project Manager Steve Banks Advertising Executives Michael McCarthy Abigail Coombes Production Manager Paul Davies For further information visit: www.globalbusinessmedia.org The opinions and views expressed in the editorial content in this publication are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation with which they may be associated.

Material in advertisements and promotional features may be considered to represent the views of the advertisers and promoters. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily express the views of the Publishers or the Editor. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, neither the Publishers nor the Editor are responsible for such opinions and views or for any inaccuracies in the articles.

Employees: Your Company’s 8 Most Valued Resource Tom Cropper, Editor

How Employee Benefits Are Changing

10

Jo Roth, Staff Writer

Designing an Employee Benefit Package

12

James Butler, Staff Writer

The New Frontiers of Employee Benefits 14 Tom Cropper, Editor

Eight Features of a Leading 3 Employee Benefits Solution Ray Sieber, Managing Director, Staffcare

The Evolution of Staff Benefits

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Tom Cropper, Editor

The New Age of Benefits Solutions

9

Jo Roth, Staff Writer

Designing a New Employee Benefits System

11

James Butler, Staff Writer

Employee Benefits: What the Future Holds 13 Tom Cropper, Editor

References 15

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Foreword

Y

OU CAN often tell a lot about employers by

improving the engagement between a company

what they say about their staff. If they complain

and its people.

about staff who are lazy, lacking in ambition or

Jo Roth then looks at the evolving market for

ability, it’s often because there’s a problem in how

employee benefits. From the days of the simple

they are managed.

company car and pension plan, they have evolved

Staff performance can draw directly on the way

into flexible packages offering a wide array of different

in which they are treated. Those who enjoy the

options. James Butler then examines how companies

workplace feel valued and engaged are likely to

have approached the issues and the key things

be more productive and successful which is why

that businesses should consider when designing a

businesses are investing so much into employee

package of their own.

benefit systems. However, in a changing work

Finally, we examine the evolving nature of the

environment, designing the best package is no

workplace and how this will shape trends in the future.

mean feat.

Times are changing rapidly. Employers will assume

Our opening article comes from Matthew Shaw –

a more integral role in society and will be delivering

Communications and Engagement Consultant at

a host of services such as health, education and

PIB Employment Benefits. He talks about some of

financial advice.

the key issues confronting managers including an

Many businesses may struggle to see the

aging workforce, increased digital technology and the

monetary value of benefit packages. However, the

changing needs of their employees. All these will feed

more data accrues, the easier it is to see how a

into how businesses manage their benefits packages.

happy and engaged workforce helps improve

We then look at why benefits packages are

bottom line performance.

becoming increasingly important. Businesses have many different approaches to employment – smarter companies are those which understand the value of a happy workforce and spend time and effort into

Tom Cropper Editor

Tom Cropper has produced articles and reports on various aspects of global business over the past 15 years. He has also worked as a copywriter for some of the largest corporations in the world, including ING, KPMG and the World Wildlife Fund.

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Captivating a MultiGenerational Workforce Using Employee Benefits Matthew Shaw – Communications and Engagement Consultant, PIB Employee Benefits Ltd Businesses in the UK and the rest of the world are experiencing a unique change in their workplace demographics; increased age diversity and the rise of the millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995). We explore how to approach the design of an employee benefits package which will be valued now and in the future.

R

ESEARCH BY the global consultancy practice PWCa has highlighted that by 2020, millennials will make up 50% of the global workforce.

This generation is known for being technologically adept, social media dominated and digitally native. So, as they become the predominant cohort in the workplace, it is increasingly important for businesses to understand how to engage effectively with them whilst not alienating the older generations.

According to research conducted by the University of Phoenixb, there are now six different definitions of generations that are still living and today up to five of these could find themselves together in the workplace at any one time.

So here is the challenge – how do employers and employee benefits consultants create and communicate the most appropriate suite of benefits which serve their true purpose – to attract, retain, reward and engage the best quality employees in the market?

Know Your Audience The first step in creating a valued benefits package is gaining an understanding of what people need or want. The most effective yet often underutilised way of doing this is to ask employees “In an ideal world, what benefits would you like to be offered and why?”

Every business will have its own way of canvassing ideas and suggestions. But whatever

TRADITIONALISTS

Born between 1922 and 1945

the channel or forum used, the supporting communications and messages around this must avoid fuelling unrealistic expectations that any wish list can be delivered in full.

There are a multitude of different benefits which can be considered, and these can be a mixture of financial and non-financial. Some may be relatively low cost and simple to implement, while others may not. The benefits and technology market moves so quickly that there may be benefits and communication tools available that would surprise even the most seasoned purchaser. Examples include the use of wearable technology to encourage and improve wellness and the ability to talk to a doctor online rather than waiting for a GP appointment. Both have the potential effect of reducing sickness and absence rates.

For the benefit of this piece, the focus is on the traditional benefits, their generational appeal as well as their ability to attract, retain and reward – starting with company pension schemes.

A company pension scheme has historically been the ‘go-to’ employee benefit. The majority of people in paid employment work to pay bills and to fund a certain lifestyle that they choose to lead. The concept of a savings vehicle that allows employees to stop working but still receive a regular income to continue funding that lifestyle will clearly sound appealing. Company pension schemes are typically one of the most costly employee benefits and historically businesses

GEN X

GEN Z

Born between 1960 and 1980

Born between 1995 and 2010

BABY BOOMERS

GEN Y

Born between 1945 and 1960

Born between 1980 and 1995

It is reasonable to assume that the older an employee, there is a strong likelihood that a good quality pension scheme and a generous contribution structure will be highly valued

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Whatever the channel or forum used, the supporting communications and messages around this must avoid fuelling unrealistic expectations that any wish list can be delivered in full

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have used the provision of a pension scheme to differentiate themselves from their competition.

However, since the introduction of pension auto-enrolment, where all businesses in the UK must offer a pension scheme to their employees, some businesses which previously used a pension scheme as a differentiator now face a new challenge. For a typical employee an obvious comparator is the generosity of the contribution structure compared to other employers. It is important to consider also how a pension scheme is valued by employees when compared to other benefits within the context of the changing workplace demographic.

It is reasonable to assume that the older an employee, there is a strong likelihood that a good quality pension scheme and a generous contribution structure will be highly valued.

Research conducted by Deloittec suggests that saving for retirement is generally considered a low priority by millennials behind saving for a house, travelling, further education or buying a car.

Currently half of the top 10 largest companies in the world by market capitalisation are tech companies – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebookd. Each of these companies want to attract the best quality staff and part of their strategy for achieving this includes offering a wide range of innovative non-traditional benefits such as free food, gym membership and access to the latest technological hardware. So, it is no surprise that Google have topped the Fortune ‘Best companies to work for in the world’ list for the past six yearse?

In the case of Google, the provision of these benefits has been used as a tool to embed the desired culture within the workforce. Two examples include:

1) Extending maternity leave in the US to combat higher than average turnover rates amongst women. The increase from 12 weeks to 5 months reduced attrition amongst new mothers by 50%.

2) Extending a warm greeting for new joiners.

Their internal data found that when managers used this approach, it increased the productivity of the new joiner by 15% over the next 9 months.

Smaller businesses can achieve similar results by adapting this approach to suit their size and budget – the key is understanding what the problem is and then consider ways in which it can be addressed.

Following the introduction of auto enrolment in the UK, the common benefit that every company will offer is a pension scheme. Thereafter, business leaders and decision makers are free to pick and choose the benefits they believe will be most effective in achieving their ultimate goal of attracting, retaining, rewarding and engaging talent for their business.

Whatever the package created, the obvious questions that should be asked include how the benefits on offer are aligned to the preferences of the workforce (after asking people what they want and why), how those decisions have been reached and what plan is in place for measuring their effectiveness?

Hermes, the logistics organisation, recently undertook an employee feedback programme to understand what was important to their workforce to tailor their benefits offeringf. Their plan is to continue collecting feedback in the future to ensure that the benefits remain relevant and valued. This is an action that every business should undertake to adapt their benefits offering to the changing workplace demographics.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Embrace Technology Two interesting facts highlight the advance of technology in the workplace as well as the disparity in technological experiences across generations: Fact 1 Mobile phones first went on sale in the USA in 1983 – they cost over $4,000 (£2,520).

Generations Y and Z, however, have never known a world without computers and mobile phones.g Fact 2 While e-mail was widely credited as being invented in 1972, the first commercial e-mail did not appear until the early 1990s.h So, let that sink in – if you are aged over 50 and reading this, you probably entered the workplace without the concept of a mobile phone, the internet or e-mail. Conversely, the average one year old child probably knows instinctively how to minimise and maximise the screen of an iPad using their fingers.

In early September 2017, a panel of technology experts spoke at the Fintech Conference of the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA)i. Douglas Orr, Chief Executive of the messaging platform, Novastone, explained how the use of email is already becoming redundant in Asia in favour of services likes WhatsApp and WeChat.

