Has the pandemic changed which benefits are truly useful?

Extreme as these examples are, they become more meaningful when you think about what they sparked as a result, which is a laser-sharp focus on useful benefits. Reward professionals have since doubled down on wellness, flexible working and questioned whether positioning free fruit as a benefit was ever a good idea. But since the pandemic has evolved working patterns, practices and cultures the focus is now on whether benefit offerings once again need an overhaul. 

Organisations should constantly review their benefits anyway, says head of Rewards Consulting and author of Reward Management, Michael Rose. “Organisations should do this regardless of a particular situation, but obviously now [since the pandemic] it absolutely needs looking at,” says Rose. “People need to review their benefits and make sure they are fit both for the circumstances and the corporate situation.” 

Given the level of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, April’s budget, Brexit, skills shortages and the ‘great resignation’ – to name a few – what should reward and benefit professionals be keeping a close watch on when it comes to benefit usefulness? 

Rail and season ticket loans 

With the rise of hybrid working and organisations reconsidering whether they even need an office at all, the once-coveted rail and season ticket loans which were considered an essential benefit for commuters may have fallen victim to the pandemic. As ever, there is no one-size-fits-all and as Charles Cotton, performance and reward advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) points out, the usefulness of season tickets depends on your organisation. 

“You may need people in all the time or you’re fully remote, but it’s all about balance,” says Cotton. “The rail industry is looking at partial seat-saving season tickets and that’s being developed, but it’s up to organisations to think about how they would respond. Once organisations establish whether it’s something that employees will be interested in, they may adapt season ticket loans accordingly to help their employees get these benefits.” 

Rose echoes this: he believes season tickets may be devalued now that working patterns have changed, but he believes that not all is lost. “If a season ticket loan in its current form is no longer appropriate, there is an opportunity to reposition it,” says Rose. 

“If people are going to work from home and they want to refit of a room to make it more like an office, which isn't something a company would pay for, organisations could offer an equipment loan. If organisations were already prepared to loan this money out, why not consider repositioning it as a more broad-based loan targeted at things that are bit more useful and relevant?” 

He adds that organisations should “question season ticket loans, review them and maybe reposition” but advises against cancelling them altogether. 

Flexible working 

During the pandemic, flexible and hybrid working patterns, including having to become fully remote, were a necessity. Since then, many organisations have adapted how people work and embraced flexible working as a norm, instead of a ‘nice-to-have’ benefit offering. 

Dr Rita Fontinha, an associate professor who specialises in strategic human resource management at Henley Business School, describes this as a form of “social experiment” which has led to wider debates around different forms of flexibility. These debates have moved beyond the traditional application of flexible working, which has fundamentally changed it’s positioning as a benefit. 

“The aspect of flexibility has been addressed in the past as a benefit and was only used by certain groups of workers, such as women with caretaking responsibilities or those in senior management positons,” says Fontinha. 

“With the pandemic and the associated ‘great resignation’, flexibility will become now more business as usual and more companies will be offering different forms of flexibility to attract new candidates and retain staff. This means that companies offering these benefits before will stand out less from their competitors nowadays.” 

She adds that a combination of the ‘great resignation’, war for talent and skills crisis alongside flexible working becoming a more accepted practice, organisations may need to think about additional ways to attract and retain staff. “For example, thinking about tailoring flexibility options to equally meet the needs of employers and employees and emphasising other benefits that can be associated with health (particularly mental health) and retirement, as well as employee development and career progression.”

Discount arrangements

Getting money off a particular product or service has always been a desirable employee benefit. These offerings can help cut the cost of living or help employees stretch their pay packet further when it comes to gyms, meals out and perhaps even a free coffee here and there. The issue with these benefits is that they are often geographically restricted to things available near the office, so says Rose. 

“If you have  a main office or site you typically have arrangements locally, but plenty of people are going to be working from home,” says Rose. “You may have to review your discount arrangements because employees will likely be members of a gym close to work because of the discount offered, but if they are working from home they may want to visit a different gym.

“There’s no obvious answer, but if a large proportion of your staff will be working from home and your discounts related to locations close to your main site, they will no longer fit the working pattern of your people. You may need more flexibility with this arrangement.” 

Cotton has also noticed a rise in organisations providing vouchers and negotiating discounts to help spread and enhance the pay packet, but advises that organisations should consider their workforce when renegotiating deals of this nature. 

“You have to be mindful of your workforce,” says Cotton. “An extreme example would be that you may offer 10% off at Harvey Nichols’ food store, but it might not appeal to the majority of your employees who can’t afford to shop there. You should consider where your employees would shop and try to arrange discounts accordingly.” 

Benefits are always changing 

The pandemic has changed many things and while some benefits may seem less valuable, an overhaul and rethink of your offering is always useful. Cotton points out that employee need will change depending on many external factors. 

“People may not be too impressed with the benefit package offered by their employer in their 20s because they may have different priorities, or no care responsibility,” says Cotton. “But, then, life may change and suddenly other areas of the package are of great interest. A few months ago everyone was focused on the pandemic and how to help, but now that’s fading into the distance and the cost of living crisis will likely bring on another shift in concerns and employee priorities.”

The other aspect to consider when reviewing benefits is the corporate culture, according to Rose. “Can you review benefits to make sure that it will reinforce the corporate culture to at least try and add greater value back to the employee value proposition?” he asks. “It’s much more difficult when everyone is all over the place and not meeting each other, because people get more separated from the organisation. Benefits can help with that, as long as it’s reflecting the culture of the organisation.”

The author is Elizabeth Howlett, associate content editor at REBA.