HR, reward and benefits professionals can expect more questions about the value of their employee benefits from within their organisations in the next 18 months, according to David Kirk, growth leader, health technology at Aon.
In an interview with Benefits Expert, Kirk was asked what he thought the main employee benefit challenges would be in future.
“It’s two things. One, employers getting challenged internally for the value of having benefits and what they deliver. Two, which is obviously linked to this, is employees challenging their employers on whether or not they’re helping them through the benefits,” he said.
Increasing scrutiny of benefits comes as conversations about recruitment and retention rise to boardroom level. Benefits are a crucial part of any employment package, so their value for the business in terms of attracting and retaining talent has become an increasingly hot topic.
Financial wellbeing
Kirk said that research, carried out with attendees at Aon’s human capital conference in July, revealed that 85 percent of employees said that they don’t feel that their employer offers a good level of financial wellbeing support. He said that this finding was “probably a really good example” of the benefits challenges employers are facing.
Further research, in Aon’s report ‘Identifying opportunities in today’s employee benefit challenges’, showed that 18 percent of respondents said their employee benefits were difficult to access, while 32 percent said maximising certain benefits required “too much” work from employees.
New normal
Kirk said that, with the current cost of living crisis and rising costs becoming the new normal, employers can expect a greater focus on the value that benefits provide.
“I think there is more pressure now, particularly on Gen Z, to figure out what they are doing. Just look at pensions, think how much that’s changed. There is a pensions crisis on pay, which is very well documented.
“People who haven’t really thought about that, when they do realise, they [will think] ‘surely my employer should be helping me with that’.”
He said that there could be a disconnect between what an employer might be doing, which could be quite a lot, and whether an employee is engaging with it. He also pointed to a gap in the technology of how benefits are communicated.
“[Those challenges] would probably be what I would say is coming down the track, and anyone in this space needs to figure out how, wherever they sit in our ecosystem, they support those things.”
Lack of interest?
The report also found that 48 percent of HR directors said they were seeing poor uptake of employee benefits because “employees don’t seem interested” in what is on offer. Aon said that personalisation through an online platform can increase engagement.
“When employees are targeted by relevant benefits, they are more likely to investigate their benefit packages,” the report said.
“Implementing gamification on the online benefits platform can greatly improve employee engagement and comprehension.
“Although the initial investment may be larger, the rate of return is expected to be significant. Implementing gamification can enhance interactivity and enjoyment, thereby motivating employees to explore and utilise the benefits.
“By introducing incentives, obstacles, and rankings, employees are more inclined to remain actively involved and knowledgeable about the benefits at their disposal.”
