It’s all about the tech - 3 reasons to invest

Our Global Benefits Report 2016/17 has found that few organisations make the most of the technology available to them; and with around 70% of employees reporting that they prefer to access their benefits via digital tools, it is surprising to learn that less than half indicated that their employers offer this today.

Habits have changed and technology now touches every part of our lives at work and on the move - there are now an estimated 6.4 billion connected devices in use worldwide.

Employees increasingly want to use one of their multiple devices to access HR services at the office, from home, and while travelling. This presents a great opportunity for the HR function to connect and engage with employees at an individual level.

Considering that the average person checks their phone 27 times a day, a vast number of organisations are missing this chance to differentiate themselves through an engaging, user-friendly – and hugely available - mobile benefits platform.

By embedding technology across all initiatives and programmes it could allow you to communicate with your employees on many more platforms, at an infinite number of locations and at any time.

So the question is not ‘if’ but ‘when’ will HR functions capitalise on this trend and increase their use of technology to engage with their employees. Bersin by Deloitte Predictions for 2016, highlights that ‘digital life is “forcing us to rethink HR from top to bottom.” From how we design programs and tools, to the methods we use to roll out and communicate solutions’.

The top three reasons why you should make the change:

1) Attract attention

Today’s employees are used to easy, effortless, and highly intuitive software experiences across all of their devices outside of their workplace. They now expect the same real-time communications internally and across HR services.

If these expectations are not met, there could be a real negative impact as our research found technology used to deliver employee’s benefits (e.g. access on a personal mobile) was rated higher than any other factor in influencing how employees perceive their benefits package.

With the number of devices in use by employees ever increasing, employers must be careful not to fall behind the trend to find their benefits spend is no longer being recognised or appreciated by employees.

2) Understand your audience

The growth of wearables has also opened up new ways for companies to personalise employee benefits and improve health and happiness. These can help affect productivity as well as provide valuable insight.

If employees were struggling to sleep for example, after-work yoga sessions could help them unwind and enjoy a more peaceful evening. Or just imagine going to the gym or for a run, and having your employer top up your holiday time as a reward.

3) Competitive advantage

Many companies have already taken steps to link their systems to connected devices integrating their procedures and software to connect with back-end systems, such as talent acquisition, payroll, employee engagement and benefits.

Others are making great progress in the innovative use of technology. One of our clients, for example, ran a communications campaign using an augmented reality application. The app allows employees to interact with objects around the office to enhance engagement with their benefits scheme.

Employers that struggle to keep up with these mobile-friendly options could find employees are quick to judge what the competition is offering. This is why it is so important to differentiate your offering through an accessible and engaging mobile benefits platform.

To keep employees happy and productive, there should be proactive investment in forward-thinking HR and benefits technology that both connects with multiple devices as well as integrates into your wider HCM and payroll systems.

It should adapt to change (pensions legislation is a prime example), but also enable employees to access their benefits in any location, at any time, on any device.

Globally and across sectors, businesses are experiencing a growing demand for personalisation and customisation, from both customers and employees. The growing number of connected devices plays a significant role in achieving this.

By increasing the number of touchpoints, technology is paving the way for new, more agile business processes that empower the workforce and allow organisations to engage their employees in fundamentally new ways.

Download the Thomsons’ Global Employee Benefits Watch 2016/17 report.

This article was written by Pete Craghill, CTO at Thomsons Online Benefits.

This article was supplied by Thomsons Online Benefits