Singaporean authorities have even agreed that financial advisers can use these facilities to record conversations with clients, effectively meaning that they are the new way of creating meeting notes. While the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is not quite at that stage yet, it does highlight the changing attitudes of regulators in

what is traditionally one of the most heavily and closely regulated industries in the world.

Having focused on millennials, employers have the additional challenge of Generation Z now entering the workplace; Businesses need to adapt their benefits and communications strategy further as they compete to recruit and retain the best talent and maximise return on their employee benefits spend.

For a communications strategy to work effectively, it tends to have to be multi-faceted by using a range of channels to engage all generations and must, therefore, be tailored to the business. For example, a business located on a single site would traditionally hold face- to- face presentations as the most effective method for conveying a message. However, this approach may be neither time or cost effective for a business with multiple locations.

When consulting with corporate clients, it is always useful to establish what channels are currently used to communicate key messages to their workforce and, invariably, the most common response from larger organisations is by e-mail.

The challenge begins when trying to ascertain the effectiveness of this channel.

E-mail as a concept for mass distribution and broadcasting information is fine but only if you can demonstrate that it works. For example, how many businesses can analyse how many people open the e-mail, how many then read it and crucially, how many understand it and are motivated to respond to a call to action?

When signing up to a new product or service, most people will be familiar with the concept of ticking a box to indicate their preferences on how they wish to be communicated with. To date, when joining a new employer, how many new starters are asked that question? Modern

Having focused on millennials, employers have the additional challenge of Generation Z now entering the workplace

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Hermes, the logistics organisation, recently undertook an employee feedback programme to understand what was important to their workforce to tailor their benefits offering

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technology allows people to communicate in more ways than ever before; over 1 billion people use the messaging service WhatsApp everydayj – that’s nearly 1 in 7 people in the world, but how many businesses use this as a means of communicating with their staff?

Technology is not just influencing how we communicate, it is also changing the landscape of employee reward – for example, businesses such as RSK and Bond Dickinson have been known to hold an annual event designed to encourage competition and improve employee wellbeing by helping colleagues get fitter. The concept is simple; the business is divided into small employee groups and pedometers are used to track their daily steps. The steps are added up throughout the year and tracked on a world map for all to see. At the end of the year, the team with the most steps wins a prize.

It is a well documented cliché that a happy and healthy employee is likely to be more productive and there are endless statistics to back this up. These statistics range from increased productivity, higher engagement, lower sickness and absence rates and even fewer workplace compensation claims. One of the most commonly cited is by Professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick where his studies found that happiness made people around 12% more productive.k Employers should consider how they can harness the power of technology to improve and increase the efficiency of their communication channels to help promote their benefits and thereby improve employee productivity.

Review and Communicate In July 2017, employee benefits provider Unum released their workplace communication blueprintl – a survey of over 1,000 employees which focused on employee engagement and reward. There were two key findings: • 50% of respondents said their benefits package is not always tailored to their needs • 32% said that their employer does not understand what benefits are important to their employees The feedback is clear – employees are not suggesting that their employer offers no benefits, they are saying that the benefits are either not right for them or that they do not understand how they work.

This calls into question two things – what is the effectiveness of the communication strategy used by those employers to promote the benefits available? And what is the suitability of the benefits for employees that have been chosen by the decision makers of those businesses?

The Institute of Directors recently reviewed their benefits strategy and reversed the way that they use their total reward statements.

Rather than explaining which benefits employees currently had and how much they were worth, they also gave employees an outline of the benefits they had chosen not to take up. They found that the typically perceived smaller benefits such as eye care schemes and flexible working options were not fully taken advantage of by their workforce but became in high demand once

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

employees were aware of the options. In other words, there was a gap between the provision of benefits and their communication to employees.

Conclusion The evolution of workplace demographics means that the requirement for a flexible and varied benefits, communication and engagement package is essential.

Benefit requirements are also evolving; for example, with subjects like financial education currently not covered on the school curriculum, millennials will often be first exposed to the concepts of saving for retirement, budgeting and life and health insurances when they enter the workplace. Given that employers are now the nation’s pension providers following the implementation of auto enrolment, it may fall on employers to offer education and guidance to these individuals, whilst financial services providers create new methods of supplying advice to the mass market.

To achieve success means businesses will have to adopt a continual cycle of consulting employees and reviewing all aspects of their benefits offering in the context of the feedback received. Failure to do so could lead to the business being less competitive or less productive as a symptom of failing to recruit, retain and reward the required level of talent. On the plus side, organisations like Google demonstrate how the provision and communication of the optimum benefits offering can help reinforce the desired culture within the employee cohort. No matter how big or small a business, leaders can take inspiration from the likes of Google and create a package and approach that fits their own business model through three simple steps; know your audience, embrace technology, review and communicate.

If you’re thinking of improving your current employee benefits package or introducing a new one within your business, contact an expert at PIB Employee Benefits.

Source Material a

PWC: Millennials at work - Reshaping the workplace: https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf b

The Six Living Generations in America: file: http://www.marketingteacher.com/the-six-living-generations-in-america/

c

Deloitte: The Generation Game – Savings for the new millennial: http://bit.ly/2zY3kSB

d

List of Public Corporations by Market Capitalisation: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/08/the-top-10-us-companies-by-market-capitalization.html#slide=1 e

Fortune – The 100 Best Companies to Work For: http://fortune.com/best-companies/google/

To achieve success means businesses will have to adopt a continual cycle of consulting employees and reviewing all aspects

f

of their benefits offering

g

in the context of the

Employee Benefits - Hermes to design new benefits strategy based on employee feedback: https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/issues/august-2017/hermes-designs-employee-feedback-plan-inform-new-benefits-strategy/ The History of Mobile Phones From 1973 to 2008: http://www.knowyourmobile.com/nokia/nokia-3310/19848/history-mobile-phones-1973-2008-handsets-made-it-all-happen h

History of E-mail: http://www.inventorofemail.com/history_of_email.asp

feedback received

i

Financial Times Adviser – FCA told to rewrite rules to recognise WhatsApp: https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2017/09/06/fca-told-to-rewrite-rules-to-recognise-whatsapp/ j

WhatsApp announces over 1 billion daily active users: https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/26/whatsapp-one-billion-active-daily-users/

k l

Happiness and Productivity: http://ftp.iza.org/dp4645.pdf

UNUM – Workplace Communication Blueprint: http://landing.unum.co.uk/communication-blueprint

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Employees: Your Company’s Most Valued Resource Tom Cropper, Editor Businesses which treat their employees well attract the best talent and have an advantage in the marketplace.

A

Those who were happier in their work and appreciated by employers were likely to be content with a lower compensation

COMPANY’S most valued resource is its employees – it’s one of the most overused clichés in business and, like many clichés, it is often honoured in its breach. Time and time again companies fail to value or adequately reward their staff and the results are there to see.

In the press, we’ve seen plenty of high profile examples of companies which have failed to treat their staff with the consideration they deserve. Whether it’s Uber or Sports Direct, mistreating employees or academy schools placing pressure on head teachers1, it’s a serious problem in the workplace.

The Value of Happiness A report for the recruitment site Monster found that more than half of staff say they feel undervalued in the workplace2. That’s a figure which should concern employers, because unhappy staff have serious implications for businesses.

Let’s look a look at those three high profile examples once again. What they all have in common is that the businesses and organisations responsible all suffered for their poor treatment of staff. Uber had its license to work in London removed3, Sports Direct was shamed in the press4, and schools face a recruitment crisis for teachers5 at all levels, partly because of the stress and lack of security they offer.

Businesses don’t always factor in staff wellbeing into their business models, which is unfortunate because a growing number of studies point to clear financial benefits for doing so. A study from MIT Professor Dan Ariely identified clear links between the financial compensation staff expected and how valued they feel by the company. Those who were happier in their work and appreciated by employers were likely to be content with a lower compensation6.

Monster’s report also highlighted the monetary benefit of staff who feel valued. It suggested that the simple act of saying ‘thank you’ could be worth more than £1,600 a year to a business. In

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other words, unhappy staff are more expensive for a business and are also likely to be less effective.

A study from the University of Warwick found that staff who are happy are up to 12% more productive than average, while those who are actively unhappy can be 10% less productive than average. The study brought together various groups of people and were asked to assess their happiness level. The groups were then given a series of tasks and their productivity was measured.

Happy Employees Are Good Employees The lesson for businesses is clear: those who feel their employees are lazy or ineffective should look first at the way in which they are treated. As individuals, we do not necessarily use all our potential at work. If we feel valued and involved, we are likely to work harder and proactively think of ways to improve the value we offer the organisation.

The unhappier we feel, the more likely we are to trend towards clock watching. Staff who are disconnected with the organisation in which they work will do the bare minimum. Productivity will slip and mistakes will creep in.

