Conducting Research
When commencing a benefits review, taking a good look at your current offering and how well it aligns to your workforce is a good starting place. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, employers are placing more value on staff wellness, whether this is implementing a full financial wellbeing strategy or simply providing a discounted fitness membership. Undertaking a fact-find of the workforce ahead of time can provide key indicators of what employees want to see, and will mean you can tailor your market review accordingly. Using the expertise of an Employee Benefits Consultant will enable you to benchmark against industries, company size and current market trends and will be invaluable when considering amendments to your current proposition. Taking the time to do these additional fact-finding and benchmarking steps engaged with benefits and will increase the likelihood of a good return on investment.
Cost Saving
Another motivating factor for reviewing benefits is to save cost. Comparing providers will show if your current offering is priced appropriately. Starting your benefit renewals early also means that there will be plenty of time to communicate with providers as part of the market review process leading up to the renewal date. This will give not only give you a chance to fine-tune the benefit design or structure, but it will also allow for further negotiations on pricing. Your Employee Benefits Consultant will be able to support you by liaising with the benefit providers to obtain a more competitive price, including encouraging the current benefit provider to reduce their price down to a competitive rate, if they can be shown to be off market through a review process.
Communication
Finalising decisions for your benefits renewals well ahead of the renewal date means that you have plenty of time to communicate any benefits changes before they come into effect for the new policy year. Your Employee Benefits Consultant will be able to work with you to formulate an effective communications strategy, whether this is through benefits portal, e-comms, brochures or presentations or webinars for complex changes. Ensuring that staff are aware of what is offered as part of their benefits package will give them a chance to make an informed decision about whether to take up a benefit, and also means that that they are more likely to engage with their offering. Furthermore, if you have a flexible benefits platform, finalising your reviews early is key, as employees need to be able to consider the cost of their selection choices ahead of the election window.