Data is now king.
In a time where we are all struggling with gender pay gaps, pension shortfalls and a cost-of-living crisis, now more than ever employees should be fully utilising their benefits and reward packages to ensure they are getting the most from their employers. But are these benefits and rewards truly meaningful and properly communicated?
Being able to have a clear understanding of not only who your members are, but how, why and when they need help should be at the top of any benefit and reward specialist’s priority list.
Understanding employees will enable them to create tailored and bespoke messaging and campaigns, which, in turn, will boost engagement and drive better outcomes. Hyper personalisation is probably the best way to get someone’s interest and make them pay attention.
If, via the use of employee data, a reward professional is able to understand where someone lives, where they shop and what their interests are, then creating a bespoke benefit strategies to not only meet their requirements but also reinforce the value, will drive engagement and increase retention.
Promoting childcare support for someone with no children is pointless. Offering a car scheme for someone who does not drive is irrelevant. Providing gym memberships for a gym which is 20 miles away is of no value.
Employers need to use the data they have to ensure that what they offer has value.
Jason Green is head of workplace research at Benefits Guru, part of the Financial Technology Research Centre