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Whilst a strategy based purely on benchmarking (just copying what the market is doing) will help you get amongst your competitors, what it won’t do is help you stand out from them.
A topic that keeps coming up when we talk to our clients is, “who should we be basing our strategy against in our sector?” and “what are your other clients doing?”. Some of the main employee benefits trends we have seen both in the UK and internationally, and expect to continue into 2024, include:
Mental health
Financial wellbeing support
Family-forming benefits
Menopause support
However, when our clients ask us questions like the above, our answer always remains the same. Benchmarking can of course help to guide your employee benefits strategy, but by basing it solely on benchmarking you may be losing out on a valuable opportunity to set your business apart from the competition and stand out in the minds of the best people.
Be proactive, not reactive
Market trends are changing all the time, and what may be the go-to benefits one year could give way to something completely different the next. Take the last few years as an example, a completely unprecedented event has altered the landscape of work entirely and benefits have had to adapt drastically and quickly to accommodate for this new change in lifestyle.
While we know it’s unrealistic to prepare for everything that might happen, having a strategy that relies so much on reacting to changes within the market after they happen will always class your business as a follower, when really it may be better to carve your own path, forget what the rest of the market is doing and set your own trends in 2024.
What makes your business better?
In the modern ‘war for talent’, it has become more important than ever for businesses to set themselves apart from their competitors to attract the attention of the very best talent. Naturally, when your employee benefits strategy revolves around following the market and offering your people the same as everyone else, it can be difficult to communicate why candidates should choose to work for your business over another. This lack of business identity and ability to stand out from other employers can potentially lead to recruitment problems, not only in terms of attracting talent, but keeping it.
To become an employee benefits trend setter rather than a trend follower, your strategy should be based on elements of your business that cannot be so easily copied by your competition. You may want to consider leading with areas like:
Your values: What does your business stand for both internally and externally, and how can the benefits you offer support this?
Your people: What will the talent your business needs find value in? Think about who these people are, what struggles they have in their day-to-day lives and how you can make these better.
Making your strategy count, first time round
While you can manage and oversee these strategies yourself, having a business partner like Johnson Fleming by your side can help alleviate stress and make the process more seamless from start to finish. We’ll work with you, ensuring all the elements of your benefits strategy work in harmony together, linking the wider elements, such as ESG, DEI&B, CSR, and your EVP. Our consultants provide an end-to-end service, from crafting and evolving your strategy, to using our risk management, brokerage skills and provider relationships to find the best solutions for your needs. Wherever your business is on its journey, we’ll be there to support you when you need it.
NFP’s guide to international benefits
With more benefits, reward and HR professionals taking on multinational responsibilities, our team of experienced international benefits consultants have created this new guide to share their high-level insight into the key aspects of running a successful international benefits programme.
In the comprehensive guide, you'll learn:
What to consider when designing your global benefits strategy
How to identify the right benefits and provider(s) to deliver them
How to efficiently run your global benefits programme
How to review and maintain oversight of your programme
