Hot Topic – The Importance of Taking Benefits Online

By Nick Howarth, Mattioli Woods plc. 

In an increasingly competitive employment market in many sectors, employers are often looking for things that will help them stand out from their competitors. One such option is the company’s employee benefits offering.

Having a rich employee benefits offering can be an extremely effective talent retention and recruitment tool; however, raising awareness and driving employee engagement is essential to ensure adequate take up and a good return on investment.

Arguably one of the most beneficial tools in increasing employee engagement is through technology.

This typically takes the form of an online benefits platform, which allows current and prospective employees to login and access all the key information regarding their benefits. In many cases, there is flexibility to empower the employees to tailor the benefits package to their specific needs. They can also include a Total Rewards Statement, which is a personal and unique statement communicating the overall value of an employee’s benefits package.

There is also a financial incentive to offering an online benefits solution to employees. An online benefits platform can include the facility for employees to buy holidays or participate in a voluntary salary sacrifice scheme such as the cycle to work scheme. Such initiatives not only provide an employee saving but the employer may also reduce their National Insurance contributions.

One further benefit for employers of utilising technology for employee benefits is that it can reduce the administration burden on your HR/payroll teams. Managing benefit selections/ payroll deductions can be a time-consuming process and if this is a predominantly manual operation, there is increased margin for error. Online benefits technology can automate the benefits process, thus reducing the risk of error and streamlining the administrative process.

In summary, more and more employers are choosing to offer an online employee benefits solution to help attract and retain their best talent. There are now solutions available for employers of all sizes to consider and therefore there has never been a better time for employers to get on board and transform how they manage their employee benefits.

All content correct at time of writing.