Professional development and well-being benefits top priority for UK employers

A new survey has revealed that as many as 97% of employers are planning to maintain or increase their spend on employee benefits.

The CIPD and LCP’s ‘Reward Management’ report found that 8 in 10 employers (81%) intend to spend the same amount on employee benefits over the next two years as they currently do, while 16% plan to increase their investment.

When asked which benefits they intend to spend more on in the next two years, respondents said they are most likely to increase investment in:

• Professional development (43%), which includes training, paid study leave and professional subscriptions.
• Health and well-being (29%), including occupational sick pay, employee assistance programmes and flu jabs.
• Financial benefits (25%), such as pension schemes, loans to help staff in financial hardship and free money and debt advice.

One in six (17%) are looking to invest in a formal work-life balance policy within the next year – this includes flexible working and shared parental leave arrangements.

Charles Cotton, senior reward and performance adviser at the CIPD, commented on the report, “Despite the recent economic and political uncertainty, employers are committed to investing in their employees and their future. It’s encouraging to see the benefits that have been earmarked for further spend in the near future relate to people development and well-being. Spending in these areas can help to improve employee, and ultimately, corporate performance.”

Dipa Mistry Kandola, head of flexible benefits services at LCP, added, “Our report reveals that more employers than expected don’t promote their benefits or make them easily accessible. Organisations could be wasting significant costs if their people don’t know about the range of benefits on offer, or are put off utilising them if they’re not easily accessible.

“Organisations will only be able to get true engagement from their people if they offer tailored benefits facilitated through a comprehensive, multi-channel communication strategy that encourages feedback. The way benefits are communicated, delivered and measured is just as important as having the right benefits in place.”

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