I-spy with my little eye…

A twist on an old favourite.

In between singing “The wheels of the bus go round and round”, many of our readers will have been indulging their children in the familiar pastime of I-Spy to help maintain sanity through the endless summer holiday traffic jams. So we thought we would play a little game with you. Only this one is far more serious. It has consequences for the success of your benefits scheme and what you and your employees get out of it.

More than ever in the ongoing economic uncertainty, employers are looking at every line of reward cost. However, focusing on what can be seen versus what cannot be seen can be a little lacking in prudence. With this in mind, the theme of this I-Spy is something beginning with I for “Invisible Costs”.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with F…
…for False Economy. Signing up to a ‘free’ or very low cost scheme means allowing your employees to be advertised to (constantly). They get fewer offers than a fully employer-funded scheme and even those are diminished because the provider takes a cut of the saving. Your employees will get what the provider wants them to see based on retailers who pay the most commission.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with L…
…for Life after Launch. It’s easy, but a mistake, to treat benefits as a one-off or annual project. It’s important for employees to be regularly reminded of all aspects of their benefits scheme. All too often employees say “this is great, why didn’t anyone tell me about it?” Employers who communicate benefits regularly throughout the year see significantly greater engagement than those that don’t.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with R…
…for Registration. HR professionals forget to use benefits. Levels of employee engagement and benefits spend are 10-15% higher when HR Directors register themselves for shopping discounts and actively participate with the service. Even better if the CEO registers. That creates a tangible boost to overall return on investment for one small act of self-interest.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B…
…for Benefits Champions. Business-wide champions lead to faster take-up of employee benefits. Typically, the adoption curve in year one has the levels of maturity normally expected in year two.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with C…
…for Cycle to Work. Has your provider advised you on the myriad of HMRC re-clarifications since last October? It’s absolutely crucial that they do, otherwise you could face avoidable compliance costs.

C is (also) for Childcare Vouchers. Often overlooked is the help that employees need with their Childcare Vouchers. Many parents do their home admin at weekends. If your provider isn’t open then, your employees will be calling on a Monday morning, which is on your time and inconvenient for the employee. Employers also need real help from their provider to grow participation and NI savings.

C (for the last time) is for Childcarers. A happy nursery manager or childcarer means a happier parent. If they get benefits too, they can be advocates for your scheme.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with V…
…for Vouchers, including reloadable cards and SMS vouchers which enable employees to save with very little pre-planning. For traditional paper vouchers, reliability and speedy, free delivery should come as standard.

I spy with my little eye, something beginning with M…
…for Medical Cashplan. One that pays an employee with an eyesight prescription and bi-annual dental check-ups with a return on investment of equivalent to 62.5% over 2 years. More if they use complimentary therapies and scan options. Too good to be true? Certainly not.

I-Spy with my little eye, something beginning with E… for Enough Said.