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I’ve been quieter than normal over the last few months

 

It’s not that I’ve run out of things to say about benefits

 

It’s that after spending the last 6 months working with organisations reviewing their benefits I’ve got so much I want to share but wanted to take the time to share them properly

 

I’ve spent this time looking at

• What they’ve already got in place
• What they’re spending
• How they compare to their competitors
• How things are communicated
• What employees use (and what they think about their package)
• And whether their benefits actually reflect the organisation they are today and the values they say are important to them.

 

After doing lots of reviews, I’ve noticed the same things coming up again and again

 

Some are costing organisations lots of money

 

Some are really quick fixes that can make a huge difference

 

So I thought I’d share some of the most common things I’ve seen (quick note to any organisations I’ve worked with who are reading this and wondering… these aren’t examples from any one organisation and you’re definitely not alone if you recognise yourself in any of these!)

 

1.       Companies waiting until renewal to look at their benefits

Waiting until the renewal quote lands gives you very little time to review what you’ve got, look at alternatives, make strategic decisions – and you’ve already lost some of your negotiating power.

I’ve seen companies save 20-40% on their premiums + get more benefits from just getting ahead of their renewal rather than reacting to it.

Tip: Start looking 3-4 months before renewal

If your benefits renew in January, September is the perfect time to start.

 

2.       Benefits improvements can often be self-funding

This is my favourite part of doing Benefits Reviews

Because most benefits packages are leaking money somewhere

It’s usually things like:

• Premiums that have crept up over the years
• Duplicate cover
• Salary sacrifice savings missed
• Old agreements no one has challenged
• Leavers still covered

 

And these savings are not small. I’ve seen savings of 20%+ of total benefits spend in one organisation and around £350 per person in another

Just think what your organisation could do with that extra money…

Some have used it to fund a benefits portal, others more generous family focused leaves

Others have passed the saving back to the business

In every Review we’ve saved many times more than the cost of the review in the first year alone

Tip: Put every benefits cost in one document, question the premiums, see where there’s unexplained amounts, duplicates, out of date agreements.

 

3.       Your benefits might be saying something very different to your values

I’ve been working with some genuinely amazing values-led organisations that really care about their team

But there are some really common things I tend to see when looking at their packages holistically:

Really generous maternity leave – but very limited paternity (gender equality needs equality guys!)

Commitment to do the right thing – but only doing the minimum for pensions

Offering really generous benefits to part of the population – but very little for everyone else

Really caring about employees – but a really specific policy about who employees can get time off to grieve

Absolutely none of this is deliberate

These organisations had introduced them thinking they were doing the right thing and some were shocked when they realise the gap

It’s only when you step back and look at things holistically that the gaps become obvious

Tip: Look at all of your benefits and leaves policies through the lens of your values – do they reinforce or accidentally contradict them?

 

4.       More benefits aren’t necessarily the answer

There are so many brilliant benefits out there

Cool apps, platforms, wellbeing tools, discounts, financial wellbeing, mental health support

But adding a new shiny thing isn’t necessarily the best use of your budget

Tip: Before buying something new ask:

• Do we already have something that does this?
• Will our employees actually use it?
• Will this benefit most or all employees or are we spending on a relatively small group?
• What do reviews say?
• Is this the best way for us to spend this money right now?

Sometimes it’s better to get people using what you’ve already got than adding something new into the mix.

 

5.       Having a broker doesn’t automatically mean your benefits are being properly managed

There are some brilliant brokers out there

There are also some that aren’t always acting in the best interest of the client

Your broker should helping you understand what’s happening, challenging increases, negotiating with providers and helping you get the most value for what you’re spending

If they’re not doing that challenge them

And if you don’t have a broker and are renewing directly with the same provider each year – you’re probably paying more than you need to

Tip: Before your next renewal ask your broker how they’re going to support you

 

6.       If you struggle to understand your benefits your team definitely will

Complicated eligibility rules, waiting periods, legacy agreements, no clear communications

Only talking about benefits during onboarding

If you don’t know exactly what you’ve got or where to find it, your employees won’t either

And if you’re employees don’t know what they’ve got you’re kinda wasting all that benefit spend

You don’t always need to spend more to make benefits better

Sometimes just need to communicate them better

Tip: Simplify policies, create clear guides and use simple English to explain what you’ve got and how to access it

 

7.       Don’t introduce cool policies if you’re not totally cool with people using them

Unlimited holiday

Work from anywhere

Sabbaticals

All sound great

Until someone wants to use them

And you realise that the policy was maybe a liiiittle bit too chill

Are unlimited holidays really unlimited?

What if someone wants to work from anywhere when you need them in the office?

What happens if someone gets sick when working overseas with no insurance?

What if they trigger some kind of tax liability?

What if someone wants to take the 6 week sabbatical their eligible for during your busiest period?

 

I’m absolutely not saying don’t introduce these types of progressive policies

 

Just decide what you’re genuinely comfortable with before someone tests the boundaries

 

Clear guides make things better for everyone

Employees know where they stand

Managers don’t feel taken advantage of

And no one feels miffed because the exciting benefit wasn’t quite what they hoped it would be

Tip: The policy should give clear guidelines about how it should be used and what’s acceptable

 

There’s loads more things that I’ve learned but these are the ones that come through most commonly

 

Something else that I realised is that while I originally created the Benefits Reviews to make independent benefits consultancy more accessible and to help organisations that genuinely care about their teams…

 

I realised that there are so many organisations out there that don’t have the time or money to invest in a full bespoke benefits review

Sometimes they just want quick access the knowledge and experience behind it

Someone to say to them - 

This is what companies are doing here

Maybe you should review what you're doing there

There’s a gap here

Look into this

Challenge that

Keep this

Don’t waste your money on that

Ask your people what they think about this

Talk about differently about that

So I’ve created something new

 

Benefits Blueprint

A focused 90 minute benefits strategy session for organisations that want to review their benefits but want answers and actions straight away

We’ll go through all of your current benefits and leaves offering – much like I would in a full Benefits Review

But instead of me taking weeks to do the full audit, research and bespoke competitor benchmarking, you get access to the 20+ years of benefits knowledge in my head there and then.

We’ll identify what’s working, where there’s gaps, where you could be wasting money and what I’d keep, change, challenge and prioritise.

 

You’ll leave with a clear direction and practical tools to help you take things forward straight away.

And we’ll have a 30 minute follow up a few weeks later to answer any questions and keep things moving.

 

If you don’t need a full review but have questions I also have the Benefits Boost Power Hour – perfect if you’ve got a benefits problem you’d like independent help with.

 

So if you’ve been thinking “We really need to sort our benefits out”

 

Now might be the perfect time to actually get onto it

Especially if you’ve got renewals coming up

 

And if you’d rather do things yourself check out my free Review & Cost Saving Checklist I'll be sharing plenty more of what I've learned over the next few weeks too