Employers who do not invest in their staff will be making a false economy. Not only will they be missing out on productivity gains, but they will actively be paying a fee for those unhappy staff, and, in the world of social media, word can get around. Companies can quickly develop a poor reputation, which will hinder their ability to attract top talent.

Earlier in 2017, a report from the recruitment company, Glassdoor, which allows employees to rate a company, listed the ten worst companies to work for in the UK. Top of the list was the betting company William Hill followed by the Financial Ombudsman and Holland & Barrett7. At the other end of the scale, the best companies to work for, such as Google and Dell are some of the most popular destinations for top talent.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

The value of attracting top talent is even more important given the competitive nature of the business environment, the uncertainty of the economy and the rise of technology. Those companies with the best people will be able to develop and harness innovations which place them at a key competitive advantage.

Those which are adept at unlocking the human potential within their organisations will see it feed through into their bottom line. The stock prices at companies listed in the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For rose on average 14% compared with 6% among all businesses8.

Keeping Employees Happy The question is: how can companies keep employees happy? It starts with a culture change.

Businesses can trend towards short-term decision making. They may often only see the clear value in the costs and revenues of their business. To improve their decision making it is worth them widening metrics to take account of how happy their employees are and seeing how that feeds into business operations.

The good news from an employer’s point of view is that this doesn’t necessarily involve the added expense of higher wages. As we explored earlier in this article, happier staff are more likely to be content with lower compensation. While a wage rise will always help, employees are understanding about the economic realities facing their companies and will be more sympathetic if they feel engaged and valued in their roles.

Staff happiness, then, is a key metric that businesses of all kinds should be assessing.

They should view their staff less as an operating cost and more as an investment – one which can deliver huge rewards if treated in the right way. Improving staff morale starts with the simple things such as saying ‘thank you’ and offering a reasonable wage, but, as shown by several reports, a good employee benefits package also goes a long way to improving engagement within an organisation. The question for employers is – what package of rewards should they offer their employees?

The lesson for businesses is clear: those who feel their employees are lazy or ineffective should look first at the way in which they are treated

Those companies with the best people will be able to develop and harness innovations which place them at a key competitive advantage

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How Employee Benefits Are Changing Jo Roth, Staff Writer The age of the consumer: employees are increasingly being offered a host of choices when it comes to their benefits.

O

A review into the impact of an aging workforce in 2015 found that 30% of the working population was over the age of 50

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NCE UPON a time, companies’ benefits packages were relatively straightforward.

You’d have a pensions scheme, a bonus, maybe some health insurance and, if you were very lucky, a company car. Today, though, the situation is very different. The market for the providers of benefits is growing and so too is the choice on offer to staff.

Boom Time for Benefits For an idea of what businesses are up against, look at the employee benefits on offer from some of the world’s most generous companies. Netflix, for example, offers employees a year of paid maternity leave, Airbnb offers £2,000 worth of travel, Spotify offers six months of paid maternity leave plus one month’s flexible working for parents returning to work. REI encourages people to go outside by offering employees paid ‘YAY days’ in which they can indulge in the outdoor activity of their choice.

The biggest and best companies understand the value of turning themselves into attractive employers and are prepared to spend to become so. The market for firms which specialise in delivering employee benefits is growing rapidly and as they do so, the types of benefits on offer is beginning to change.

Fortune recently reported that pet insurance had become the hottest employee benefit in the US as firms race to attract more millennials9.

Demographics within the workplace are changing and benefits must evolve to keep track.

The biggest development is the aging of the workforce. A review into the impact of an aging workforce in 2015 found that 30% of the working population was over the age of 50. As this generation approaches retirement age, it warned, it is unlikely that younger people will be able to replace them10. Competition for people with the required skills and experience will become increasingly intense.

As people become more active later into life, they are also showing a willingness to stay in work for longer. A study by the Office of National Statistics found that record numbers of people

over the age of 65 are staying in work11. Research from the Institute of Economic Affairs found that retiring early can be linked to a number of health problems. This, combined with a desire to maintain a high quality of life, is encouraging more people to stay on in the workforce after retirement age.

There is, of course, a very real benefit for businesses in keeping hold of older and more experienced employees for longer. They retain decades of experience and can pass that down to younger generations. However, when designing a benefits package that is attractive for everyone, this can complicate matters.

At any one time there could be up to five different generations working at a company from those just starting out to people working into their seventies. They have dramatically different lifestyles, incomes, savings and expectations.

What they want from employee benefits may be very different.

Creating a tailored package of benefits can be difficult, which is why businesses are turning to specialist consultants and providers to help them customise their offerings to their employees’ needs.

Measuring Performance Benefits, then, are assuming an increasingly vital role in the workplace, but, as they do, businesses are understandably keen to ensure their programmes are delivering results.

Employee benefits should be treated like any other investment in a business – they should be able to show a return on investment. However, despite growing recognition among companies of the importance of reward practices, relatively few have developed effective mechanisms for the quantifiable assessment of their value.

A study for the Institute of Employment concluded that the most common metrics being used to measure performance included turnover rate, vacancy rate, appraisal and performance management and staff satisfaction12. Profit was also used as an indicator, but finding a clear link between profit growth

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

and the establishment of an employee rewards programme can be complicated.

A study by Genesis Associates found that employee rewards programmes boosted profits by an average of £80,000 per week among its members13. It’s also important to measure metrics such as uptake of benefits, which options are most popular and the general awareness of what’s available among staff.

Some consultants and systems can provide automated metrics, while HR software can also be used to measure success. However, according to the Benefits Survey 2014, almost 30% of respondents don’t use any software to measure performance14.

As digital technology improves, it is creating more data on which performance can be measured. Account management and HR software is becoming more sophisticated and widening the scope of factors which can be measured or tracked.

Social media can also serve as a useful tool.

Companies should be monitoring their mentions on platforms such as Twitter to see how their brands are being perceived. Apps such as Social Mentions offer a quick and easy way to get an idea of attitudes to your company. This could

track any factor, including the reward scheme you choose. The fantasy result for any company would be to see one of their employees eagerly Tweeting about the wonderful deal they’ve secured through your company’s benefits package.

Improving Benefits For all the studies pointing to the value of rewards and benefits, there is no guarantee a scheme will work. If the metrics are negative, it pays to find out why. The easiest way is to ask employees.

Ask questions informally, send them questionnaires or establish the process as part of performance reviews.

The landscape is changing quickly.

Demographics are shifting and the range of technologies on offer increases dramatically the level of choice available to each employee.

A more demanding market in which top talent is increasingly sought after, together with a growing awareness of employers about the financial value of happy engaged staff means businesses of all kinds are taking a closer look at employee benefits. This, in turn, is creating a new market of specialist companies designed to provide benefit solutions to help deliver options directly to staff.

Social media can also serve as a useful tool.

Companies should be monitoring their mentions on platforms such as Twitter to see how their brands are being perceived

As digital technology improves, it is creating more data on which performance can be measured

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Designing an Employee Benefit Package James Butler, Staff Writer The right employee benefit package can improve engagement, increase wellbeing and provide an enormous boost to productivity.

W

Building an employee benefits strategy represents a significant investment. Like any investment, managers must set clear objectives for what they want to achieve

E LIVE today in the age of the consumer.

Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we’re being sold to and treated as customers and this includes the world of work. As workforces become more diverse and competition for the best people intensifies, companies are becoming more proactive in the way they offer benefits to their staff. The watchwords are choice and flexibility - but creating the ideal package is still no easy task.

Establishing Goals Building an employee benefits strategy represents a significant investment. Like any investment, managers must set clear objectives for what they want to achieve. Many businesses take a passive approach – they feel that they have to offer an employee benefits package to stay attractive and keep pace with the competition, but that should not be the only reason.

Employee benefits can be tailored in a way which improve performance. For example, a business might offer private health insurance, or a mobile medi-tech app, which provides them with quick access to medical advice. Doing so can improve health, reduce the amount of time they take off work and raise productivity levels.

Other services such as travel vouchers or help with student loans can reduce the external stress employees feel, and so keep their mind on the job in hand. But what many benefits packages are missing is a strategic view which encourages the behaviours and culture that managers would like to see in their staff. For example, some companies offer days in which employees can volunteer or take part in another form of community engagement. This helps encourage a proactive, positive attitude among the workforce, and can also help to solidify a company’s reputation as a positive community leader within the local area.

Communicating with Staff An increasingly diverse workforce – in terms of ethnicity, background and age – means that designing a benefits package which will genuinely connect with staff is more complicated than ever.

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working within an organisation from students on work experience, to school leavers, millennials, working parents and baby boomers, each of whom have different needs.

A survey from YouGov found that four in ten millennials have no pension provision. While many lack knowledge about pension options, others are sceptical about the entire concept of pensions.

Around six in ten of those surveyed worry they will not have enough money to live on when they retire. However, 35% said they didn’t believe the state pension would exist when their time came to retire15. They are likely to have other concerns such as paying off student loans or saving for a house.

