{"id":8264,"date":"2019-01-02T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T10:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/?p=8264"},"modified":"2020-09-30T16:41:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T15:41:32","slug":"soft-benefits-a-weapon-in-the-war-for-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiger-recruitment.com\/employers-and-hiring-practice\/soft-benefits-a-weapon-in-the-war-for-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft benefits: a weapon in the war for talent"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the number of Britons in the workforce at its highest level since the 1970s, the competition for great talent only continues to heat up. No longer can companies rely on a competitive salary; these days, workforce expectations have shifted to include discussions about unlimited holiday allowances, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, flexible working, discount schemes and free lunches on Fridays, just to name a few. These non-traditional perks, otherwise called soft benefits, encompass any workplace benefits other than a salary (inclusive of base, bonuses and commissions) and statutory pensions, paid holidays and sick pay. Both financial and non-financial benefits are often intangible, but they can make a huge difference to a company\u2019s ability to attract and retain talent, particularly when they affect the culture of a company, make an employee\u2019s everyday life easier or incentivise performance.<\/p>\n

This idea is by no means new; juggernauts such as Google have been pioneering the idea for years, while a quick Google search of \u2018companies with best benefits\u2019 reveals list upon list from the likes of Forbes, Fast Company and The Independent. However, they have been thrust into the spotlight over the last 12 months as highly skilled talent becomes harder to come by and employers start to lose employees to competitors\u2019 offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right kind of benefit can help increase employee satisfaction and engagement and can be a top consideration for candidates when deciding whether to work for you or one of your competitors,\u201d says Debra Corey, Advisor at Reward Gateway and co-author of Build it: The Rebel Playbook for World-Class Employee Engagement.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, benefits programmes are not \u2014 and should never be \u2014 a one-size-fits-all approach,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

Embracing flexibility<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s this approach that informs Hyde Housing\u2019s benefits strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got quite a large suite of benefits and the reason is we want to give people the choice \u2013 if they\u2019ve got a partner or family, they may want to look at some of the insurance benefits, or some of the younger generation might be looking more at the lifestyle benefits, like discounted gym or buying more holiday,\u201d says Laurie Davis, Reward Specialist at Hyde.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve found with the flexible benefits, our employees can choose what works for them and they can change it as their lifestyles change.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The housing association has 1100 staff across 15 main offices, spread around London, the south-east of England and Peterborough. With such a diverse workforce, choosing which benefits to offer requires an ongoing dialogue with staff: \u201cWhen we first launched, we ran roadshows to gauge which benefits employees would want and find beneficial,\u201d says Laurie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask a specific question in our staff surveys as to how satisfied people are with their benefits, so we make sure we\u2019re monitoring that and it stays at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the right call<\/h4>\n

When choosing which benefits to offer, Debra advises checking they align with your business strategy, meet your HR objectives and reflect the workplace culture you\u2019re trying to maintain.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of getting it right is getting what I\u2019d call the \u2018right fit\u2019 for your company and your employees.\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy suggestion is to challenge yourself and your leadership team to develop benefit objectives or principles that align with all aspects of your business as well as your company values.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIntroduce benefits and perks that work alongside existing programmes, reflect what makes your organisation and your people special and are available to your entire workforce, from the CEO to the people who clean your office space.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the process doesn\u2019t end once you\u2019ve finalised your offering: \u201cYour new benefits may be amazing, but no one will use them if they don\u2019t know about them. So get out there and make sure you\u2019re communicating with your workforce, making sure they understand, appreciate and engage with them,\u201d explains Debra.<\/p>\n

\"yoga<\/p>\n

Getting the word out<\/h4>\n

Laurie believes Hyde Housing\u2019s high engagement with their offering is due to the effort they put into communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make sure that our benefits are communicated on our careers website, as well as being mentioned in our induction for new starters and included with the contract pack. We do quite a lot of communications in the window that employees can choose their benefits, including email reminders and Intranet notifications,\u201d explains Laurie.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeading up to the window, we\u2019ll have staff emails going out, giveaways, desk drops, change the desktops on everyone\u2019s screens and promote it through our Intranet. Once the window is open, we\u2019ll do letters home and the reward team goes around to every office and does drop-in sessions,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

They also make sure that engagement is monitored on their platform: \u201cWe measure staff engagement with the site and we can see increases \u2013 more people logging in, more people selecting their benefits,\u201d Laurie says.<\/p>\n

Debra agrees, noting that it\u2019s essential you are constantly evaluating the effectiveness of each benefit:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s important to continually monitor how your benefits are performing individually and collectively. Are you offering the right balance, are you ultimately achieving your objectives?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne way to track your progress is with a KPI (key performance indicator) report. So, for example, if you are measuring the effectiveness of your discounts platform, KPIs may be participation (how many employees have registered for the benefit) and utilisation (how much have employees saved through the discount platform). \u00a0These will help you determine if\/how this benefit fits into your overall benefits package as well as how it\u2019s met your objectives,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end goal is to make sure we don\u2019t have \u2018empty benefits\u2019 that are only taking up space.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the number of Britons in the workforce at its highest level since the 1970s, the competition for great talent only continues to heat up. No longer can companies rely on a competitive salary; these days, workforce expectations have shifted to include discussions about unlimited holiday allowances, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, flexible working, discount<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"insight-type":[13],"class_list":["post-8264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employers-and-hiring-practice","insight-type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSoft benefits: a weapon in the war for talent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the number of Britons in the workforce at its highest level since the 1970s, the competition for great talent only continues to heat up. 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