According to health benefits consultancy Mercer,
there is a distinct enthusiasm for change in benefit provision, particularly
amongst younger employees.
The findings come from Mercer’s 'What’s Working
Survey’, which asked a range of questions.
When it comes to employee motivation and
engagement, traditional benefits score relatively poorly compared to intrinsic
elements of reward such as having a sensible work-life balance, being treated
with respect and the type of work delivered.
The data also demonstrates that the desire by employees for greater
choice continues to grow dramatically, although concerns remain that employees
are not sufficiently able to make informed decisions when choice is available.
Critically, employees are looking for employers
to use their bulk purchasing power to provide employees significant discounts
on various products and services. Also,
the data suggests that for the right benefit, employees are willing to pay the
full cost of receiving this benefit. As
you would expect, enthusiasm for alternative benefits is most evident amongst
16-34 year olds.
According to Eddie Hodgart at Mercer, “More companies are asking their
employees what type of benefits they want to receive. This usually involves some degree of
additional choice plus the introduction of very simple, low-cost benefits that
meet employees’ needs today such as health screening. Benefit provision is all
about affordability and desirability. If an employee cannot afford the benefit
or sees no value in it, then they will not invest in it.”
Health cash plan news: 24 November 2011
