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02 Jun 2020

What the future holds for global pay and benefits strategies post coronavirus

The outbreak of coronavirus has turned the working world upside down across the globe, and things may never return to what we call ‘normal’. What that presents for organisations around the world is a new challenge when trying to engage and build a relationship with their staff. We’re in a situation now where some new joiners have started in roles without even physically meeting a single member of the team. And where businesses are now starting to reopen, some organisations are having to think about how they engage with an almost entirely remote workforce. 

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Without the traditional forms of communication and engagement, employers need to find new ways to build and keep that connection. One of the key ways in which employers can seek to do this is by improving the financial resilience of their staff, something that’s been heavily marginalised during the outbreak. 

The need for increased financial resilience

More than half of UK consumers started 2020 in debt, and with UK households predicted to see a £45 billion fall in cash available for essential spending due to the outbreak, it’s clear that the extended period of economic downturn is not something many are going to be able to weather. And this is having a real impact on employees when they come to work, even if they’re not coming to work in the traditional sense. Nearly half (48%) say that their financial worries are a distraction at work and 54% say that financial worries are the biggest stress factor in their lives. 

What the new working world demands, and therefore how future global pay and benefits strategies will be structured, is a whole new approach to how employers support their staff when it comes to their finances. A key way that employers can do this is by looking at the way staff get paid. It’s something that hasn’t changed for decades; the majority of workers across the world are paid monthly, leaving many financially exposed and unable to plan for the future. The feast and famine effect of the monthly pay cycle means that 3.1 million people in the UK turn to payday lenders every year. 

Disruptive strategies to build resilience and engagement

Employers are in the best position to disrupt that negative financial cycle and have a real positive impact on, not only their employees' lives, but also on their ability to engage and retain the best talent, something that is going to be crucial as we move through recovery. It’s an area that’s ripe for innovation and could return real value for employers in terms of a loyalty and engagement dividend.

Running payroll more frequently isn’t an option for many, so employers looking to disrupt this cycle need to look at technology solutions that sit between them and their staff to provide more flexibility around pay, and the right tools and education to help them build financial resilience. 

As we start to move into the new working world, there will be a whole new different set of demands for employers when it comes to reward and benefits strategies. Employers looking to effectively answer these demands and future proof their workforce need to start making changes now that are going to have a genuine impact on the lives of their staff. There is no better way of doing this than by building financial resilience for workers globally. 

This article is provided by Wagestream.

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Wagestream’s financial wellbeing platform makes work more rewarding for 3 million people.

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