When we take a closer look at the diverse elements that contribute to a positive employee experience (EX), the importance of investing in the wellbeing of employees is growing.
According to the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report for 2017 “employees look to their employers for support in improving their health and well-being, and becoming more financially secure.” The 2018 Global Talent Trends survey from Mercer actually puts a figure on wellbeing as an EX priority, with one in two employees expecting a greater focus on wellbeing – physical, psychological and financial – from their employer.
The cost of financial anxiety
The same Mercer report also raises the alarm on the productivity loss employers can experience thanks to financial anxiety. Employees spend on average 10 hours a week worrying about their finances during working hours and the longer term impacts on health and absenteeism are just as significant. Employees who have concerns about their finances are twice as likely to be in poor health as those who are financially worry-free[1].
Providing financial relief
In spite of this potential threat to productivity, we found that only 23% of organisations surveyed for the Maxxia-Ignite Global 2018 Employee Experience report offer financial wellbeing services to their workforce. It seems the majority of Australian employers haven’t yet caught on to the importance of making financial wellbeing a priority.
A comprehensive employee benefits program (that includes salary packaging and novated leasing) can play an important role in addressing financial wellbeing. Enabling your employees to fund certain expenses from their pre-tax salary can have a positive impact on their financial wellbeing. And with no out-of-pocket cost to employers, a quality benefits program can deliver unrealised financial value to employees representing a win-win scenario for both the employee and organisation.
Benefits with a purpose
Through our research for the Maxxia-Ignite Global 2018 Maxxia Employee Experience report, it became clear that more organisations are starting to look at benefits as a way to add more meaningful value to employees. One example cited in the report is LinkedIn’s “PerkUp” benefits program, an innovative purpose-led approach to benefits with a large degree of choice and flexibility.
“PerkUp gives LinkedIn employees their own annual allowance to spend on eligible perks designed to improve wellbeing or create convenience to make their lives easier. They pay for their chosen perk – it could be childcare or fitness classes, massage or a personal trainer – and then apply for reimbursement up to the limit of their allowance. Employees can use their entire allowance in one hit or use it for many different eligible perks depending on what best suits their needs and preferences.”
With salary packaging, organisations can offer employees a similar, personalised approach to maximising their take home pay with pre-tax spending on eligible goods and services. Salary packaging could be a simple yet effective approach to empowering employees to improve their financial wellbeing.
Depending on the type of organisation, employees can potentially choose from more than 20+ different salary packaging options. Click here to discover just how many benefits could be available to your employees. Helping your employees foot the bill for everyday costs and boost their disposable income is a sure way to make them feel valued.
Optimising your employee value proposition (EVP)
Successful businesses know the importance of investing in their EVP to help attract and retain the best talent – and a comprehensive benefits program is a key element of a compelling EVP.
But it can be hard to know whether you are getting the most from your existing program and delivering true value for your employees and your organisation.
How do you measure and benchmark the effectiveness of your benefits program?
Maxxia has developed a comprehensive benefits assessment that enables organisations to assess the performance of their existing program and benchmark against other organisations in their industry sector.
