Who benefits from benefits?

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the role of benefits within the employee engagement mix of activities and products and provide three areas for strategic improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines surveys and some well-known models for the inclusion of benefits in employee remuneration and draws on any insights that study uncovers.

Findings

The findings are that employee benefits should be critically appraised on an annual basis, not simply added to because they seem popular or are “in the news”.

Research limitations/implications

No specific research was undertaken, as this was a viewpoint of current commercial practice.

Practical implications

Employers should recognize that spend-to-get benefits require participants to spend their own money and therefore represent a cost to employees rather than a benefit. Employers need to research benefits take-up and participant opinions if the value of introducing them is to be fully realized. Communicating the features of benefits is usually poorly done by internal HR teams.

Social implications

Better scrutiny of the benefits basket and a closer eye on their effectiveness are required.

Originality/value

This is a considered view taken from the experience of running a number of commercial engagement programmes in the past 12 months with a view to helping practitioners avoid costly mistakes in future.

Citation

Fisher, J.G. (2017), "Who benefits from benefits?", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-01-2017-0007