Should one size still really fit all?
Research from Balmoral Financial, a financial wellbeing company established in 2013, has found that 44 per cent of HR professionals are still opting for a standard one size fits all employee benefits package.
35 per cent of HR and benefits professionals offer packages tailored to job level or tenure, and only 12 per cent offer bespoke solutions tailored to the needs of their staff. 7% of respondents did not yet offer a benefits policy to their employees at all.
Furthermore, the Balmoral Financial research found that most HR professionals would like to enhance their money matters and money management benefit offering. When asked which of their current employee benefits was not up to scratch, 37 per cent stated that their money management benefit was most in need of enhancement.
This was followed by workplace flexibility and retirement care, with 22 per cent and 16 per cent of respondents stating that these were the benefits most in need of enhancement respectively.
Karim Peer, CEO at Balmoral Financial commented:
“It is clear that one size no longer fits all when it comes to employee benefits. Employees must be supported at every stage of life, which is why we have coined the concept of Benefitness to encourage HR departments to consider tailoring their benefits offering to their employees’ needs.
“To achieve our concept of true Benefitness, HR professionals must recognise that their employees’ needs can be driven not just by age or gender, but by multiple circumstances and life stages.”
Balmoral Financial found that employee benefits can broadly fit into six Benefitness categories, each providing a very different type of support to the employee. For example, a benefit providing help for an employee’s money matters supports their cardiovascular ability, and retirement care helps with their long term stamina.
Karim Peer also commented:
“It is encouraging to see that HR professionals clearly recognise the need to support their employees with their financial wellbeing. Providing a benefit to support employees with their money matters and management will help employers start a conversation around financial wellbeing; it is crucial that employees are aware that support is available to them at work.”
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
