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Do your financial benefits reflect your workplace values?
In particular, personal financial health has been significantly impacted. Everyday spending in many areas has declined. For some, these changes were purely the resulting impact of shops being closed, travel and social opportunities minimalised by lockdowns and restrictions imposed, but for others, they were the inevitable consequence of financial instability.
Benefit disparities
Our latest research shows that 2 in 5 people are now saving less or not saving at all as a result of the pandemic. With 1 in 4 employees stating that financial pressure impacts their performance and behaviour at work, this should be a major concern for any employer.
The purpose of any benefit strategy is to support employees and ensure they are productive and engaged and working to their best for the good of the business and its customers.
After pensions, flexible working was the most desired benefit where 2 in 3 people said they do/would value it – but only around 1 in 3 have access. Similarly, also on the list of valued benefits is workplace savings where we see the same trend – 2 in 5 said this is something that they would value but only 1 in 10 have this available to them.
There is clearly a disparity between the benefits available and those that would be valued. So it’s no surprise that when we asked: does your employer motivate you with reward, recognition, and benefits? Sixty-three per cent disagreed.
Richard Branson once said: “Train your people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
Workplace values
If employees aren’t motivated and they don’t feel valued – what does that mean for their commitment, their productivity, and their loyalty?
If you want to build an approach to employee benefits that reflects your workplace values, you first need to understand what your workplace values are.
What is it that you look for in the people you employ? What values do you pride your organisation on? Integrity? Resourcefulness? Accountability? Adaptability? Trust and Loyalty? Honesty?
The truth is that these are also likely to be the values that your employees will look for from you.
- Take responsibility and be accountable – financial wellbeing can’t be bought, and it’s not a ‘tick box’ exercise; it is an ongoing and individual journey. That’s why education and knowledge building is the key to any successful benefit strategy. As employers, you have a wealth of data, information, access, and trust with your employees to be a trusted voice in their journey to support them in establishing better financial behaviours.
- Be resourceful – develop a deep understanding of the products and tools that you offer your employees. The market is evolving rapidly; new and improved products are available all the time. Make sure you are making the most of your current providers and ensure that they are providing the right solutions for your people.
- Have integrity – offer benefits that genuinely add value, rather than simply tick a box on the corporate objective checklist. It’s great to be able to offer products to help people manage their debt for example, but if you don’t address why they got into that situation in the first place, those behaviours will just repeat.
- Be adaptable – evaluate what’s working and what’s not and don’t be afraid to make changes – just because something has been in place for many years doesn’t mean it can’t be made better and/or add greater value to you and your people.
For an approach to financial benefits that reflects your workplace values; the values themselves need to be the foundation upon which your approach is built.
The author is Josh Hayes, associate consultant at Lane Clark & Peacock.
This article is provided by Lane Clark & Peacock.
