Health & Benefits Blog
Everyone offers them, but only a few really do so effectively. These days, hardly any employer can avoid the topic of employee benefits. Globally, with a labour market that distinctly favours employees, the situation is coming to a head due to a weakened economic situation and persistently higher inflation. Questions like “What does really matter?” “What are the levers a company can move to reduce costs?” and “What are the future trends?” are out of great interest.
According to the motto "You can't have everything", employers must be very selective and make choices based on their available financial resources. Attracting and retaining key talent depends largely on the right benefits package. Whereas most employers are aware of this, the question of what is right remains.
Simply put, there is no right or wrong answer in general. Employers recognise that, in addition to regularly benchmarking themselves against the competition and the market, they need to engage their own workforce. In this context, surveys and focus groups can help to identify the values and preferences of employees, knowledge of which is a prerequisite for focusing on relevant benefits. Whereas the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce vary there is a growing demand for support in the areas of health and finances.
Once the benefits package has been defined, it must be made known and explained through various communication channels. Employees want to understand what the various benefits mean for them and how they can get the most out of them. This is particularly essential when it comes to retirement provisions, as the majority would like to be as well covered as possible so that they could potentially retire early. Employers are responding with decision-making tools to help employees choose between different benefits and, as a further measure, want to use a single digital platform to access all benefits and services in the future.
Employers also need to keep an eye on the cost-benefit factor. This can be done by analysing the use of diverse benefits as well as different communication materials and channels. When looking at the costs, it is also important to put internal processes and various third-party providers used to the test. Where possible, unexploited added value of providers should be used and own efficiency or the employee experience should be improved through new technologies, for example.
A look at the Swiss market shows that companies have a lot of catching up to do in terms of technology, and not just in terms of their own employee experience. An appropriate system can also significantly facilitate the administration of the various benefits and the associated administrative work involved in handling cases of illness, for example.
To keep administrative expenses as low as possible, employers must ultimately influence the behaviour of employees in a positive sense. Here, after appropriate education, the call for personal responsibility to deal with one's own benefits and to know and fulfil the corresponding obligations applies above all.
