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Change is never easy but for HR and reward professionals it is an increasing inevitability; the pace of change for many businesses is transformational and their benefits systems and processes are under pressure to innovate and invest to keep up.
So why do you need a benefits shake-up now?
Businesses are being hit from all sides, but here are the four main drivers impacting change that you need to be prepared for:
Legislation: Legislation around benefits is constantly shifting, but you can’t wait for this to cement before committing to your new scheme design. There could be changes in government which lead to prospective laws being scrapped, or touted changes that could take years to materialise. Take stock, accept the dynamic landscape and be proactive instead.
Economic climate: We’ve come out of two recessions in the UK and are facing unpredictability following Brexit. We know organisations do not like risk and are under a huge amount of pressure to exercise caution and manage costs tightly. Nevertheless with people strategy being so critical to business success you need to ensure you have a benefits offering that will help you attract and retain your key talent, whilst also reviewing those that may provide a poor return on investment.
Social shifts: The workforce is changing. And, while the life events people go through remain the same – marriage, purchasing a house, having children – they’re now happening at different life stages. You may have the same benefits structure you did a decade ago but you cannot guarantee the same outcomes – it’s quite likely you are not offering the flex that’s now needed by your workforce.
Technological change: This is constant, and is now putting an incredible amount of pressure on benefits leaders to keep up. It is becoming less and less acceptable to have manual processes or to be relying on old, disaggregated tech solutions in a hi-tech business environment. You need to consider how technology can better support your strategy and execution. For example how can it transform accessibility and adoption of your benefits offering, and how can you better report on the success of your programme?
Benefits are more varied and greater in number than they’ve ever been before, but engaging employees in their schemes remains as much of a challenge as ever. Contributions into benefits continue to fall because policies are so broad that they’re failing to engage people.
The imperative for change may seem daunting but the business impact of transformation really is compelling. That’s not to say it will be easy and there may well be obstacles. Employees can react negatively to change in the first instance. Their discomfort can be hard to deal with but will only be temporary. If change is made for a clear reason, is well communicated and executed well, your employees will soon accept it and take it as a positive thing.
Yes, change can take time and be unpredictable, but if you keep clear objectives at the heart of your redesign, the outcomes will be worthwhile.
Jack Curzon, Head of Scheme Design at Thomsons Online Benefits.
To learn more about how you can successfully complete a major benefits change, view our webinar ‘How Can You Make A Major Benefits Change A Positive’.