Older generations are more likely to value a company pension scheme but, even this is changing. The arrival of auto enrolment pensions has had two impacts. It means the company pension – for so long a staple of the company benefits package – no longer has the pull it once did. Auto enrolment has also been blamed for depressing wages by some analysts as businesses channel funds which might once have been used for supporting wages to pensions. For many workers focused on shortterm money issues, auto enrolment feels like a pay cut, which makes a good benefit package all the more important, in order to engage and retain staff.

Instead, older workers are moving towards more lifestyle-orientated options such as travel insurance. Although we’re living longer, and enjoy more active lives than ever before, the insurance market is struggling to keep up. The price of travel insurance for the over 50s remains disproportionately high.

Workers in their thirties and forties may want a range of different benefits depending on their own personal situation. The instinctive reaction among managers is to provide help with childcare or flexibility for new parents, but this will not necessarily apply to everyone. More and more people are choosing not to start families.

This points to another key issue. Although the workforce is becoming more diverse, people do not always fit snuggly into the same categories.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

It’s not only impossible to design a one-size fits all option for your entire workforce, but it’s extremely difficult to design one for each sector. Instead, companies must find a way of designing a range of options from which staff can make their own choices.

Making Benefits Available A common problem for organisations is ensuring benefits are accessible to staff and that they are clearly aware of what is on offer. The more an organisation grows, the more difficult this becomes – a problem private healthcare company CareUK experienced. With more than 22,000 employees based around the country, it faced a challenge in making all staff aware of the benefits packages available. Since the company employs thousands of care staff, many of whom do not have regular access to a work PC, they needed a more flexible solution.

The option they chose was an online benefits portal, Care UK Reward. Previously, benefits were accessed through their intranet system, but the new system enabled users to quickly log on via laptops, smartphones or tablets, wherever they are located.

“An engaged workforce is crucial to the success of Care UK and we are constantly evaluating the channels we use to communicate with employees,” says Karen McCormick Group HR Director of Care UK. “This can be challenging due to the fact that many employees are not online while at work. But we have a responsibility to ensure that the people delivering care, and our many remote workers, have convenient access to the same resources as their colleagues who are usually office-based16.”

Choosing a Provider Benefits are becoming an increasingly specialist service – one which businesses are farming out to other providers. As the market grows, the choice of provider becomes an important decision in itself. Businesses will value those companies which can offer choice and flexibility, but experience is key. Consultants who understand what people are looking for and how to design a package which encourages greater buy-in to your company’s ethos and values can have enormous benefits for bottom-line performance.

Equally, a recognition of just how variable this task can be adds value. Providers who can work with their clients, understand their objectives and build a clear view of their workforce will be at a natural advantage.

Before starting, it is important to draw up a clear set of objectives and establishing metrics by which they will be judged. Studies may suggest a correlation between benefits and employee performance but that does not necessarily apply to all businesses and all situations.

You will need to decide what you want out of this process, and establish a clear set of performance indicators which will show you whether or not you have achieved them. These can include staff feedback, retention rates and much more.

The value of employee benefits has been shown by multiple studies, but each company is different and faces its own set of particular challenges.

What works for one organisation may not work for another. Designing an effective package depends on getting to know your workforce, understanding what makes them tick and delivering the services they want.

An increasingly diverse workforce – in terms of ethnicity, background and age – means that designing a benefits package which will genuinely connect with staff is more complicated than ever

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The New Frontiers of Employee Benefits Tom Cropper, Editor Advanced technology is changing the way we work, and companies may find themselves assuming a more important role in the lives of their employees.

Multiple generations are working in the same company. The average age of retirement will rise which leads to a multigenerational workplace of the future

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HE WORLD of work is changing and so too is the world of employee benefits. The rise of digital technology creates a connected workforce – one which is more mobile and flexible, but one which also faces a range of stresses and strains. Smart employers will be the ones who recognise these changes and adopt a range of benefits designed to deliver maximum value for their employees. Identifying these trends and adopting a suitable approach, though, is more easily said than done.

The Changing Workplace A report from Unum identified the following key trends in the workplace17.

•T he ageless workplace: Multiple generations are working in the same company. The average age of retirement will rise which leads to a multigenerational workplace of the future.

•T he mindful workplace: Both employers and their staff are more aware of the importance of mindfulness. Having time for relaxation and meditation can be crucial in reducing stress, and improving the wellbeing of workers.

•T he intuitive workplace: Digital technology means we are becoming very tech savvy.

Employees have extensive digital profiles and will be more open to using these in the workplace.

•T he collaborative workplace: Digital technology aids collaboration among employees. With multiple generations working together – often with different ways of approaching the same task – companies will have to develop smooth 14 | WWW.CEOREPORTS.COM

operational methods for them to work together.

Unum’s Future Workplace Report believes collaboration could help businesses unlock £90bn in savings.

All these trends have direct financial implications for businesses. Unum’s report suggests that helping people who wish to work longer to stay in a company could realise £44bn through reduced staff turnover costs.

The ‘Always On’ Lifestyle In a digital world, we are always connected and always on. It’s a way of life which is having a growing impact on our quality of life and mental wellbeing. Employees often find themselves never disconnecting from work – they are always online and always available. A study for the Wall Street Journal found that 44% of people check work emails at home18. Given the stress of workloads, it can be tempting to spend time in the evening checking emails or catching up on a little work.

Employers can also blur the boundaries between work and home life by contacting employees outside of working hours.

This hyper-connected lifestyle has an impact on mental health and well-being and companies are beginning to take note. A survey for Management Today found that 25% of businesses had encouraged employees to switch off and disconnect. Both employees and employers are beginning to understand the importance of mindfulness and how improving the mental wellbeing of staff contributes to their performance in the workplace.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

The Positive Workplace

A Changing Role for Employers

The way in which we work has transformed out of all recognition over the past few decades.

The age of a job for life is coming to an end, replaced by a mobile workforce regularly moving from place to place. Education is evolving and younger generations face radically different financial challenges than their parents.

The need to be seen as being an employer of choice is growing, especially as the tools at employees’ disposal to publicise their experiences with a company – both good and bad – increase. The recruitment website Glassdoor offers candidates the chance to rate their experiences with certain employers.

Before you agree to take a job, you can now look at an employer’s rating and have a much clearer idea about the kind of employer they would be.

Even without such services, people have access to social media and have a wider digital profile than ever before. If an employee is dissatisfied he or she can make their feelings known on social media, which can impact the reputation of a business, but problems can go further than that. With businesses placing more of their operations online, employees often have access to key information. Disgruntled employees – both present and former – represent a significant security risk to businesses. A US study found that 70% of workers felt emotionally disconnected at work and one in five would be willing to sabotage the work of their company or their co-workers19.

Businesses are developing measures to deal with disgruntled employees and manage the fallout of such problems, but a more effective and affordable approach would be to keep them happy in the first place. The value of being seen to be a positive workplace of choice for employees is growing.

As culture and demographics change, employers may find themselves assuming a more important role in the lives of their employees. The advent of auto enrolment has turned them into the default provider of pensions to employees, but they may find themselves assuming an even more detailed role. A study from MoneySavingExpert found that a lack of financial education is costing the UK £3.4bn every year20. Despite a petition from the founder of MoneySavingExpert, Martin Lewis, financial education is not included on school curriculums. With many people under the age of 40 having little awareness about key financial services, such as pensions, companies may benefit from providing financial awareness as part of their employee benefit packages.

Education is also a brewing issue. Higher education in the UK is assuming many of the characteristics of a bubble – one which is arguably unsustainable. The cost of higher education is greater now than it ever has been.

Even so, more people are going to university, but that in turn is eroding the value of a degree. A high number of graduates competing for the same job means people will inevitably find themselves in jobs for which they did not study.

Aside from the impact on job satisfaction, the time may well come when school leavers fail to see the value of a degree and the number of graduates starts to decline. There is a clear opportunity for employers willing to offer help with education or access to career-focused training for the next generation.

Employers are assuming a much wider role in society. They are providing pensions, education and in some cases, psychological support to their employees. As technology becomes more pervasive, the range of services and benefits a company can offer its employees is growing. So too is the amount of data they can collect on each individual, enabling them to provide mentorship and support, in a way which also helps improve their own bottom line.

Education is also a brewing issue. Higher education in the UK is assuming many of the characteristics of a bubble – one which is arguably unsustainable

Employers are assuming a much wider role in society.

They are providing pensions, education and in some cases, psychological support to their employees

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Eight Features of a Leading Employee Benefits Solution Ray Sieber, Managing Director, Staffcare

Discover the latest technology innovations to enhance employee engagement.

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Financial education and modellers can be included to guide employees throughout their careers and as they approach retirement in the new world of pension freedoms

OMPANIES THAT want to be at the cutting edge of talent acquisition and retention are looking to deliver innovative employee benefit solutions that provide easy online access to a growing range of attractive benefits.

