Motivating your employees doesn’t have to mean leaving a box of doughnuts in the kitchen every Monday or organising a sports day when the sun comes out. It’s easy to boost your staff’s productivity day in and day out, using an employee benefits platform. Find out why benefits are key to keeping your people (and your HR team) happy and how to find the right platform for your business needs.
What is a benefits platform?
A benefits platform is a central hub that houses all of your employee benefits in one place. That means life insurance, gym subscriptions, meditation apps, restaurant vouchers and more – all on one handy portal. Employees love benefits platforms for their ease of use and it means employers can get a gauge on data like which benefits are most popular and how much money people are spending.
There are a range of benefits platforms available for you to choose from, each of which offers different perks. Ben lets your team choose how they spend their budget with flexible per-employee allowances. You can browse our catalogue of providers and select a marketplace of benefits for your team to choose from and manage all your insurance benefits on a single platform.
Deciding which platform is right for you depends on a whole host of factors, from your company’s budget to your employees’ preferences. Check out the differences between Ben and Forma or Ben and perkbox, two popular benefits platforms, to see which best aligns with your situation.
6 reasons to use a benefits platform
Not sure how a benefits platform can encourage your staff to work harder and enjoy the 9 to 5? It’s not just about productivity – benefits platforms have endless benefits for HR teams and beyond. We’re here to crunch the numbers and show you how.
1. Improved wellbeing and reduced absenteeism
It’s no secret that health and happiness go hand in hand. And employee benefits like private medical insurance can do wonders for improving productivity through reduced absenteeism. This is because the healthier your employees are, the less likely they are to take sick leave, resulting in greater output at work. With employers citing mental health as the main cause of long-term absence, it’s worth considering adding a mental health-focused benefit to your portal if you haven’t done so already.
2. Incentive + benefit = happy employees
Even the simplest benefit can help to trigger higher employee productivity. In fact, this study found a significant rise in productivity when a financial reward was paired with a benefit, compared with just a financial incentive. The productivity of the participants who were offered fruit and snacks during a work task was boosted by almost 20% compared to the placebo control group of participants. See? Simple.
3. Loyalty
You’re more likely to retain your most engaged employees. Everyone wants a job they enjoy, and people are more likely to stay at a company where they feel motivated, challenged and rewarded. A thoughtfully curated benefits program is key to this. You might not be surprised to read that a massive 75% of employees reported they’re more likely to stay with their employer because of their benefit program.
4. Power to your people
With a benefits platform, your employees can choose the perks that matter to them. While some might want to buy extra days off, others might prefer to cash in on cinema and shopping discounts. You can’t argue with the fact that 92% of employees globally reported that being able to customise their benefits packages to meet their needs had value. Learn how Ben helped Chattermill give their employees the freedom and flexibility to spend on whatever keeps them happy.
5. Data sharing
Many companies have found that employee benefits platforms are effective in removing data bottlenecks. In turn, this enables more seamless data info sharing, which is great for teams like HR and payroll. For example, if payroll is in charge of salaries and HR can see which employees are spending what amount on flexible allowances, the two teams can share this data and use it to their advantage.
6. Reporting
Wouldn’t it be great if you knew which benefits your employees preferred? Or which you could swap for another, or cut altogether and save money? A benefits platform lets you do this. Only 59% of employees say that their benefits meet their needs, and utilising a platform gives you the data you need to change this. Harnessing employee data enables you to create a personalised platform tailored to each employee, making them feel cared for and appreciated.
Should you DIY your benefits or choose a platform?
It’s totally up to you – different routes work for different businesses. But essentially, going down the DIY route means a lot of admin for you, the employer. You’ll have to deal with all provider comms and negotiating with brokers, which could mean emails back and forth from health insurance providers and being kept on hold on the phone by financial coaches, for instance. Admin and manual reporting will also fall in your remit, which means keeping track of which benefits are being used and when, as well making sure employees don’t blow their budgets. All in all, it’s time that could be better spent on more important work.
On the other hand, benefits platforms can help you select the perfect benefits to suit the specific needs of your team. If you opt to work with Ben, you’ll have access to our extensive broker network or you can bring your own broker if you prefer. We’ll help you find the best deals for your company. Plus, we’ll automate your accounts and payroll reporting with Ben’s software integration, and push invoices and receipts directly into your accounts system.
Working with a benefits platform can be really useful for teams like yours, as well as save you a lot of time and money in the long run. So, have we sold you on the benefits of a, well, benefits platform? Great! Join teams around the world getting 90%+ engagement with their benefits programmes with Ben. Book a demo to see how it works in action and decide whether we’re the right benefits tool for you.