Employees failing to make most of benefits packages - Personal Group

Eight in ten workers are not making the most of their employee benefits package,and blame employer communication, according to new research from Personal Group.

The report "Let's Talk Benefits" says 81% of employees feel they are not getting all they can from their package, although nearly half (47%) admit to taking active steps to measure the value of the package they're entitled to.

But it appears employers could still do more in helping measure value.

When asked what would help them better measure the value of the employee benefits package they have access to, the top four support mechanisms were:
• Easy calculation of the value of benefits (38%);
• Receiving more information on their benefits package (34%);
• Receiving more detail on specific products (32%);
• Receiving a total reward statement (22%).

And the research also revealed a difference between the communication approaches being implemented by employers and the way employees want to learn about the benefits they're entitled to.

Although a benefits book or staff handbook was both the top way employees wanted to be informed and the most common method used by employers, workers second and third preferences were for a staff newsletter or annual benefits fair, while bosses chose to send out company-wide emails or use promotional posters.

Mark Eaton, director at Personal Group, believes with so many employees recognising they are not making the most of the benefits they have access to, it is apparent that communications around the importance and value of employee benefits are failing to hit the spot.

"If employees aren't fully aware of what the products and services they have access to provide and how they can impact their own and their families' lives then they won't take them up," he says.

"And ultimately, for an employer, if take up is limited then they will not see the significant return on investment they hoped for. This clearly highlights the necessity of involving employees in your benefits strategy from the outset, asking them how they wish to be communicated with and what they would like to hear.

"By doing so you are able to build a well-researched and comprehensive communications strategy which includes techniques for informing and reminding employees about the benefits programme," he adds.

The full report entitled Let's Talk Benefits can be downloaded from the Personal Group website.