Our long experience in this market shows there are eight key features of a successful programme which I would like to share with you.

1. Total Flexibility To retain, reward and attract top talent The challenge of attracting, rewarding and retaining talent is affecting more and more businesses today. Whether your company is struggling to recruit the best employees or losing them to the competition or simply through an ageing workforce, an attractive and engaging benefits programme is vital.

By providing a diverse and targeted menu of benefits that meet the varied needs of your workforce, you could increase staff retention, drive recruitment and boost the business as a great place to work. Employers may be supporting people from the lower to the upper age ranges, so the reward package of the future should be more of a pick and mix offer than a one size fits all.

Many employers have moved away from a fixed package of benefits to a more flexible range where employees can choose those they want. For example, older workers are likely to want different rewards to younger co-workers.

Employees with families may consider childcare vouchers while their single counterparts may prefer gym membership.

So, the trend for customised and personalised benefits is on the increase. Companies considering an employee benefits solution should ensure their chosen system not only has the ability to accommodate a wide range of benefits, but provides the flexibility to offer, add and administer a multitude of customised benefits, offers and promotions quickly and easily.

2. Simple Systems Integration Single platform provides secure access An efficient employee benefits platform should be able to integrate sensitive and disparate data sets and systems via one common interface.

This includes integration with benefit providers.

A BENEFITS PORTAL PROVIDES EASY ACCESS

It enables the automation and efficient running of important HR and payroll functions and also provides a single platform for the employer to manage all benefit enrolment, offers, adjustments and communications.

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Employees should be able to access the system with “single sign on” where they can manage all their benefits including pension contributions, healthcare, salary sacrifice and access shopping vouchers and discounted holidays. This ensures one seamless user journey with other core systems.

They can also view and print total reward statements showing the combined value of all their benefits.

Their personal data is highly confidential, sensitive and needs to be secure. When selecting a new benefits solution, the guarantee of secure and seamless integration of different benefit data sets along with your confidential employee data and systems is paramount.

With the amount of data increasing, the ability to aggregate, manage, secure and interpret this big data is vital.

3. Scalability A solution that grows with you Big or small, your benefit solution should scale to your future business needs. So think ahead.

What will your business look like in three or four years? Will your employee benefit requirements still be the same?

It’s not easy to predict the future, but you can be prepared by adopting a scalable benefits solution that has the capacity to grow with you and work around your evolution.

Whether you employ just a few people or thousands, your benefits software needs to have the capacity to accommodate today’s needs – and those of tomorrow. In today’s fast paced environment, companies can grow rapidly and downsize just as quickly. A scalable benefits solution that can handle your future needs can avoid any unexpected issues and costs.

4. A Customised Look and Feel Personalise your portal and boost your brand Your benefits portal should be designed to reflect your brand identity and culture. Are your employees living your brand vision every day?

Research suggests that strong corporate culture tends to lead to strong performance.

Your internal communications and tone of voice should reflect your core vision and values to help you build and promote your brand holistically from the inside out.

A branded and personalised benefit portal can engage employees, encourage adoption and regular use, as well as demonstrating the organisation’s investment in its benefits package.

This look and feel must also be adaptable, as a static brand will lose engagement. It is vital to update the content regularly to ensure employees remain engaged.

BRANDED PORTALS INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

5. Powerful Processes Reduce administration time and costs The potential burden of extra administration is a reason why many businesses postpone a new benefits project. However, a dedicated platform can actually reduce administration time and costs.

An effective benefits solution should improve information management, reporting and simplify notoriously complex tasks such as budget forecasting for benefits spend and provider invoice reconciliation – so you can focus on other important HR issues.

It should also integrate data from HR systems, payroll systems, benefit providers and your own administration systems so everything you need is in one place to manage and administer your benefits programme more efficiently. And it should be simple to use.

It’s good practice to verify that your selected benefit solution includes a variety of automation tools, including key reporting features, workflow based intelligence, notifications and scheduling to reduce administration time and costs.

Giving HR managers the tools to actively monitor engagement can help them evaluate the success of the solutions and benefits available to ensure the right packages are on offer.

By providing a diverse and targeted menu of benefits that meet the varied needs of your workforce, you could increase staff retention, drive recruitment and boost the business as a great place to work

6. Communication Tools Improve employee engagement Combining benefits and communications that are accessible all in one place enables a simpler way of engaging with your employees – fast.

Targeted communications will ensure that employees are aware of what is available. They can also help them make educated choices through the selection process by including examples of benefits selected by other people like them. Financial education and modellers can be included to guide employees throughout their careers and as they approach retirement in the new world of pension freedoms.

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

With a lower cost of entry, seamless upgrades, backups, reduced time to prototyping and easier integration and scalability, SaaS beats on-premise alternatives in most HR areas every time.

8. Best of Breed Solution

TOTAL REWARD STATEMENTS SHOW THE VALUE OF ALL BENEFITS BEING PROVIDED

An integrated benefits management service provides the complete end-to-end solution

Benefit solutions that include built in communication tools enable HR to provide employees with access not only to all the benefits packages, promotions, and total reward statements, but also all the other important HR information and documents such as company policies, staff handbooks, training guides and online pay slips.

HR teams can send messages to employees about new schemes and company news.

Combined with the explosion of mobile technology and remote working, the ability to drive engagement across multiple devices in any location is paramount.

Powerful data analysis tools can also enable the HR team to track employee activity and analyse trends, identifying the impact of communications and the popularity of benefits.

7. Software as a Service Rapid deployment, accessible anywhere Businesses looking to deploy a new benefits solution should always opt for a Software as a Service (SaaS) deployment to offer a straightforward, cloud-based, self-service process to employees.

Using SaaS, employees access their benefits portal remotely over a secure web connection on any device, at any time from any location.

This self-service approach to benefits and rewards management is proven to maximise process efficiency and, importantly, strengthen the relationship between the employer and its workforce.

For you as a business, no hardware investment or additional IT technical support is required on site. It’s easy and fast to deploy at the flick of a switch. As there is no on-site product installation, there is also no disruption to normal routines and processes and no need for re-engineering of any existing internal IT infrastructure. You can focus on running the business, confident that your personnel data is running on a secure SaaS platform.

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Proven experience coupled with fast and efficient deployment A best of breed, specialised service solution is typically perceived as expensive and complex to integrate. However, the advent of cloud has shifted these perceptions.

Deploying the solution via the cloud allows companies to implement applications in weeks, not years, and combined with API technology, cloud-based applications can be integrated with legacy applications and other cloud-based applications quickly and easily.

A best of breed solution is fully focused on the service it is designed to deliver. It keeps ahead of and continues to add new features and functions, negating the need to purchase software upgrades or invest in expensive software maintenance contracts.

Today, there is simply no need for you to make concessions and purchase an ERP platform that can do everything – but probably only has one great feature. Best of breed technologies by their nature, are flexible so no matter who your HR, payroll or benefit providers are, the systems will work together.

Additionally, you are not limited if you choose to change one of these providers. The new provider can plug in to your benefit solution. With API technology, companies can pick and mix the best applications across departments and integrate them quickly via the cloud.

With a best of breed employee benefits solutions provider, you know you are working with the best supplier in the field with specialist knowledge and experience in benefit technology and best practices over many years. One that can help ensure the implementation runs smoothly and efficiently, maximising your ROI. An integrated benefits management service provides the complete end-to-end solution.

Conclusion Until now, many employers have considered remuneration to be the top concern for employees, but an appealing benefits package can be much more valuable than a pay rise.

It can also aid your business with recruitment and retention.

Today, employees are a diverse group with different needs. Employers need to respond with a wider range of benefits to meet those needs.

A successful benefits solution will offer a more personalised experience with targeted

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

employee communications that speak directly to different employee demographics.

Effective communications will ensure that employees are fully engaged so they value the benefits and employers achieve an effective return on their investment.

Great employee benefits are all about keeping employees engaged in the success of a business.

With happy, well cared-for employees, companies are better able to motivate the entire workforce, focus on their mission and successfully achieve their goals.

Aligning benefits strategy with business strategy is key.

Contact Web address: www.staffcare.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/Staffcare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/ company/636392?trk=tyah Email: hello@staffcare.net Tel: 0845 372 6644

Case Study

Best of breed technologies by their nature, are flexible so Callcredit Boosts Employee Engagement When Callcredit decided to make a step change in their benefits offering and portal for employees and reinvigorate the user experience, they turned to Staffcare to provide the system.

Their existing platform, which had been running since 2010, was only available to the UK business and take up by employees was poor due to limited benefits and inflexibility.

They wanted a new platform to provide: • rolling enrolment for all benefits where possible • salary sacrifice • dynamic online total rewards statements •a communications strategy to engage their employees • access across the whole group To introduce the new system, they ran a multimedia communications campaign resulting in 89% of their 1,000 employees logging onto the benefits website over the launch period.

