The report published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and investment consultancy LCP reveals that 81% of bosses intend to spend the same amount on employee benefits, while 16% plan to increase their investment over the next two years.
Around a third (29%) said they were likely to increase funding in health and wellbeing programmes, such as occupational sick pay, employee assistance programmes and flu jabs.
While a quarter (25%) said they intended to increase spending on financial benefits, including pension schemes and loans to help staff in financial hardship.
The research also shows that one in six employees expect to invest in policies to promote a good work-life balance within the next year, which could include flexible working and shared parental leave arrangements.
In addition, it also reveals that 16% of employers do not always communicate what benefits are on offer and 1 in 5 (21%) say their benefits are not easily accessible.
But the report warns that any extra investment in benefits risks being undermined by the lack of analysis employers carry out
The majority of employers (74%) added they don’t currently conduct a review of their benefit spend, so could be missing the opportunity to establish how effective their benefits are.
This is despite benefits playing an important role in helping organisations succeed, with two-thirds (66%) of respondents saying their main purpose was to attract, recruit and retain staff to support current business needs.
“Despite the recent economic and political uncertainty, employers are committed to investing in their employees and their future,” said CIPD senior reward and performance adviser, Charles Cotton.
“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.”
The full Reward Management Survey is available to read online.
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
