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Global Benefits Investment Missing the Mark as Businesses Fail to Get PersonalSAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 7 percent of global HR professionals are consistently delivering against their benefits plan objectives according to the latest research from Thomsons Online Benefits. The Global Employee Benefits Watch 16/17 reveals that nearly 90 percent of employers view attracting talent and improving engagement as their top benefits objectives. However, almost as many (70 percent) are struggling to deliver effective plans for local markets and, as a result, improve employees' understanding and value of benefits. The findings from the SaaS provider of global benefits and employee engagement software suggest that HR teams are grappling with two gaps in their benefits strategy:
At present, employers' inability to overcome these hurdles is having a significant impact on employees' appreciation of their schemes, with over 60 percent of employees dissatisfied with their plan, based on:
"Global employers spend a significant amount on benefits1, on average 31 percent of employee salary – but there's a real risk that they won't see the full return on this investment," comments Chris Bruce, co-founder and managing director, Thomsons Online Benefits. "HR professionals understand the link between benefits engagement and broader workplace engagement, but they're stumbling at the first hurdle – engaging employees in their reward schemes." Organizations with the highest performing benefits schemes have shown that overcoming this obstacle isn't impossible, but depends on unlocking the power of data to take a more personal approach to benefits. Using data analytics, employers can crate a global benefits strategy based on quantifiable insights into how employees are interacting with their schemes and the benefits they really want. Employers that use data analytics have 14 percent higher employee engagement scores than those who do not (73 percent compared to 59 percent). However, 46 percent of HR and reward professionals are honest in saying they don't yet use analytics at all, and are therefore unlikely to be fully realizing their objectives and ROI. Other key findings from the report include: Flexibility drives job satisfaction One third of US employees (34 percent)2 rank a flexible work schedule as the most influential factor on their job satisfaction, among "non-traditional" benefits. Nearly the same number (38 percent) would opt for unlimited paid time off over an annual salary increase, but less than 15 percent of employees currently receive this benefit. Only 51 percent of employees in the US feel their benefits are "very relevant" to their personal situations, despite the majority of respondents believing that employee benefits should adapt in line with their personal circumstances. The communications chasm Perceived value of benefits also increases by over 20 percent if employees receive total reward statements, demonstrating the full value of their package. Taking advantage of tech Our research has shown that the technology used to deliver benefits is the most important factor in employees' perception of their benefits package, and when employees are very satisfied with the technology delivering their benefits, they are almost twice as likely to view their benefits as innovative or unique (93.8 percent vs. 46.6 percent). This is paramount for engagement with their benefits plan overall. The Global Employee Benefits Watch 16/17 report is available to download from the Thomsons Online Benefits website. About Thomsons Online Benefits Notes to editors [1] This is an average global figure but will vary from region to region [2] Statistics in the following two paragraphs were generated using Google Consumer Surveys between September 1st and September 3rd, 2016. This surveyed 850 U.S.-based employees and 500 U.K.-based employees, all at enterprise sized organizations with 5,000 employees+. Press contacts Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160927/412594LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-benefits-investment-missing-the-mark-as-businesses-fail-to-get-personal-300335301.html SOURCE Thomsons Online Benefits |