The campaign included new branding and multimedia-based promotions, including a new website and a quiz for staff. At the centre of the campaign were characters (Avatars) representing different lifestyle approaches, ranging from a discount-seeking bargain hunter and gadget-loving innovator, to a baker

no matter who your HR, payroll or benefit providers are, the CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS HELPED DECISION MAKING

who likes a comfortable home life. Employees were then able to compare themselves and decide which benefits were best for them.

Callcredit saw a big increase in the number of staff making active benefit selections, rising from 10% in 2014 to 71%.

“We put a lot of effort into creating new benefit options that would meet our employees’ diverse needs. But our investment in the communications also made a big difference and got people actively participating in the programme. An added benefit of the communication exercise was to bring all our benefits together in one place, with strong branding that we are now using in our careers marketing. We’ve already been able to attract new recruits on the back of the new suite of flexible benefit materials. “

systems will work together

Tim Simpson, Reward Manager at Callcredit

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The Evolution of Staff Benefits Tom Cropper, Editor Why benefits will continue to play an important part in workplace relations.

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Many of the statistics surrounding work are dispiriting. The socalled gig economy is booming. The number of employees on zero hour contracts is now close to a million

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N TODAY’S unstable economic environment, it’s tempting to think of the modern workplace as cold and uncaring. An environment of unreliable employment leads to dissatisfaction and anger am ong workers, but as we move into a post-Brexit world, delivering a strong, stable workplace may be more important than ever.

An Unstable Working Environment Many of the statistics surrounding work are dispiriting. The so-called gig economy is booming. The number of employees on zero hour contracts is now close to a million21. According to a recent report, half the UK workforce could be freelance by 202022. Work is becoming more unstable with increasing numbers of people working on a freelance basis. Low pay is endemic.

A study found that one in five jobs in London are low pay23. The press is packed with tales of staff being forced to work for below minimum wage, in poor conditions and for excessive hours. Sports Direct was recently forced to admit it had failed to pay factory staff the minimum wage24.

That comes at both a social and economic cost to society. Research from the TUC suggested that the gig economy costs the UK Treasury £4bn per year in lost tax receipts25. Stagnant wages and growing wealth inequality fuel dissatisfaction and have been linked to a rise in radical parties on the left and right. Research during the recent US election found that supporters of Donald Trump were more likely to believe they are worse off now than they were ten years ago26.

Against this, businesses of all sizes find themselves struggling to incorporate new obligations such as auto-enrolment and the living wage. Peter Smith, Chairman of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, warned that smaller companies could struggle to afford the minimum wage27. Research from the Federation of Small Businesses, found that many were still struggling to understand their obligations under auto-enrolment28.

Can Businesses Afford It? Against this backdrop, many businesses question whether they can afford additional employee benefits. Indeed, research provided to HR Magazine by Cass Business School suggested that workers were more likely to suffer financial problems than they were 30 years ago because employee benefits had failed to keep pace with the modern workforce29. The workforce has changed: it’s become older and includes more female and disabled workers.

Compared to 30 years ago there are 46% more older workers and 11% more people living with a disability. Employee benefits – designed to offer financial protection, though, have not kept pace.

Smaller businesses question the value of providing benefits. A recent study from Pure Benefits shows that businesses with fewer than 11 members of staff are unlikely to actively promote benefits and work/life perks to employees, even if they are offered30.

Businesses can find themselves trapped in a short-termist bottom-line perspective. However, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that providing greater employee benefits will drive business performance. The Cass Business School report found that employees who are not financially secure are less productive than those who feel comfortable. The high cost of turnover, recruitment and knowledge-loss also means businesses have a vested interest in retaining talent and improving their employees’ own sense of wellbeing.

The landscape for employee benefits is changing – not just in age, composition and expectations of the workforce, but also in the thinking surrounding employee wellbeing.

A report from Unum identified the following trends impacting workplace benefits31: •A ge: There will soon be up to five generations working in the same working environment.

Teenagers, working part time jobs, will be working hand in hand with people over the age of 65.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

• Mindfulness: There is a greater awareness of mental as well as physical wellbeing. In a connected age, digital overload is a serious problem. Employees want flexible working and the ability to have downtime and meet commitments outside of work.

• Intuitive workplaces: Technology has changed the ways employees view data. The use of social media means more employees have digital profiles. Employers can capitalise on this trend by bringing in digital technologies to interact with their employees. Intranets can share news across departments, increase engagement and help employees select their own personalised benefit packages.

• The Collaborative Workplace: Technology can break down the barriers between departments, locations and hierarchies. People are regularly working together with teams based in multiple locations. The report suggests this is sparking a shift away from traditional workplace traits associated with masculinity and gender aggression towards other traits such as empathy, flexibility, openness and collaboration.

So how can employers evolve their benefits structure to account for these trends? The first way is to deliver greater flexibility and choice.

A worker in his sixties will want something very different from graduates in their twenties.

In addition, today’s generation of twenty somethings face different challenges and have different needs from those of previous years.

Today, they are saddled with student debt, rising rent prices and the seemingly impossible task of getting on the housing ladder. To assume the same package of benefits from yesteryear will work today is a fundamental error.

The New Workplace Socioeconomic shifts are seeing a change in the employer-employee relationship. For example, it used to be the role of government to provide education. Now, further education is becoming more and more expensive. The Unum report suggests we may see companies beginning to offer workplace training schemes as an incentive.

Equally, flexible working is becoming increasingly important. Unum’s Financial Director Survey (2014) found that 78% of businesses offer flexible working as a benefit32. It’s easier to do this now than ever before thanks to the spread of cloud-based and online administrative systems. Employees no longer need to be in the office in order to make a full contribution.

Benefits, therefore, need to evolve in a way which matches the way we work. They must be flexible, intuitive and wide-ranging. Managing such a complex structure and ensuring it achieves its goals is by no means straightforward.

Technology can hold the key with a new generation of employee benefit portals. These will make it easier for employees to access their benefits and tailor them to their own needs.

The landscape for employee benefits is changing – not just in age, composition and expectations of the workforce, but also in the thinking surrounding employee wellbeing

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The New Age of Benefits Solutions Jo Roth, Staff Writer Forward-thinking companies are realising the advantages of employee benefits, but to be truly successful they need the right delivery system.

D Generous packages attract some of the best talent, putting them in an advantageous position against their competition.

What they need, though, is an effective delivery solution, which is where the next generation of employee benefit platforms comes in

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IGITAL TECHNOLOGY has done a lot for the world of business; it’s helped to streamline administration processes, it’s improved marketing and the preparation of accounts and it’s now being put to use in delivering employee benefits packages in a way which increases staff engagement, saves money and promotes loyalty.

Good for Business In a difficult economic climate, many businesses will question whether they can afford a comprehensive benefits package. However, a look at some of the leading businesses shows how they can be effective.

Google sets the standards for employee benefits and it seems to work. People love working there; current and former staff are happy to head onto forums such as Quora to discuss their favourite perks. Among the most popular appear to be a free shuttle bus, extensive maternity and paternity pay, having showers on the Google Campus, free food, free gyms and much more. You can even bring your pets to work and accrue ‘massage credits’. They combine to make Google a famously positive place to work, aid employee retention and help them attract the best tech minds in the world.

According to one former employee, Aaron Lichtig, generous maternity leave has had an enormous impact.

“Why does Google provide such generous perks to new moms and dads? It improves retention,” he writes. “After the new maternity leave policy was enacted the number of women leaving Google decreased by 50 per cent.”33 Other workers enjoy the atmosphere the campus creates, their co-workers and the chance to meet and talk with many tech leaders and thinkers.

Tech companies tend to lead the way in terms of employee perks. In 2014 Dan Price, founder of Seattle-based credit card processing firm Gravity Payments, announced a new minimum

wage for employees of $70,000 a year. It won him Entrepreneur of the Year, the adulation of his staff, and helped him become a poster boy for the battle against income inequality.

His decision has been good for business in a number of ways. The publicity surrounding it created a surge of interest. Inc.com reports that customer enquiries increased from 30 per month to over 2,000. In a world in which customer acquisition is expensive, that might have paid off a large chunk of his initial investment. Gravity boasts a customer retention rate above 90% compared to an industry average of 68%34. However, there has been a backlash. The millionaire shockjock Rus Limbaugh was outraged and articles appeared featuring disgruntled employees calling him a socialist. While lower ranked individuals were delighted with their bumper pay rises, some of the more senior professionals received only a small bump. They complained that he was rewarding most those who were least productive.

It raises an important question: will employees react negatively to a benefit strategy if they feel others are being unfairly rewarded – even if their own situation improves?

Financial Security Other companies are looking at ways in which they can improve the financial security of their workforce. With households facing an average debt of £10,000, according to a report from PwC35, financial security is a major issue. In the US, PwC is one company which has announced plans to help employees pay off their student loans. The offer, they say, could reduce loan obligations by as much as $10,000 per employee.

