Benefits Barometer: The Perks Provided by Employers
Why benefits? Keeping employees happy is a complex task, influenced by a broad rangeof factors fromthetransparency and clarity of HR processes and policies to the content of a job, working conditions, the personalities andrelationshipsbetweencolleagues, or the workplace culture. Many of these are complex issues that can be improved over a period of time, with a high degree of governance and people management expertise. But while SMEs should undoubtedly strive for these high standards in their human resources function, SME owners are usually time–poor and without the kind of dedicated HR support enjoyed by larger businesses. Consequently, for SMEs to start addressing these problems they need to make greater efforts to engage with their workforce and they need a relatively simple but effective starting point. Employee benefits, if correctly considered, administered and communicated, can provide a highly potent weapon in the fight against disaffection and disengagement in the workforce.
Large businesses, which usually have dedicated HR teams, are more likely to provide almost every type of benefit listed in our study. In some cases, the disparity between large and small businesses is vast. For example, over half of employees of large businesses (53%) say their company provides discounts on leisure and shopping, such as gym memberships, cinemas or restaurants, compared to just one in ten (9%) SME employees. Similarly, employees say 47% of large businesses provide an Employee Assistance Programme, which typically offers services such as confidential counselling and advice on personal issues, compared to just 7% of SMEs.
SMEs lagging behind large businesses
In a competitive labour market where small businesses are in direct competition with larger firms, unsurprisingly they are being comprehensively out–gunned by their larger rivals on employee benefits packages – particularly on financial ones.
Most businesses provide some form of benefits to their employees over and above a salary. However, the findings of our study amongst employees reveal that one in five (22%) of all employees said their employer provides none of the listed benefits, rising to one in three (34%) for employees of SMEs.
Whitepaper – The Engaged Employer 14
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker