EXCLUSIVE: More than two-fifths (43%) of employer respondents do not provide regular updates on their employee benefits offering to staff, according to research by Chase de Vere and Lightbulb.
The survey of 300 senior HR decision makers also found that 23% of respondents provide employee benefits because they believe a competitive benefits package is important for recruiting and retaining good quality staff.
The research also found:
- 17% of respondents offer employee benefits as a way to recognise employees as individuals, and 17% feel that providing a good range of employee benefits helps to support organisational goals and strategy.
- 15% of respondents offer employee benefits because they believe that their staff value the benefits package they have in place, and 14% feel that providing employee benefits helps employees to feel secure about their jobs.
- 38% of respondents cite popularity with staff as the main reason why they offer their current employee benefits package, 26% cite cost, and 24% name an historical benefits package as the main reason why they provide their current benefits offering.
- 57% of respondents give regular updates on employee benefits to staff.
- 75% of respondents use individual personalised letters for pensions and employee benefits communications, 63% provide this information in induction packs, and 62% communicate pension and employee benefits information via noticeboards.
- 56% of respondents use meetings to tell staff about employee benefits and pensions, 52% put the information in a staff handbook, 32% conduct seminars to communicate benefits to staff, and 29% use automated trigger letters.
Sean McSweeney (pictured), corporate advice manager at Chase de Vere, said: “Employee benefits packages have become a key way for employers to recruit and retain good quality employees. It is therefore important that they offer the right benefits, which are reviewed regularly and communicated effectively.
“However, what we’ve found is that nearly a quarter of employers have their benefits package in place for historical reasons, when it probably isn’t the most appropriate, more than four in ten employers don’t communicate regularly on their employee benefits, and the most common communication methods used are not interactive and so there are no guarantees that the core messages are being received and understood.
“The result is likely to be that many employers are spending large sums of money on their benefits packages and are getting very little value in return.”