Sebastian Aspland
2 min read
A couple of weeks ago I came out of a meeting after discussing some really complex employee benefits. Not only were these employee benefits complicated to provide but they were actually not that great or engaging for the employee that was meant be benefitting.
That got me thinking. Who asked for these employee benefits? Why was this company trying to hand out something that didn't seem to be wanted? What had led to these decisions?
In this case I think the answer was because 'that's the way they'd always done it'. I don't think that's good enough. It feels like some employee benefits initiatives are put in place without thinking about what employees actually want.
Every workforce needs something different but following the below steps could be a good start to understanding what your employees want.
1. Think about your employees' point of view.
If the majority of your workforce are paid low wages it's unlikely that they'll be worried about private medical insurance.
2. Ask them what they want.
A quick employee survey or a small focus group could really help you understand what your employees want and don't want.
3. Keep it simple.
Your employees are busy, so don't make understanding your benefits a chore. I believe that if all your employee benefits can't be explained in less than a minute, you should simplify your package.
4. Concentrate on the majority.
Some firms give loads of benefits to senior executives but almost nothing to their lower paid employees. Think about the difference it would make to your employees if you gave everyone 5% off all their Sainsbury's shopping.
Implementing a straightforward and easy to understand benefits programme should connect with your employees a lot better and engage them faster than much more expensive and complex offers that they will never use.