How to get your board on-board when it comes to benefits
Even so, there is often a mismatch between what the benefits strategy does and what the main company board are trying to achieve for their business. This often acts as a barrier when HR professionals are trying to get buy-in for changes in the benefits area (and/or budget) from their key board members.
In the land of glitzy solutions and products, often organisations forget to ask themselves “what business objectives does my benefits strategy achieve for us?”
One example of this mismatch we often come across is where an organisation is trying to attract new employees and a HR benchmarking exercise has revealed that a more competitive salary and benefits package is needed.
However the FD has competing priorities to manage eg annual salary increase, additional costs due to re-enrolment, L&D and Living Wage costs. So, offering competitive terms and benefits to new employees may not be a priority to the FD.
So, how do you get your board members engaged and buying into your benefits strategy and objectives? We have identified six key areas that you should consider at the initial ‘pencilling out stage’.
1) Your objectives and expected incomes
2) Your HR policy and processes
3) Your project stakeholders
4) Your 'ideal' journey
5) Your existing benefits and categories
6) Your new benefits and initiatives
Considering these areas at the outset should help you to write a short, compelling story that helps the business (and later your employees) understand what’s being rewarded and recognised, why and how.
A big part of your overall business costs are people. Employers need to work out the effectiveness of their reward spend to make it more relevant to their employees and the business. HR will then be able to demonstrate itself as a strategic function that adds value to the business, rather than as an administrative department dealing with day-to-day issues.
This article was supplied by Lane Clark & Peacock.
