Employee perks and benefits tech – do you need it?
Competition for talent gets tougher every day. With the Great Resignation, the cost of living crisis, and new work-life balance values at the forefront of many job applicants’ minds, it’s going to get even more challenging. Benefits may make the difference between someone staying and someone going.
The trouble is: An HR department can have the best perks package in the world, but it’s no good if the employees never access what’s on offer.
Employee perks and benefits tech offers a cure: workers can log in to an app at any time, check out the perks available and take them up with a click.
The benefits of employee benefits tech:
Employee perks and benefits tech is a simple way to:
- Keep employees aware of the perks and benefits on offer
- Make those benefits easier to access
- Minimise the admin for HR departments
But with all that said, benefits tech might not be the right step for your company yet. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why.
You might not need benefits tech if…
As we all know, there are some mandatory benefits that companies are legally obliged to offer employees. These include pensions, holiday, maternity/paternity, and sick pay. Benefits tech might not be the right step for your business if you are struggling to meet these minimum obligations.
A second reason might be if your business is just starting out and you’re putting the nuts and bolts of your EVP together.
While laying the foundations of your enterprise, particularly if you have only a handful of staff, decisions about a benefits platform can be left for another day. You might be better off finding some quick, low-cost, values-based benefits for your business.
That said, the early days of a new enterprise can be unpredictable, perhaps your staffing needs will mushroom and you’ll find yourself in the market for benefits tech that can help you retain your new talent.
What if you’re undecided?
If you are unsure whether a benefits tech solution is right for your business, one way to approach the issue is to discuss it and get feedback from your workforce. Is this something they would appreciate? Do they feel a need for it right now?
You can explore the topic at networking events with businesses of a similar size. See how companies with a comparable workforce approach employee benefits. If they aren’t using tech, what solutions work for them?
Your values are more important than your tech
Just because you don’t use a platform, it doesn’t mean you can’t offer your employees a meaningful benefits plan. And all the flashy, admin-saving tech in the world won’t help you if your benefits strategy doesn’t resonate with the values of your people.
If you’re sorting your benefits manually, you can choose to highlight things specific to you, your culture and the positive messages you want to communicate to employees. It’s not really about the tech when it comes down to this. It’s about your relationship with your workforce and the kind of employer you want to be.
You can, of course, combine this line of thinking with benefits tech. That’s what we think the best HR tech is about – combining uncompromising values with accessibility.
For more insights into looking after your people, check out how to address financial wellbeing in a cost of living crisis.
