Communication top of agenda for benefits industry

A survey has revealed that a large number of professionals in the compensation, benefits and reward industry intend to focus on communication in 2014.

The Benefits Research 2014 asked 256 benefits professionals in the UK about which aspects of their strategy they would like to improve.

An extraordinary 67 per cent of respondents said that they are planning to take action this year on "Increased communications to boost employee understanding/awareness of benefits". This was in fact the most common response, scoring above implementing new benefits or seeking out cheaper providers.

Why communication is key

Employee understanding and awareness of benefits is of course vital to the success of a scheme, as there is often confusion surrounding what employees are entitled to. Without proper communication, the impact of the carefully thought out benefits package on employee motivation and retention will be vastly reduced, while some benefits may go unused and reduce cost efficiency.

The nature and extent of a flexible benefits package should therefore be easily understandable to any employee. This can be aided in a variety of ways, including:

• Internal communications – A plainly worded brochure, handout or simply an email could help employees better understand and utilise their benefits – particularly if a new benefit or scheme has been launched.
• Face to face immersion – New employees may appreciate a meeting with a benefits specialist at the business, to ensure they are fully aware of their options and how to use the system.
• Culture – It may be that the company culture dissuades employees from using their benefits – good communication will encourage take-up and make employees feel they deserve their perks.

Find an excellent communicator for your benefits team

Clearly, it is of the utmost importance that any candidate your business hires for an employee benefits job is an excellent communicator. They should ideally have both past experience and new ideas for aiding the understanding of benefits across your workforce, as well as an understanding of cost efficiency.

Contact Portfolio CBR on 020 7650 3190 if you have a role that needs filling – we specialise in finding candidates who can rise to the challenge.