We are seeing a wider and more diverse range of workplace health and wellbeing benefits now available to businesses, which is great. However, how can you, as an employer, be certain that you are maximising the value of this investment you are making? One way is to try and ensure your benefits are as targeted to your employees as possible. Every group of employees is different and so you need to consider yours specifically and invest in the support that they will benefit from. However, whilst this may seem like common sense, fewer than a quarter (24%) of employers currently target their benefits to specific needs of the workforce, according to our new research.
Surely having the same is fairer?
Historically there was a trend towards looking for equity in benefit provision with everyone in a company getting the same benefits. This came through in our survey as still being a factor with 35% of employers stating that they offer the same benefits to all employees regardless of their seniority, and 36% saying they offer the same benefits regardless of gender. While this may seem fair, it doesn’t mean you are getting the best outcome for your spend and perhaps a more personalised, targeted approach would be better.
Considering your prospective employees as well as current ones
Tailoring benefits to meet the specific requirements of your employees is not only really important to support current employees and ensure they stay with the business but it can also really impact your ability to attract the right, best talent as well. Having a robust personalised benefits package can make you stand out against your competitors. It is making the most of the budget you have available to have the greatest positive impact on your people as they are your biggest asset. If employees see that you are offering support that is really relevant and helpful to them they are more likely to appreciate you as an employer as they will be more likely to notice it, engage with it and utilise it seeing the benefit for themselves. This creates a great culture where everyone feels seen and valued.
What factors could you consider targeting your benefits and support on?
Factors could include age and demographics, gender, specific requirements (which you can ascertain from surveys or focus groups) or perhaps lifestyle risk factors.
A slight nuance on age is considering people’s life stages. No more do we all follow the same linear path of marriage, house, children etc. which we might have seen in the past. People will reach certain life stages at different ages and in different circumstances but offering benefits that can support these life stages is another way of targeting them.
With scope for many different generations to be in your business now (up to 5 different generations), you need to consider which life stages are most appropriate for your work force – is it challenges with fertility, childcare, financial wellbeing and money management, eldercare or retirement planning for example? There are employee benefits available that can support each of these areas.
In fact, benefit provision is so sophisticated that they can be specific and targeted to the genders, such as male or female cancers, male and female infertility, and specific influences on male and female mental health. Employers who look to provide benefits by gender are likely to ensure they are more appropriate to actual need. If your business has a higher percentage of a particular gender then it makes business sense to consider it first but don’t forget the rest of your employees.
Consider lifestyle risk factors
Another area to think about is the impact of associated risk factors of lifestyle. There are a number of things that you can offer, and even arrange on site, to ascertain if your employees need more support. These can range from relatively simple health risk assessment questionnaires through know your numbers (eg BMI, blood pressure) mini-assessments in the office to more in-depth medical assessments or health screening. You may discover that a number of employees have markers for them being pre-diabetic, high blood pressure and therefore more susceptible to heart disease, high levels of stress and anxiety so need to consider the risk of burnout etc. This means you can act earlier on that aspect of wellbeing and provide preventative support or early interventions that will mean better outcomes. The longer these conditions are left undiagnosed and untreated the more serious the impact can be. Employees are looking to employers to help them with their wellbeing and they will thank you for taking their health seriously.
Nothing ever stays the same for long
The employee benefit market is constantly evolving and new products and support services are coming to market on a very regular basis and it is therefore important for an employer to stay up to date with trends and also understand what their competitors are doing by benchmarking. Talking to a specialist adviser can help with this.
On top of this, your employees will also change and so will their needs. We are about to see Gen Alpha join the workforce and they will be very different from their Gen Z colleagues, with varied needs and requirements, so it is important that employers stay up to date with their thoughts and suggestions. This could be done through surveys, forums or focus groups. Do not make assumptions and do not just follow the latest wellbeing trend as it may not be right for your employees and could potentially be a waste of money and investment.
By asking your employees, considering their life stages and then finding the most appropriate, relevant employee benefits you will ensure you get maximum return on the value of your benefits, make the most significant difference to the wellbeing of the employees and by default make your business more successful.
