employers fail to communicate with their staff about the
benefits that employees believe are valued the most, according to
research published today by Personnel Today and Unum.
The survey, conducted among 275 HR professionals, shows that staff rank their defined-contribution pension, life assurance and private medical insurance as the most valuable benefits. Yet the data also shows that, aside from pensions, "soft" perks, such as gym membership (perceived to be the least valued benefit by 26% of respondents), generate more communication, in terms of emails and intranet notifications, than core health and financial benefits.
Linda Smith, HR director at Unum, says: "We have seen a clear disconnect between the benefits that are being communicated and those which are valued by employees - most of the communication is around 'soft' perks, which don't benefit employees in the long term and aren't seen as being valued by staff."
Charles Cotton, performance and reward adviser at the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development, believes that some HR staff lack
the confidence to communicate effectively about complex financial
products.
"HR departments used to be criticised for doing a poor job of communicating pension schemes because they didn't have a technical understanding of the products. Due to changes in pension provision, particularly auto-enrolment, practitioners have up-skilled themselves to educate staff about pensions.
"But there's a case for educating staff about all financial and health benefits, not just so that they appreciate the benefits provided, but to equip them for situations of financial distress."
The research showed that most (72%) organisations offer a defined-contribution pension to all staff, followed by life assurance (63%) and employee assistance programmes (49%), while private medical insurance (17%) and health screening (12%) are the two benefits most commonly offered to senior management only. Personal accident insurance and dental plans are the least commonly offered.
While 30% of respondents admitted that they had never conducted a benefits review, 37% had done so in the last two years and 55% planned to undertake at least a basic review this year.
"Pensions auto-enrolment is being introduced this autumn, providing an opportunity to review benefits," explained Smith. "According to our research, 55% of employers are looking to review their benefits this year, so it's important to get the right mix of benefits that are of value to both the business and its employees."
POOJA NEGI
PGDM 2ND SEM
30/4/12
The survey, conducted among 275 HR professionals, shows that staff rank their defined-contribution pension, life assurance and private medical insurance as the most valuable benefits. Yet the data also shows that, aside from pensions, "soft" perks, such as gym membership (perceived to be the least valued benefit by 26% of respondents), generate more communication, in terms of emails and intranet notifications, than core health and financial benefits.
Linda Smith, HR director at Unum, says: "We have seen a clear disconnect between the benefits that are being communicated and those which are valued by employees - most of the communication is around 'soft' perks, which don't benefit employees in the long term and aren't seen as being valued by staff."
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"HR departments used to be criticised for doing a poor job of communicating pension schemes because they didn't have a technical understanding of the products. Due to changes in pension provision, particularly auto-enrolment, practitioners have up-skilled themselves to educate staff about pensions.
"But there's a case for educating staff about all financial and health benefits, not just so that they appreciate the benefits provided, but to equip them for situations of financial distress."
The research showed that most (72%) organisations offer a defined-contribution pension to all staff, followed by life assurance (63%) and employee assistance programmes (49%), while private medical insurance (17%) and health screening (12%) are the two benefits most commonly offered to senior management only. Personal accident insurance and dental plans are the least commonly offered.
While 30% of respondents admitted that they had never conducted a benefits review, 37% had done so in the last two years and 55% planned to undertake at least a basic review this year.
"Pensions auto-enrolment is being introduced this autumn, providing an opportunity to review benefits," explained Smith. "According to our research, 55% of employers are looking to review their benefits this year, so it's important to get the right mix of benefits that are of value to both the business and its employees."
POOJA NEGI
PGDM 2ND SEM
30/4/12
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