According to GRiD’s research, which was released today, nearly one-fifth (18%) of employers let employees decide whether or not to take advantage of employee benefits, rather than encouraging them to do so. GRiD warns of the wasteful use of resources and time when investing in employee benefits.
Katharine Muxham, spokesperson of GRiD said: “Getting the right benefits is a big investment for any business, so it doesn’t make sense that a 5th of employers are letting them collect dust on a bookcase, metaphorically. All businesses should make it a priority to use employee benefits effectively and efficiently.
Retention and recruitment
Employee benefits are used to differentiate companies when recruiting staff. GRiD warns, however, that employees may be disappointed if this enthusiasm isn’t extended beyond the recruitment process in order to support retention. Employers must be consistent and continue to pay attention to employee benefits, especially if they play a key role in the recruitment process.
Valuing employee benefits via utilisation
It’s not true that employee benefits are only valuable if they’re used, but there is a correlation between increased use and greater appreciation. When employees are left alone to sign up for benefits, they may not fully understand what is available and are therefore less likely use it.
As GRiD explains, employee benefits not used or not fully used will be the first thing to go when budgets become tight.
Katharine Muxham added: “ If budgets are tight, employee benefits with low uptake rates may be dropped. This is a huge loss for employees, but also HR teams, who have spent a lot of time and effort to establish the benefits in the first instance, along with selecting the best provider.
Employers should take advantage of this opportunity to inform recruits about employee benefit programmes. To improve the utilisation, employers may need to revise their strategy amongst long-standing employees.
Encouragement of the use of employee benefits is a great way to create a virtuous cycle, as employees will start to tell their colleagues about the benefits they have received. Communication between employees is an important part of the puzzle, but employers shouldn’t become complacent. They should always have some sort of strategy to encourage use.
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