Anyone who’s ever worked or run a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) will know that we sometimes get forgotten or pushed aside in the wider business or financial arena. I am what you might call an SME crusader. Strategies around staff retention often fall to the bottom of the pile as they can be seen as less critical and not a direct link to profit. Yet, your staff are the single most important asset you have.

There’s a reason that anthropologists study gift giving. It’s because a gift is more than a thing given by one person to another. Much more. It’s a feeling embodied in an object. It’s a piece of communication, and as such speaks volumes about the gift giver, whether they’re from somewhere deep in Amazon country or a more corporate kind of jungle

When we think of voluntary benefits, we think evergreen. Benefits that are available to your employees day in and day out on every day of the year. We believe that benefits should not be viewed like the rare and nasally offensive Amorphophallus Titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, “without form, misshapen”, also known as a carrion

The road to flex was paved with good intentions, but it’s time for a change

The writer, Richard Bach, was a firm believer in choice. ‘Allow yourself to live as you choose,’ he counselled, creating an eponymous seagull hero that decided to fly faster and higher than anyone else in his feathery family. Choice is, or certainly should be, high on the agenda when deciding on an employee benefits scheme. Employees can contribute as much as they like to their pensions; they can spend their discounts almost anywhere; they can even choose which gym they work out at. So why can’t they choose how much annual leave to take

Dear Coalition,

I’d like to suggest 5 small but valuable, no-cost things the government could do to help the working world along. You’ve said a lot about reducing business red-tape so if you’re looking for a place to start, I hope this helps

Wheatgrass. Visiting the hygienist. Sugar-free cupcakes. Why does everything deemed ‘beneficial’ have a bitter aftertaste? Oops, I missed one – employee membership to the gym next to the office

Structuring an Employee Assistance Programme into a wider voluntary benefits package gives employers real choice and flexibility in this aspect of benefits

If you’ve ever worked in an international organisation you’ll know that pay and benefits is often a ‘no-go’ area of discussion when talking with colleagues from other international locations. What is widely seen as the norm in one nation may be viewed as an extravagant perk in another. Paid time off is a good example. With such variations in voluntary benefits across the world, it is no wonder that global businesses are pleased when an opportunity arises to offer a perk across the board