“While we know that no organisation can singlehandedly take on the issue of student debt, it’s an area where we believe we can and should make a difference,” said Tom Codd, Vice Chairman US Human Capital Leader. “We all have a stake in helping young people build healthy financial futures faster because that in turn allows them to contribute to our communities and society more broadly.”

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Employee Benefit Solutions These are some of the highest-profile examples.

However, they do show how valuable employee benefits can be to a company – enhancing staff retention and even helping it to secure new business. Generous packages attract some of the best talent, putting them in an advantageous position against their competition. What they need, though, is an effective delivery solution, which is where the next generation of employee benefit platforms comes in.

These have evolved enormously in the space of just a few years as companies seek new ways to boost staff engagement and participation in benefits. The results can be remarkable. When Callcredit installed an online benefits tool, 89% of staff logged-on over an 11-day enrolment period36.

Callcredit offers a variety of benefits ranging from salary sacrifice, gadgets, car leasing and much more. They worked with Staffcare to develop an online portal tailored to their own branding which brought all the benefits into one place. The platform has a series of different characters to define a selection of packages.

There’s a discount seeking bargain hunter, a gadget-mad tech head and a baker who loves a comfortable home-life. The platform has a quiz which allows employees to see which of the characters most aligns with their own lifestyle, and so helps them to select a package of benefits which are most aligned with their requirements.

“We put a lot of effort into creating new benefit options that would meet our employees’ diverse needs. But our investment in the communications also made a big difference and got people actively participating in the programme,” said Tim Simpson, reward manager at Callcredit.

“An added benefit of the communication exercise was to bring all our benefits together in one place, with strong branding that we are now using in our careers marketing. We’ve already been able to attract new recruits on the back of the new suite of flexible benefit materials.”

In a difficult economic climate, many businesses will question whether they can afford a comprehensive benefits package

Ripple Effect The advantages ripple across the company. They improve staff wellbeing and loyalty. Happy staff are more likely to be productive and perform at a higher level. When they see their employer taking the time and effort to deliver a benefits offering designed around their needs, their attitude towards that employer improves markedly.

Administration teams also benefit. Indeed, one of the main reasons why companies introduce an online benefits solution is to streamline the administration surrounding their delivery. It saves time, effort and also creates enhanced metrics to assess the value of the company’s benefits strategy. They can see how popular each benefit is, how staff are using them and assess other benefits or perks which could further improve their relationship with staff.

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Designing a New Employee Benefits System James Butler, Staff Writer Spending money on employee perks can do great things for a business, but they need to be delivered in the right way.

D Assessing and analysing the cost, versus reward of an employee benefits package will be a primary concern

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EMOGRAPHICS, POLITICS, economics and technology all have an impact on employee/employer relationships. The question of benefits sits at the heart of this. Will they remain as relevant in the future workspace?

Can employers justify the cost and how can they go about creating a package which works for everyone? Previous articles have outlined many of the challenges – in this article we’re going to look at how businesses of all sizes can find a solution.

Measuring Performance Assessing and analysing the cost, versus reward of an employee benefits package will be a primary concern. This is not always straightforward.

It’s easy to see and measure costs – they are right there in the accounts, but rewards can be somewhat intangible. As such, employers tend to underestimate the returns – if these are shown to be less than the upfront costs, employers will question whether it’s worth the time, money and effort.

Return comes in various forms. The Future Workplace report by The Future Laboratory suggests businesses which fail to address current employee trends can struggle in a number of ways37. Failing to take into account the needs of older workers, it says, could cost British businesses £44bn in staff turnover and reduced productivity. Failing to recognise the benefits of intuitive technology could cost £29bn in staff turnover, while businesses might save a total of £90bn by harnessing the power of remote and flexible working.

Happy workers are more productive. A study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happy workers were 12% more productive38. Happiness stems from personal financial security, fulfilment in the workplace, engagement with the company and its objectives.

The right package of staff benefits can do a great deal to improve staff loyalty. The 2020 Workplace survey found that better benefits

were the second biggest factor employees value in a company, just behind a competitive salary.

A good working environment, career development opportunities and opportunities for training also feature highly.

What Do You Hope to Achieve?

Businesses should start by thinking about why they are implementing a scheme in order to benchmark that initial goal against results. Are they looking to develop employee engagement, increase awareness or improve retention? Do they intend the benefits scheme to attract new talent into the group? If so, a business would have to promote the benefits packages externally. This has worked for the likes of Google, Campbells Soup, Red Bull and Hootsuite, all of which have received favourable press for their benefits packages and positive working environment. This puts them at the front of the queue for talent acquisition and can also help gain clients and raise profile.

As online benefits solutions become more sophisticated, they are developing the ability to capture an increasing amount of data. This can be brought together to produce extensive analytics and reports about how the benefits strategy is performing. Users can see how it is being used and which features are most popular; they can see whether uptake is increasing and how much more aware staff are. All this can be quickly displayed in a report.

All these metrics can be pulled out into a wider assessment. However, to gain a fair reflection, a company will need to consider all the possible benefits. These include: •E mployee loyalty: Has staff retention improved since the introduction of a scheme?

•P roductivity: Has the performance of individual staff improved since the scheme came into force?

•T alent acquisition: Surveys of new employees can offer insight about whether a benefits scheme has encouraged them to choose your business over that of rivals.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

Businesses should start by thinking about why •A dministrative burden: Automating the benefits system into one online portal can potentially save time and effort in administration.

This has benefits both in reducing operational costs and freeing up members of staff for more productive and profitable tasks.

All this can be brought together to produce a clear return on investment analysis.

Flexible Tailoring However, it does have to be the right package for each demographic. Workplaces are becoming more diverse in terms of age, gender, disabilities and lifestyle. The age, lifestyle and personality of each employee will determine which benefits they find most appealing. For example, a thirty something with a family might value vouchers or health insurance while a single person of the same age might prefer gym membership. Tastes vary and, with people increasingly expecting a level of personalisation in all their services, employers will be hard pressed to get it right.

The answer will be to put the decision in the hands of employees and let them design their own benefits package. Benefit portals provide a central location where they can choose from available packages. Some use quizzes or questionnaires to help employees decide which option they find most appealing. It’s a reversal of the old-fashioned top-down attitude in which employers made decrees and passed these down the food chain. In this environment, it’s the employee who is in control – picking and choosing what he or she wants.

There are many different benefit portals out there. The market is growing, which means so too are the providers. They vary in cost, design and features. Some will simply give people a chance to choose from a basic selection of benefits; others will be far more extensive. They can interact with employees, gathering much more feedback on what they want – what works and what does not.

Furthermore, interactive analytics centres can provide a huge amount of data to managers and help them to assess how their strategies are performing. It’s another string to the bow of a manager in analysing the true returns of a package.

they are implementing a scheme in order to benchmark that initial goal against results

System Integration Last, but not least, is the way in which they integrate into existing business systems. Some are simple off-the-shelf packages which are difficult to brand or tailor in any way – other companies take a much more proactive approach – working with the client to design a solution which works around their system, conforms to their own branding and addresses the specific ways in which that business functions. This is a far more personalised approach, which is where the true difference between individual providers lies. Technologies can appear similar from the outside, but can have very different impacts. Whether or not a benefits strategy truly works in the real world will depend to a significant degree on how these are incorporated into the company.

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Employee Benefits: What the Future Holds Tom Cropper, Editor Developments in demographics, economics, science and technology will all play a role in how employees and employers interact in the future.

C

The next few years will witness the emerging dominance of millennials. Already these individuals comprise half the workforce and by 2017 they will make up more than half the adult population

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OMPANIES OF all sizes have always offered benefits to attract the best talent. However, in the face of a world which is changing rapidly, what will they look like? Will they still be relevant?

Will tomorrow’s workforce want something different and will employers adopt new strategies to deliver benefits?

Demographics The clearest change will be the demographics of the workforce. The next few years will witness the emerging dominance of millennials.

In a Report by PwC – ‘Millennials at work – Reshaping the workplace’ – it is estimated that by 2020 millennials will form 50% of the global workforce. In addition, they will be moving into positions of increasing seniority and have a much greater influence on the way companies work.

That’s important because there are signs millennials work in a different way and want something different out of their work. They are the first generation to have grown up in the world of digital technology. They are more flexible and mobile in the way they work; are more willing to work from home or in the evenings and use online communication platforms such as Skype. This is a generation which aims to become less tethered to the desk and less reliant on the office.

Older generations can sometimes be disparaging about their younger colleagues.

They are often characterised as fickle, impatient, ambitious, hungry for praise and fragile when criticised. Such a view tends to draw on their own prejudices. However, research shows that, much like the generations that went before them, millennials prize conventional things such as salary and financial incentives. The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey39 found that money was, indeed, the driving force. However, it’s when the pay between two organisations is equal that other factors come into play.

