How to get a reputation for reward and benefits innovation in your sector

To our employees, the importance of benefits has increased significantly over the last few years. And this is only set to continue. Almost 60 per cent of job seekers across all age groups report that benefits and perks are among their top considerations in a job. And nearly 80 per cent of workers say they would prefer new or additional benefits to a pay increase, according to Glassdoor’s 50 HR and Recruiting Statistics for 2017. This figure rises to 90 per cent when looking at younger workers in particular. While the Aflac 2014 Workforces Report for Small Business found that almost 60 per cent of employees are willing to trade pay for better benefits.

It’s not surprising that those organisations with reputations for quality employee benefit schemes are seeing increased loyalty and satisfaction from their staff, revealed figures from MetLife’s 16th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study (2018). In fact, Glassdoor’s figures show that 84 per cent of employees with high benefit satisfaction also report high job satisfaction.

Even academic research agrees. Published in the Journal of Business and Economics, researchers from the Universities of Winona State and Arkansas found that employee recognition, pay and benefits have a ‘significant impact on job satisfaction’, regardless of income or culture.

With 66 per cent of Glassdoor’s young respondents expecting to leave their current employer by 2020, it’s critical that employers establish themselves as a reward and benefits innovator.

Improve your employer brand with benefits

The modern job seeker is well-informed and prepared to research employers to find the best fit. According to Glassdoor’s statistics, the majority of their job seekers read at least seven employer reviews before forming an opinion of a company. The importance of reward and benefits to the employer brand is huge. Those with a reputation for innovative benefits have gained this through a great employer brand.

Over the last few years, almost nine out of 10 employers have been making efforts to improve their employer brand in light of the transparency review sites have brought, found the Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey (2017). Organisations that display a positive employer brand get twice as many job applications as those with negative brands, found Randstad’s Employer Brand Research (2018).

Changes like improving the user journey on your website, or simplifying the recruitment process can really help your overall reputation, and bring your rewards and benefits to the surface.

Award-winning reputation

Winning headlines is a fantastic way to boost your position as an employer of choice. So many organisations do great things for their employees, but the world rarely gets to hear about them. This often includes benefits which, for some reason, are often kept a closely guarded secret. However, studies show that winning well-known awards has more impact to job seekers and the employer brand than the employer themselves. So, it’s important that employers seek out high quality awards to enter.

One of the most notable accolades an employer can obtain in the UK is a place on The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list. These lists look specifically at which benefits employers offer, as well as how they support employee wellbeing. Academic research into workplace awards like these has shown that winning one is associated with lower turnover rates and an enhanced employer brand.

It is clear that employers must invest the time in ensuring new and potential candidates are aware of the benefits on offer. This in turn gives them invaluable employee advocacy across social media channels, Glassdoor, and just through word of mouth. Employers must also invest in entering themselves for awards to showcase the benefits innovation they have achieved.

Case Study – Holiday Extras

To make sure they remain an employer of choice, Holiday Extras are working hard on their five-year vision to offer a holistic, tailored and personal employee benefits offering to their 650-strong workforce. Being part of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list over the last 10 years has set the bar really high when it comes to employee satisfaction.

However, the user experience when it came to employee benefits was beginning to show cracks, with employees becoming disengaged in the offering due to the limitations of the system, and lack of alignment to the overall company brand. If Holiday Extras was to hold onto its loyal workforce, a solution was needed to enhance their offering and their tech. They’ve pressed on in a major way; recognising the need to keep innovating across all corners of HR to attract and retain the best possible people.

Holiday Extras wanted to align their offering more closely to the company brand, with a strong focus on their purpose as a travel company, while at the same time giving their benefits offering its own distinctive identity to ensure higher engagement. This was achieved through a visual, holiday brochure-style employee pack, which detailed all the components of Holiday Extras reorganised benefits offering.

Holiday Extras worked to identify and fix the issues which had led to a poor user experience. This started with the introduction of a new reward and benefits platform which featured a consumer-style shopping basket, as well as a monthly total reward statement to enhance employees’ understanding of the value of their total reward package. Most importantly, the system was made accessible 24/7, 365 days a year, via any device, including mobile.

Offering innovative benefits matters. It shows your people that not only do you value them, but you are investing in their health, financial security and most importantly, their future.

The author is Gethin Nadin, director, global partnerships, Benefex.

This article was provided by Benefex.