As we all know, recruiting quality staff plays a significant role in the overall success of your team. But once you manage to find this top talent, how can you hold onto it and stop people from jumping ship?
One answer is to ensure you take full advantage of the organisation’s employee benefit strategy. David Macleod, co-author of the UK’s influential 2009 Macleod Report on employee engagement, says it is all about “how we create the conditions in which employees offer more of their capability and potential”.
Energising and engaging staff is more important than ever before, and in the absence of being able to offer significant pay rises, employers need to find alternative solutions. Bespoke benefits can actually generate loyalty more effectively than cash bonuses though as they show you have thought about an individual’s requirements.
Ensuring the support available is tailored to employee needs will enable them to get the most out of such benefits - and such efforts are less likely to go to waste.
If handled sensitively, being able to offer support as part of a wider health and wellbeing strategy in other areas of your team’s lives such as financial concerns may be appreciated too. We have all heard the saying that ‘prevention is better than cure’, so it will come as no surprise that any approach to wellbeing should be based around the three key pillars of prevention, early intervention and protection.
Once implemented though, it is vital to ensure your team members know what is on offer. All too many employers go to the effort of implementing a solid wellbeing scheme that ticks all the boxes on paper, only to fail to communicate it effectively to their staff – a situation that boils down to no return on investment.
While some staff will naturally use services more than others, it is important that everyone is aware of them – whether by highlighting what services are on offer, referring to case studies about different individuals’ personal success or simply reminding them that a company health and wellbeing strategy exists.
Making it work
Some techniques for helping to get the word out include sending staff emails about the benefits available to them or talking to them about what is available on a one-to-one basis. It also makes sense to refer them to notices on the company handbook, intranet, internal newsletter or whatever. Another consideration is to lead from the front and to use such benefits yourself as doing so will motivate and remind others to follow suit.
Essentially though, what sets a fantastic health and wellbeing programme apart from a basic one is how well it is presented, if it is accessible, and most importantly, whether it is relevant.
So once it has been tailored to your team’s requirements and its existence has been communicated effectively, it is important to monitor and review how it is working on a regular basis. Decide what you would like to achieve from it, think about how it could be improved and feed the information back to the HR department to see whether possible changes could be made.
Finally, it is worth considering how best to measure how well your employee benefit strategy is working. To this end, it is worth including key performance indicators that can be referred to regularly to ensure your objectives are being met. If they are not, use the knowledge and insight gained from tracking the scheme’s effectiveness to make certain it evolves in line with your team’s changing requirements.
In conclusion, make the most of what is on offer by:
- Listening to the requirements of your team;
- Clarifying what options and support are available;
- Communicating the available benefits to your team and reminding them regularly that they exist;
- Seeking feedback and tracking the effectiveness of the scheme;
- Continuing to review and request changes as your team’s requirements evolve.
Kevin Rogers is chief executive of not-for-profit health cover provider, Paycare. A qualified accountant and associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, he has worked for more than 25 years in senior management roles at organisations in the manufacturing, automotive and construction sectors.
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As we all know, recruiting quality staff plays a significant role in the overall success of your team. But once you manage to find this top talent, how can you hold onto it and stop people from jumping ship?
One answer is to ensure you take full advantage of the organisation’s employee benefit strategy. David Macleod, co-author of the UK’s influential 2009 Macleod Report on employee engagement, says it is all about “how we create the conditions in which employees offer more of their capability and potential”.
Energising and engaging staff is more important than ever before, and in the absence of being able to offer significant pay rises, employers need to find alternative solutions. Bespoke benefits can actually generate loyalty more effectively than cash bonuses though as they show you have thought about an individual’s requirements.
Ensuring the support available is tailored to employee needs will enable them to get the most out of such benefits - and such efforts are less likely to go to waste.
If handled sensitively, being able to offer support as part of a wider health and wellbeing strategy in other areas of your team’s lives such as financial concerns may be appreciated too. We have all heard the saying that ‘prevention is better than cure’, so it will come as no surprise that any approach to wellbeing should be based around the three key pillars of prevention, early intervention and protection.
Once implemented though, it is vital to ensure your team members know what is on offer. All too many employers go to the effort of implementing a solid wellbeing scheme that ticks all the boxes on paper, only to fail to communicate it effectively to their staff – a situation that boils down to no return on investment.
While some staff will naturally use services more than others, it is important that everyone is aware of them – whether by highlighting what services are on offer, referring to case studies about different individuals’ personal success or simply reminding them that a company health and wellbeing strategy exists.
Making it work
Some techniques for helping to get the word out include sending staff emails about the benefits available to them or talking to them about what is available on a one-to-one basis. It also makes sense to refer them to notices on the company handbook, intranet, internal newsletter or whatever. Another consideration is to lead from the front and to use such benefits yourself as doing so will motivate and remind others to follow suit.
Essentially though, what sets a fantastic health and wellbeing programme apart from a basic one is how well it is presented, if it is accessible, and most importantly, whether it is relevant.
So once it has been tailored to your team’s requirements and its existence has been communicated effectively, it is important to monitor and review how it is working on a regular basis. Decide what you would like to achieve from it, think about how it could be improved and feed the information back to the HR department to see whether possible changes could be made.
Finally, it is worth considering how best to measure how well your employee benefit strategy is working. To this end, it is worth including key performance indicators that can be referred to regularly to ensure your objectives are being met. If they are not, use the knowledge and insight gained from tracking the scheme’s effectiveness to make certain it evolves in line with your team’s changing requirements.
In conclusion, make the most of what is on offer by:
- Listening to the requirements of your team;
- Clarifying what options and support are available;
- Communicating the available benefits to your team and reminding them regularly that they exist;
- Seeking feedback and tracking the effectiveness of the scheme;
- Continuing to review and request changes as your team’s requirements evolve.
Kevin Rogers is chief executive of not-for-profit health cover provider, Paycare. A qualified accountant and associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, he has worked for more than 25 years in senior management roles at organisations in the manufacturing, automotive and construction sectors.
OTHER ARTICLES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
The hidden problem of sleep deprivation
Tackling the scourge of presenteeism
How to help improve your team's mental health
