A wide gap exists between how much employees really value workplace benefits and how much employers believe staff appreciate their perks, according to new UK research from Grid.
A survey of 500 HR decision-makers and 1,210 employees, revealed that two-thirds (66 percent) of employers think their staff ‘very much’ appreciate the benefits they are offered, but only 21 percent of employees said the same.
The difference of opinion may come as a surprise to employers as 81 percent measure employees’ appreciation of the benefits that they receive.
Employer takeaways
Grid said the results offer three key learnings for employers.
- Employee benefits are now viewed as a standard part of the reward package, so to be appreciated by staff employers need to actively highlight where perks go the extra mile.
- Benefits awareness is important for staff to appreciate what they have but understanding is also critical. Grid said employers need to constantly assess whether staff have a comprehensive grasp of all the benefits on offer.
- Ensuring staff have straightforward and efficient access to benefits is another key learning for employers. Staff are less likely to appreciate the value of something if it is not accessible.
Grid said that if staff appreciation of benefits remains low after checking these areas then it may be time to rethink which benefits you offer.
Recruitment and retention
The body also said that all of these scenarios will be playing out to a greater or lesser extent in different organisations. However, as employee benefits represent a significant investment for all employers, it is a huge missed opportunity if they are not being valued by staff, particularly regarding the value they can add in terms of recruitment and retention.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said: “We know that communication and appreciation are inextricably linked, as employees tend to value benefits more highly when they have a good understanding of what is available.”
The research showed that the most popular ways to measure staff benefits appreciation were via informal feedback to managers, HR, employee benefits or wellbeing champions (46 percent), a feedback or suggestion box (46 percent), a formal staff survey (45 percent), an employee benefits forum or working group (40 percent), and online activities that measure clickthrough rates on certain topics, for example on the company intranet (39 percent).
Quick pivot
Moxham said: “We saw how quickly employee benefits providers pivoted to offer support for Covid during the pandemic and, while this was an extreme situation, providers are constantly evolving their products to reflect employee and employer needs.
“Ensuring employees appreciate the employee benefits they are offered goes hand in hand with sentiment towards their employer as a whole. Organisations who clearly demonstrate that they care about their staff by offering appropriate employee benefits are more likely to earn the loyalty of their people.”
