Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to attend an employee benefits conference for HR professionals, where Buck was one of the many exhibitors sharing their story with rewards, benefits, wellbeing and HR practitioners.
What stood out for me were the more than 50 exhibitors for the delegates to meet and engage with. Overwhelming? For some, I am sure. Interesting? Of course. But who did they choose to speak to as time wouldn’t have allowed them to meet with every exhibitor? And how did they make that choice?
If at a single benefits industry event alone there are more than 50 providers for HR practitioners to engage with to try and understand their propositions, does this not highlight the complexity of employee benefits as a whole, and the choices employees are expected to make relating to the benefits their employers are offering them? Add to this the investment fund choices members have access to if they wish to consider something other than the default investment strategy of their pension plan… It’s hardly surprising most members don’t engage end up in the default investment fund, or find it difficult to select the benefits most appropriate to their needs and circumstances.
This is a key focus area for employers and HR teams, with one of the biggest challenges being employee communication and engagement. In fact, several delegates mentioned this challenge when speaking to the Buck team at the event, or following attendance at our communications-focused seminar session.
Employers are doing more to better understand the needs of their people in the workplace and are increasing communication around the importance of employees understanding their benefits to ensure they select those most appropriate to their needs. However, employee engagement is still too low and remains the biggest hurdle to overcome.
It’s a challenging journey for HR and Rewards teams, but the support is there through your consultants and providers, so remember to ask them for help.