Picking the right benefits for your workforce

There is a large array of non-salary benefits that can be offered to your team to help motivate, retain or recruit them. With so many options available, it can be challenging to know which are the best to choose. Here are a few pointers to help you.

What are your organisation’s aims?

Step one is to ensure that the benefits you offer, work for your organisation. Your benefits budget has to be the start point. The key question is what measurable outcomes are you trying to achieve, and can you afford them? The spectrum of financial options stretches from virtual self-funders such as annual leave purchase, through to investment in health and wellbeing schemes which offer the benefit of a healthier workforce and the payback potential of reduced absenteeism.

What might your employees want?

Once you’ve set your organisation’s aims, the next step is to consider how to dovetail this with what your employees need and want.

A simple example. Cycle-to-work plans are currently very fashionable. For good reason, as they’re a brilliant way both to save money and to get fit – all while doing the journey to work.  So, should you emphasise cycling schemes over company cars or season ticket loans? It depends entirely on the company. What is right for your location, for your staff or for how your company operates?

A further consideration is ensuring you have a range of benefits relevant to different life-stages.  Typically, older people are likely to be looking for support with their health (although health insurance, particularly flexible spending accounts, is a big priority for most staff), while younger employees probably want mentoring or training-related benefits. Those aged 35 to 50 are possibly looking for benefits that allow more time with their family (parental leave, perhaps) or offer peace of mind that should anything happen to them their family will be protected – from group insurance to a pension plan.

Children are yet another factor. Offering employees help with their childcare costs can make a real difference. If this is not possible, allowing them more flexible hours, or more remote working, could play a huge part in reducing potential stress.

How to assess what your employees want most

There’s a lot to consider to make the most cost-effective decisions. The last thing you want is to waste your budget on something that staff don’t want. One trick is to trawl data that is already available through health checks, absence management records, or return to work interviews to identify areas of interest and invest accordingly. Another is simply to ask your staff. Team meetings, employee surveys, inductions and exit interviews are all valid ways to judge what works best for them. Whether you’re just getting a feel for what people want, or inviting them to take part in the decision-making, it’s essential to involve your employees in the process.

Paul Mardlin, Centor’s Employee Benefits Director comments,

“When it comes to selecting the most cost-effective benefits, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. At Centor, we work with you to define a benefits package that matches your organisation’s goals and pocket, and can be customised to cater for an individual employee’s health profile, family situation and future plans. In other words, a package that ensures you can obtain best value-for-money from your investment.”

For more information, get in touch with:

Paul Mardlin

020 7330 8708

pbm@centor.co.uk

Alternatively, you can click here for more information.

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