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Employers could drive motivation with benefits

UK employers are missing out on the chance to motivate their workforce’s with affordable benefits, research has shown.

A survey by YouGov revealed that just under half of employers recognise the link between staff retention and benefits, and one in 10 say there is no link between staffing and employee benefits.

It was found that offering employee benefits can have an impact on costly areas such as recruitment and retention, as more than one third of employees with no benefits say the lack of perks make them more inclined to leave their current job.

Those who do have benefits say it makes them more inclined to stay; 60% of those with three or more benefits envisaged working for their current employer for the next five years compared to just 35% who do not receive any.

The financial services, those earning over £50,000 per year and employees of FTSE 100 companies, were among the groups most satisfied with their current benefits package.

Pensions were found to be considered the most important among employees, followed by receiving a bonus and then life assurance.

Speaking at the Employee Benefits Connect conference in London on Thursday, YouGov’s Dr Michael Wagstaff said there was a clear business case for offering employee benefits.

He said: “Employers may not be able to afford the most expensive benefits in the current climate, but many are missing out on the opportunity to boost staff retention and benefit from employees who act as advocates for their business, by offering affordable employee benefits.

“There is a clear business case for offering employee benefits to staff; they help to boost commitment, job satisfaction and performance.

“Understandably, many employers aren’t able to offer company cars or bonuses, but where they are missing a trick is in failing to recognise that there are more affordable benefits that influence happiness and commitment, such as discount schemes and financial advice.”

He went on to add that 76% of respondents who received benefits said they were advocates for their employer’s organisation, products and services as a result.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .