22 Mar 2019

With Spring on the way is it time to take stock and tidy up your employee benefits cupboard?

Cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. Eek. It’s one of those jobs that you know you need to do at some point but can never quite find the time. You know it’ll be worth it in the end though, because you’ll find stuff at the back well past its sell by date that needs refreshing or throwing out, or you’ll find ingredients that you haven’t used for a while and could make all the difference to one of your favourite recipes.

Well, the same can be said for your benefits programme. If you never give it a review or a refresh you might find benefits that are no longer relevant for your organisation or you might find that you’re missing something altogether that could make all the difference to your employees. Plus, if you don’t take the benefits down from out of the cupboard every now and then, how will your employees know about how to make the most of them?

Take a look below at our checklist of considerations if you decide it’s time to tidy up your employee benefits cupboard…

Check the sell-by dates on your benefits ... is it time to update or let some go?

When was the last time you reviewed whether you were getting the best deal on your benefits? Talk to your benefit providers to ensure you’re on their latest product with the most up to date scheme or platform design
Do your benefits still align with your company values? If providing Friday beers after work no longer fits with your company culture then it might be time for a change
Look at the take-up on your benefits and see whether some benefits may just not be as popular as they once were
Are some of your benefits costing you too much to administer or fund based on your return on investment?

What’s missing from the cupboard ... and how will you know?

What are your competitors offering that you’re not? Have you done any benchmarking to see how you compare?
Have you asked employees what’s important to them in their benefits programme? If they, for example, say financial wellbeing, then helping them with a workplace loan or a way to make savings could be an important gap to fill
Look at the demographics of your organisation and see where the gaps might be. Pensions advice might be great for Baby Boomers but what do Generation Z want from their benefits? Perhaps a greener car scheme?
Look at the research out there. In a recent survey 70 per cent of respondents said that healthcare benefits have been successful in improving staff health and wellbeing. So, ask yourself whether you should consider a health cash plan or perhaps some health screening.

Bring the benefits out of the cupboard ... and put some new ones in!

Plan over a longer period and make sure you have some new or updated benefits to bring out of the cupboard in subsequent years
Recommunicate existing or introduce new employee benefits on a drip feed basis to keep the scheme continually alive and with fresh and relevant comms
Think about the time of year – will you get a high take up if you introduce Cycle To Work in November? Probably not. So maybe think about Spring as a better time to maximise engagement
Everyone loves a story. So, tell employees about how their colleagues have benefited from the benefits you offer to them.

Position your company as one that is always thinking about its employees and looking at new ways to appeal to them and keep them engaged. So put some time in the diary now to tidy up those benefit cupboards!

This article is provided by You at Work.