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22 Mar 2023

How to ensure your benefits strategy supports all employees

While HR professionals want to do right by their staff and help a business thrive, they’re working under challenging financial constraints, especially at the moment

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When employees join the workforce fresh out of school, college, or university, they understand they’ll start in a junior role at a lower wage. However, salary and opportunities are expected to increase with time, experience, and promotion.

Some employee benefits, such as private medical insurance (PMI), are withheld until an employee has passed their probationary period. However, that shouldn’t be applied to all the employee benefits your business offers.

Benefits and the employee experience 

The employee experience begins before the contract is signed. The moment a potential candidate reads your job advert and decides to apply marks the beginning of their time with your business.

While a probationary period can be a time of uncertainty for an employee as there’s no guarantee of passing, it is a two-way street. It isn’t just the employee being reviewed.

One of the characteristics of the three-to-six-month probationary period is a shorter notice period for the employer and employee, which can be risky for both parties.

“When you use a recruitment agency to find new talent, you can expect to pay between £10,000 and £12,000 in fees each time. Add in the hidden expenses associated with people's time to support onboarding, equipment and training, and that cost could climb to £20,000-£30,000 every time you bring someone new into your business,” says Tom Nash, HR business partner, Sodexo Engage.

Recruitment is an expensive business, so keeping the talent you worked hard to attract is essential.

Two-thirds (74%) of employees see a benefits package as important when accepting a job offer.

The benefits package you promoted during recruitment is likely to have influenced the employee’s decision to accept the role. It’s essential to showcase a positive employee experience during those few months of probation and access to the promised benefits will help that.

Meeting varying needs

More than half (57%) of HR professionals feel pressured by senior leadership to cut down benefits because of the recession.

While every HR professional wants to do right by their staff and build an employee value proposition that helps the business thrive, they’re working under challenging financial constraints. There are many employee benefits on the market, but it’s not always feasible to keep adding more.

Employee benefits must be fit for purpose and cost-effective, yet inclusive for all.

Financial wellbeing benefits

Financial wellbeing benefits may appear to be the least complex since there are options that will appeal to every generation of workers. An employee discount platform, for example, opens the door to a range of retailers, so there’s something for everyone, regardless of age, grade, or preferences.

Still, financial wellbeing benefits don’t end there, with some offering loans, savings and pay advances, all of which will appeal to different age ranges and circumstances. The answer is to find a provider that offers these services under one contract, so you can cater to varying needs without signing multiple deals.

Physical wellbeing

Physical wellbeing can be trickier, since studies show a notable generational divide regarding PMI. This same divide is evident with gym memberships.

The key is to offer a physical wellbeing benefit that gives everyone what they want.

Many PMI packages come with discounted gym memberships. Therefore, those that take up PMI have the choice whether to use it and it doesn’t cost the business money in unused benefits. You can then offer discounted gym memberships as a standalone employee benefit to those who will make good use of it without them having to take up PMI.

When it comes to an employee benefits strategy, always start with people, regardless of the problem to solve. Find out what matters to your workforce and build equity into your strategy to ensure there’s a benefit that every employee can use to boost their wellbeing.

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In partnership with Pluxee UK

Pluxee UK, is a leading employee benefits and engagement partner that opens up a world of opportunities to help people enjoy more of what really matters in their lives.

Contact us today