Your people are a business asset, so ensuring you take care of their wellness should be top of your list. Taking a strategic approach to managing your human capital risk can:
· Reduce organisational disruption and increase operational efficiencies
· Protect employees and their families from the impact of negative events, such as sickness or death
· Provide a win-win outcomes for both your employees and your organisation
An effective benefits reward programme can help you achieve this. In fact, firms with engaged employees enjoy 87% less staff turnover and staff take fewer sick days1. So it’s not surprising that 80% of employers rank employee engagement as a top priority2. But employee benefits are far more than just a salary and a pension.
The right programme can help you to:
· attract new talent to your business;
· improve the physical, emotional and financial wellness of your staff;
· motivate, engage and retain your staff; and,
· drive productivity and make your business money.
Consider the risks to your business and the type of benefits that can help mitigate these. For example:
Legal risks – Employee pensions and scheme governance can help you to mitigate your regulatory risks.
Strategic risks – Employee education through financial education/retirement planning workshops and regular employee communication can help mitigate issues with talent acquisition and employee engagement.
Gradual risks – Absence management, financial education workshops, private medical insurance can help to mitigate the risk of sick leave and low productivity.• Technical risks – Flexible benefits technology and total reward statements can help mitigate your risks such as cyberattacks.
Review the demographic of your employee population. Your employees will all be on a career journey and depending on where they are, they will value different benefits. Understanding that journey and the employee benefits that can support them, will help to drive engagement and productivity. For example, a Generation X employee will often value security. So group life insurance or income protection that provides peace of mind that they, or their dependants, will be taken care of should appeal to them.
So what can you do?
Benchmark your rewards programme. Reviewing the types of benefits offered by other organisations, especially your competitors will help to understand if you are able to compete to attract and retain your best talent.
Consider the use of technology. Research shows that the largest factor influencing employees’ perception of benefits is convenience, with 68% of employees wanting to access all of their benefits from one single place2. Technology, such as benefits management platforms, can help to maximise your return on investment. It enables you to offer more to your staff with greater control. Giving you the freedom and flexibility to manage your employee benefits securely in one place.
Benefits to your business – you can manage all of your employee benefits centrally and achieve greater employee engagement to create better value for your business.
Benefits for your employees – they can better understand, choose and value their benefits by providing a complete view of their benefits and rewards.
1 Mercer – Why good health is good business
2 Thomsons Online Benefits, UK employee Benefits Watch 2016/17
This article first appeared on jelf.com