Five ways to maximise employees’ engagement with their benefits

As you’ll probably be aware, we’re big believers in businesses looking after their employees through in-work benefits.

This is because in an ultra-competitive jobs market, employees are demanding more from their career than just a good rate of pay, job security and the prospect of a yearly pay rise – far more, in fact.

The demands of an ‘always on’ work culture means that how a company looks after the more personal needs of its staff is just as important as their professional development – if not more so.

So, by choosing to offer employment benefits, you’re not just making a role more appealing, you’re also helping to improve your employee’s quality of life outside of work, which in turn, drives higher engagement, improved productivity and higher rates of staff retention.

Simple, right? Well, you’d think so, wouldn’t you?

All aboard the hype train

The thing is, that whilst we’ve successfully helped a lot of companies with their employee benefits programmes, there’s one question we get asked more regularly than you’d think, and that is: Just how do we keep our workforce interested and engaged with their benefits?

And it’s a valid question! After all, deciding to invest in a staff benefits programme is no small venture, and you’d want to be sure that once the initial hype dies down, that your staff will not only regularly enjoy the benefits of their, well, benefits, but they’ll also encourage employees to stay with you for longer, too.

Luckily, it’s not a question that has a particularly complex answer; so here are five simple things you can do to maximise your employees’ engagement with the benefits you offer:

1. Include them as part of your onboarding process

The art of employee engagement doesn’t just start when someone joins a business; it encompasses that very first job advert they see, their interactions with your marketing collateral, their interviews, their induction and, of course, their very first day in the office.

It’s during these first early interactions that your benefits programme should be front and centre, and not left as an afterthought or ‘Oh and by the way, we also have a benefits package’ at the end of an interview.

This approach is important; not just because it makes the benefits you offer more easily visible, but also because it’s at this point that a prospective employee will decide on whether they’re the ‘right fit’ for their potential employer. This means that they’ll be more likely to be engaged with the business right from the word go, and more likely to stay for longer if they find the benefit packages you’re offering helpful in improving their quality of life.

2. Always involve your current employees

Always aim to keep in touch with your workforce about the range of benefits you offer and gather their feedback as to what’s working, and what may be missing the mark. The more often you do this, the more likely it’ll be that your staff remain engaged with them.

3. Make some noise!

Yup, if you offer a fantastic range of staff benefits, then make sure you’re shouting about them so everyone in your business knows they’re there!

Regular internal emails highlighting certain offers or deals is a great way to keep your benefits at the forefront of the employee experience. If that’s not possible, then utilise desk drops, posters or drop-in sessions to highlight the range of benefits on offer to your staff.

4. Make them easily accessible and relevant to your entire workforce

When looking to offer benefits, take the time to ensure they’re going to appeal to the demographics of your workforce; not just because they sound good or are a flavour of the month! In addition, make sure they can be easily accessed; don’t make claiming a benefit an unwanted odyssey of forms, emails or calls!

5. Offer benefits that improve the quality of people’s lives

Finally, look beyond gimmicky trends or generic offerings. Offer benefits that can make a real, tangible difference to people’s lives not just in the workplace, but in their personal and wider lives, too.

These can be in the form of money saving discounts at high-street retailers (not just the high-end stuff), to discounted rail tickets for those who must commute to their place of work. And they can be simple, too! An annual leave buy-back scheme is a beautifully simple and popular way to give people a gift they simply can’t get enough of, and that’s time to spend away from work!

The author is Iain Thompson, director of incentive and recognition, Sodexo Engage.

This article is provided by Sodexo Engage.