Founded in 2000, Thomsons Online Benefits is the business behind Darwin™, software for global employee benefits administration. Their mission is to use technology to revolutionise the employee benefits market.
They have produced a research report involving 448 global HR and reward professionals which identifies that only 7 percent of global HR professionals are consistently delivering against their benefits plan objectives.
The Global Employee Benefits Watch 16/17 reveals that nearly 90% of employers view attracting talent and improving engagement as their top benefits objectives. However, almost as many (70%) are struggling to deliver effective plans for local markets and, as a result, improve employees’ understanding and value of benefits.
The report can be found here.
Interestingly, Thomsons Online Benefits also report that some 60% of staff are unhappy with their current benefits packages with employers failing to tailor benefit packages for an increasingly diverse workforce.
Richard Ellis, Sales and Marketing Director at Connected Benefits, has listed five reasons incentive schemes fail below.
i. You don’t have any clear objectives for the scheme
“Benefits and incentives are not a one-size-fits all solution and if you haven’t defined what you want to achieve you may have the wrong scheme. In many cases it is necessary to have a number of different incentives for different objectives. For example, rewards for hitting targets are great if you want employees to up their game for a period of time, but they won’t necessarily impact on staff turnover.
“That said, some incentives do work on several levels. A gym membership scheme not only increases employee engagement and staff retention, but can have an impact on productivity because it also improves your employees’ wellbeing.”
ii. The rewards and incentives are not relevant to your staff
“Incentives don’t motivate people unless they see value in the reward. That doesn’t mean it has to have a monetary value (although it can help), but it does need to be meaningful. If you have a large workforce your incentives will need to work for a range of people with different motivations. This is why offering a variety of rewards is a good idea; employees can then choose the ones that are relevant to them.”
iii. Your incentives or rewards only work for a minority
“When rewards are target driven, new members of staff may not even have contact with customers who can help them fulfil these targets, so they don’t stand a chance.
“It is essential that rewards are fair, that all employees can potentially be rewarded, and that targets are based on employees’ roles, experience, seniority, and any other factors.”
iv. You haven’t explained what the benefits are
“We recommend that incentive schemes are introduced in collaboration with your employees, that their views are sought before introducing a scheme, and that this feedback helps determine what the benefit and incentives are. However, many employers launch a scheme without any consultation beforehand. That doesn’t mean it will fail but it is important to educate everyone about the scheme.”
v. Your rewards are short-lived
“While most employees would welcome a cash incentive or a gift as a bonus for their hard work, these kinds of rewards are short-lived. For incentives that have staying power look for schemes that deliver long-term benefits, such as savings on day-to-day living expenses or incentives that improve your employees’ wellbeing.
