Amidst The Great Resignation, post-lockdown work expectations, and a cost of living crisis, retaining and attracting the best talent is becoming a significant challenge for businesses, highlights Stacey Lowman.
If businesses are to fill their vacancies, remuneration can’t end at pay packets. Employers need to expand their benefit offering to stand out from the crowd and ensure they are attractive to the best talent. According to Claro Wellbeing’s own research, eight in 10 employees are motivated by a good company benefits package. Evidently, benefits are tactics that employers can use to retain and attract the best talent in their industries.
In terms of employee retention, research shows that 75 percent of employees are more likely to stay with their employer because of a strong benefits programme that they value. Evidently, if people feel supported by their employer, they are more likely to stay loyal and remain with the business. In light of this, organisations should be evaluating their benefits offerings if they are to stay attractive in this competitive market.
What do employees really want?
Every business will have different benefit priorities among employees, depending on the demographic they fall into, the lifestyle they lead, pay scale, and seniority. As a result, there is no catch-all option to the ‘perfect’ benefits package, meaning a diverse offering is necessary. Many HR professionals are also engaging staff in discussions around what programmes they want and need.
According to our research, employees’ top three benefit schemes are financial wellbeing, mental wellbeing and child support. This largely suggests that employees appreciate meaningful benefits more, preferring financial and wellbeing support over gym memberships, free breakfasts and nights out.
Support through the cost-of-living crisis
The preference for financial wellbeing support is likely to increase as the cost of living crisis continues. UK households are facing rising daily expenditure as the cost of essential goods such as food, energy, and mortgage repayments has risen by £145.50 a month this year for the average household. This is overwhelming for many people, both financially and mentally.
In our research, one in two employees reported being worried about their financial situation – an alarming figure which could get worse. This anxiety not only affects our home life, relationships and health, but 86 percent of adults said that money worries also impact their work performance. Despite our money worries trickling into our work lives, employers are two times more likely to offer mental wellbeing programmes than financial wellbeing support. Often the two are linked. With this in mind employers must take employee demand for financial wellbeing support seriously if they want a healthy and productive workforce as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
Financial wellbeing as a benefit
Financial literacy in the UK is concerningly low as we face a nationwide economic crisis. Recently, we found that 15% of the population lacks the basic knowledge to understand their day-to-day finances and to implement simple smart choices like budgeting and understanding various financial products on the market.
In light of this, access to financial education is more vital than ever if businesses want to maintain employee satisfaction and help people through the financial crisis. Whilst monetary support in the form of one-off payments can be helpful in the short term, providing people with access to sound financial guidance is a great long-term option. This can be done through webinars, one-to-one coaching sessions or business-wide workshops carried out by a qualified financial coach.
Financial wellbeing in the workplace goes far beyond the cost of living crisis. We don’t get taught enough about managing our money at home, in school or at university and many people are thrown in the deep end when they start working – which can lead to significant stress. A good financial wellbeing programme at work will help alleviate anxiety and give people the skills and confidence to handle their finances and work towards their future goals.