Top factors included a good work-life balance, opportunities to progress further, flexible working hours and location and a sense of meaning.

Millennials also value a job which has a strong sense of purpose and one which has a positive impact on the world.

It’s a theme which continues with the even younger Generation Z (people born between the mid-nineties and early 2000s). They are about to hit the workforce and will increasingly begin to make their presence felt over the next few years, and employers will need to consider what they want from work. A survey from Monster found that the most important things they want are real perks such as health insurance, a boss they respect and, of course, a competitive salary40. They also want work which has meaning and to be the owners of their careers. They want to be able to shape the way they work and to feel a sense of involvement with the business. More than any previous generation, they are entrepreneurial in spirit. Over half said they would like to have their own business, compared to 32% across all other working generations. All in all, though, they are a little more traditional than millennials. They are looking for traditional work benefits which will help them improve their security.

An Ageing Workforce While businesses will have to cater to younger people, they should also remember that older generations will be staying in work for longer.

By 2020 a third of the workforce will be over fifty41. That generation can expect to live longer, healthier lives than any that has gone before. They show a willingness to continue in work for longer.

A government report in 2016 recommended baby boomers to stay in work beyond retirement age to improve their health and wellbeing.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England said: “Staying in work, volunteering or joining a community group can

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

make sure people stay physically and mentally active for longer. The health benefits of this cannot be overestimated42.”

Generation X and Y employees expect to continue working far beyond the current retirement age, and have little confidence in the state to provide for their older age.

This ageing workforce can bring benefits. The exit of older generations from leadership positions will create a knowledge gap for companies.

Replacing those people, and keeping hold of that expertise – even if it involves a part time position – will be valuable. Employers have a real stake in retaining older employees and benefits can play a role.

An ageing workforce coupled with the tendency to have children in later life will also impact increasingly on the social needs of some employees. In the past, workers might have been able to rely on grandparents to perform childcare. However, that generation is staying in work longer. Equally, as people live longer, degenerative conditions such as dementia are becoming more common, leading to the rise of what’s being termed the sandwich generation – people who are caring both for children and older relatives. Research from Helping Hands found that 65% of people in the sandwich generation were struggling to balance the care needs of the older and younger generations43.

From an employee benefits standpoint, their wants and needs will be more complex. Meeting the childcare requirement for employees is relatively straightforward. However, the needs of someone caring for an older relative are far more complex. To retain the skills and experience of that generation will demand an entirely new approach from employers.

Employers have a real stake in retaining older employees and benefits can play a role

A More Flexible System Employers then will face a much more varied workforce in the future, with everything from the tech savvy Generation Z to the experienced baby boomers collaborating in the same place.

Each want something slightly different from work, but it’s not enough to simply categorise benefit packages according to age or lifestyle.

People want a more personalised experience in all walks of life. They are independent and will not necessarily conform to the stereotype of their demographic. It’s impossible to say precisely what any individual will want, so they will need the flexibility to create their own personalised packages.

Employers can deliver this through the next generation employee benefits portals. These can bring together the various benefits on offer and allow people to access them on a single platform.

It’s a quick and simple method which draws on the way in which people already shop online.

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References: A Disappeared: The Head Teachers Sacked and Gagged by Academy trusts: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/24/disappeared-headteacher-sacked-academy-dismissal 2 More Than Half of Employees Feel Undervalued: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/more-than-half-of-employees-feel-undervalued-says-study 3 Uber Loses its London License Due to Lack of Corporate Responsibility: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/22/uber-licence-transport-for-london-tfl 4 Revealed: How Sports Direct Effectively Pays Below Minimum Wage: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/09/how-sports-direct-effectively-pays-below-minimum-wage-pay 5 Britain Faces Headteacher Crisis: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/04/27/britain-faces-headteacher-crisis-new-research-reveals-school/ 6 What Motivates us at Work More Than Money? https://ideas.ted.com/what-motivates-us-at-work-7-fascinating-studies-that-give-insights/ 7 The Ten Worst Companies to Work for in the UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/07/04/10-worst-companies-work-uk-according-employees/ 8 Make More Money by Making Your Employees Happy: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevecooper/2012/07/30/make-more-money-by-making-your-employees-happy/#3c241bc65266 9 Pet Insurance is Now the Coolest Employee Benefit: http://fortune.com/2016/06/23/pet-insurance-is-now-the-coolest-employee-benefit/ 10 Impact of an Aging Workforce: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/ageing-workforce-report 11 Record Numbers of People Over 65 are Staying in Work: https://www.ageukmobility.co.uk/mobility-news/article/record-number-of-people-over-65-still-working 12 Measuring the Effectiveness of Pay and Reward Schemes: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/mp84.pdf 13 Want to Boost Productivity? Offer Incentives: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8506-employee-productivity-incentives.html 14 The Key Findings of Benefits Research: https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/key-findings-of-the-benefits-research-2014/ 15 Four Out of Ten Millennials Have no Pension: https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/06/21/four-ten-millennials-have-no-pension-provision/ 16 CareUK Launched Online Benefits Portal: https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/issues/january-online-2014/care-uk-launches-online-benefits-portal/ 17 The Future of Employee Benefits: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/family/2012/12/lack-of-financial-education-costs-uk-34bn-a-year 18 Contacting Employees May Come at a Price: https://www.inc.com/bill-carmody/contacting-employees-after-hours-may-come-at-a-price-literally.html 19 Why Disgruntled Workers Represent the Biggest Threat to your Business: https://www.alchemyglobal.co.uk/disgruntled-employees-pose-biggest-risk-company/ 20 Lack of Financial Educations Costs £34bn Every Year: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/family/2012/12/lack-of-financial-education-costs-uk-34bn-a-year 21 More than 900,000 UK Workers on Zero Hour Contracts: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/uk-workers-zero-hours-contracts-rise-tuc 22 Half of UK Workforce Could be Freelance by 2020: http://www.thecdi.net/News-by-Category/Key-Sector-News/half-ofuk-workforce-could-be-self-employed-by-2020 23 Almost one in Five Jobs in London are Low Pay: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-low-pay-living-wage-jobs-new-policy-institute-wealth-inequality-a7396456.html 24 Sports Direct Warehouse Staff Who Were Underpaid Could Receive Back-pay: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/sports-direct-staff-backpay-minimum-wage-underpaid-mike-ashley-1m-a7191796.html 25 The Gig Economy Costs the Government £4bn: http://uk.businessinsider.com/tuc-gig-economy-costs-the-government-4-billion-a-year-2017-2 26 Politics of Anger: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2016-09-19/politics-of-anger-low-wages-and-the-rise-of-populism 27 Smaller Businesses Could Struggle to Afford Minimum Wage: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14397581.Warning_smaller_businesses_could_struggle_to_pay_new_living_wage_as_rise_comes_into_effect_today/ 28 Auto Enrolment Burden on Small Businesses: http://businessadvice.co.uk/hr/payroll/auto-enrolment-burden-on-small-employers-could-be-significant/ 29 Workers More at Risk of Falling into Financial Difficulty: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/workers-more-at-risk-of-falling-into-financial-difficulty-as-employee-benefits-fail-to-adapt 30 Micro Businesses Fail to Promote Benefits to Staff: http://smallbusiness.co.uk/businesses-promote-employee-benefits-2535032/ 31 The Future of Employee Benefits: http://landing.unum.co.uk/future-employee-benefits 32 Financial Directors are More Interested in Wellbeing Than you Think: http://www.unum.co.uk/hr/financial-directors-interested-wellbeing-think 33 What’s the Best Perk at Google: https://www.quora.com/Working-at-Google-1/What-is-the-best-Google-employee-perk-and-why 34 Here’s What Really Happened at the Company Which Raised the Minimum Wage: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201511/paul-keegan/does-more-pay-mean-more-growth.html 35 Average UK Household Owes £10,000: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/23/average-uk-household-owe-10000-debt-by-end-2016 36 Call Credit Boosts Staff Engagement: http://www.staffcare.net/2015-11-callcredit-boosts-staff-engagement 37 The Future Workplace: https://www.lsnglobal.com/markets/article/16532/the-future-workplace 38 New Study Shows Happy Workers Really Are More Productive: http://fortune.com/2015/10/29/happy-productivity-work/ 39 Deloitte Millennial Survey: https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html 40 Gen Z is About to hit the Workforce: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/30/gen-z-is-about-to-hit-the-workforce-heres-what-they-want-in-a-job.html 41 Third of Workforce Over Fifty: http://www.robertsoncooper.com/good-daily-work-article/646-third-workforce-over-50-2020 42 Health of the Baby Boomer Generation: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/health-of-the-baby-boomer-generation 43 Sandwich Generation. It’s No Picnic: http://www.helpinghandshomecare.co.uk/news/sandwich-generation/ 1

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