How to maximise value from employee benefits
Benefits portal, benefits systems, benefits platform, company benefit schemes, employee benefits, extras or company perks.
Whatever you choose to call employee benefits, short of having your own personalised scheme name, they’re each and every day becoming increasingly popular.
Almost half (47%) of the UK’s employees now say that a good benefits package is the most important thing they look for in employment – up 5% on last year, according to research from Zest.
Seven in ten (69%) employers now say that benefit packages are one of the very first things candidates ask about during the interview process, but are companies getting it right?
Here, we look at the issues employees face, how you can maximise the value from your employee benefits offering, and Zest’s employee engagement technology.
A major disconnect
While employer investment in benefits has increased, colleagues are still under the impression that their current package is inadequate.
While employers are falling over themselves to improve talent attraction, and more importantly retention, arguably the main reason employers offer benefits, with each day that goes by there seems to be yet another issue facing the British public.
Be it a cost-of-living-crisis, energy bills rising or the cost of your morning coffee going through the roof, it certainly seems to feel as if we’re in a repeating scenario when it comes to negative financial headlines.
And so, it’s easy to understand why employees want more from their overall package, and why financial benefits are now the most in-demand perks for 2025.
Packages are also falling short when it comes to matching employees’ needs and the desire for targeted communications.
Just 50% of employees say they know exactly what their employer offers despite nearly nine in ten (87%) employers believing their benefits are communicated clearly and simply.
This disconnect is proving to be an issue, with a number of employees unsure of the full ins and outs of their benefit scheme, and employers are unable to understand what their people truly want.
Add the two together and you have a recipe for disaster, ultimately offering poor value for money to both parties.
By tailoring benefits, communications and investment to the specific needs of your workforce, you will truly maximise the value of your employee benefit scheme, which will as an end goal be reflected in each and every employee’s Total Reward Statement.
How to do it right
Get the fundamentals right by listening to your people.
If a particular benefit isn’t proving to be popular, then maybe it’s time to take a fresh look with benefits that appeal to a diverse workforce.
The same can certainly be said for your scheme if it isn’t providing the value you truly desire.
Today’s schemes require employers to tailor a portal to their workforce.
Only by doing this will you truly maximise the value of your offering.
Zest works with existing and new employee benefit providers, and any other aspects of your benefits package.
Make life easy for yourself
HR leaders believe managing benefits is a headache they could do without, with access to detailed data not openly available and day-to-day admin a cause for concern, according to research from Zest.
In order to maximise the value of your employee benefits scheme, data, admin, portal management and reporting all need to simple to navigate.
Eight out of ten (82%) of decision makers saying employee benefits technology would make their job significantly easier.
Zest technology can empower organisations to create a workplace culture where employees feel valued, supported and motivated.
Zest can also help you to make informed benefit decisions, with a holistic overview of your benefits available.
By having access to the particular insights and the trends you need to better understand how employees use their benefits, you can add a touch of flexibility and adapt your offering accordingly to get the best return on investment.
This allows companies to target employees based on age, gender or location, for example.
This is all in the name of promoting further benefit take-up, which increases engagement and job satisfaction.
With 56% of employees saying they would leave their job if another company offered them a better benefits package, maximising the value of your employee benefits offering has never been more important.
Zest’s Employee Benefits Report for 2024 is now available to download.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Zest
Zest is the next generation platform that’s reinventing the world of employee benefits.
