How to put HR, reward and benefits teams front and centre
Ask virtually anyone in HR, reward and benefits how they’re feeling at the moment: it’s burnt out, exhausted and like nothing they do is right. Trapped between wanting to do the right thing for the business and for their employees is a common feeling.
With businesses pushing harder than ever to cut costs and prove return and employees’ expectations getting higher, it’s no wonder HR teams are feeling stuck in the middle of an impossible situation.
This isn’t new news to a lot of us … but now there’s a real risk of businesses losing both their top talent and their HR talent, unless the c-suite steps up to fix HR’s PR problem.
Pivotal role or waste of office space?
Recently, Octopus did some research on the state of businesses and benefits in 2024. One of the things we uncovered was the difference between how HR is perceived by employees and their executive teams. Nearly two-thirds, 63%, of employees felt like HR added no value to their experiences at work, meanwhile 83% of executives felt HR was pivotal to meeting the needs of the future workforce.
And the worst part of it all - mid/senior professionals in HR teams are one of the most likely sets of employees to be looking for a new job this year (57% of them).
Not only does that leave a huge skills gap within the business, it also proves that years of being put under intense pressure is starting to take a toll.
So, how can executive teams step up and change the narrative for their HR functions? And, is there anything HR, reward and benefits leaders can do?
Listen to what your employees need - and then respond
One of the main problems with bringing in new policies and benefits, is that they’re not what your workforce want and need - and feel “one-size-fits-all”. Becky, 29, from Essex doesn’t have the same needs as Callum, 49, from London.
Connecting the dots between your existing policies and core life moments for your employees is a surefire way to up engagement and respect toward HR as a team. For example: you have a parent’s network, enhanced mat/pat leave, keep in touch (KIT) days, financial coaching and resources for returning to work as parents in your benefits’ locker. Why not pack all of those up and show them to your employees as they go on parental leave (or, better still, get a third-party coach to remind them of everything.)
Stop making HR the fall guy
All too often the visible work that HR does is the bad news: poor pay rises, benefits no-one seems to care about, layoffs and difficult employee conversations. And people talk. Especially people who feel disgruntled - so bad news travels fast and gives a negative perception of your HR teams to the wider business.
To combat this, think about how you could make your People function front and centre for the good moments: promotions, pay rises, celebrating new homes, new children, bringing in great benefits and so on.
Listen to your HR teams
A lot of the best ideas come from HR teams. They wanted to make DEI a thing before the boards decided to implement it, they wanted to provide good mental health support before it became a hot topic and they’re the closest people you have to employee trends, feelings and news. Listen to them. I think they’re right about employees wanting to be supported through their life stages.
In partnership with Octopus Money
People are your single biggest investment. We’ll help them get the most out of their pay and pension – by connecting the dots between their dreams in life and their reward at work.
