Why You Should Be Offering Personalised Benefits Packages, and How to Build Them

Personalised benefits packages are tailored to meet the individual preferences and needs of each employee, replacing standard benefits packages that are offered to all employees. According to a 2022 survey, 50% of workers would be prepared to accept a pay reduction in exchange for more tailored benefits, and 74% said they would work harder for an employer that provided benefits that support individual needs.

But how will offering personalised benefits packages benefit you, as an employer?

Improved Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

Employees feel valued when their specific needs are met. Offering them the opportunity to choose their benefits can significantly enhance their satisfaction within your organisation. This, in turn, can lead to heightened engagement – a crucial factor for innovation-intensive sectors like the life sciences.

Engaged employees are more productive, demonstrate greater loyalty, and are often the company’s best advocates, attracting similar calibre talent to your organisation.

Increased Employee Retention Rates

Retention is a consequence of employee satisfaction and engagement, and personalised benefits directly impact these metrics. An employee who feels that their company is invested in their personal and professional wellbeing is far less likely to take their skills elsewhere. By providing employees an element of control over their benefits, you’ll be giving them the chance to make their current roles fit into their lives, rather than leaving them to find alternative roles that suit their lives more.

Enhanced Employer Brand

Personalised benefits not only help in retaining employees but also serve as a strategic tool to enhance your employer brand. When prospective hires see that your company offers tailored benefits, it paints a picture of an organisation that values and respects its people. This can be a decisive factor for high-potential candidates considering multiple job offers within the life sciences industry.

Improved Cost Effectiveness and ROI

You might assume that offering a range of benefits to suit various needs would be prohibitively expensive. However, the opposite can be true. Investing in personalised benefits can save costs down the line by reducing turnover and the associated rehiring and retraining expenses. As well as this, by finding out exactly which benefits your employees would actually use, you could be wasting less money providing employees with access to benefits they won’t benefit from. Combining these two things, you could see a higher ROI for every pound you spend on employee benefits.

Addressing a Diverse, Multigenerational Workforce

The life sciences industry, much like any other sector today, employs a multigenerational workforce. Each cohort, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, has distinctive preferences and life priorities. For example, someone further along in their career may be thinking about retirement support, whereas someone just starting out may be more concerned with student loan assistance or professional development.

Offering a range of personalised benefits will also allow your organisation to demonstrate recognition and respect for the diversity present within its workforce. These may include benefits that cater to different cultures or personal preferences and needs, such as offering a range of holidays that celebrate various cultural traditions. A personalised approach allows each staff member to feel catered for, irrespective of their personal and professional backgrounds.

But how exactly do personalised benefits packages work, and how can you make them work for both you and your employees?

Understand Your Employees’ Needs

It goes without saying that the only way you’ll truly understand what it is your employers need is by asking them!

Engage directly with employees through surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews to gain insights into what benefits would be most appreciated, and any additional offerings that could enhance employee satisfaction.

Do Your Research on The Market

As well as understanding your employees’ needs, to create a competitive as well as personalised benefits offering, you also need to be aware of what your competitors are offering their employees. Keep up to date on the latest employee benefits trends and ensure you’re aware of the benefits being offered elsewhere in the industry that could tempt your employees to jump ship.

You might not be able to replicate them within your organisation, but this knowledge could prompt you to offer something of equal value to make your package more competitive.

Ensure Your Benefits are Understandable and Easily Accessible

Reportedly, 85% of employees are confused about their benefits, a trend that has held steady since 2018. When you have agreed with your employees on the benefits they will receive, ensure your employees know where and how to access them. If you’re using an external benefits platform, ensure training on how to navigate it is included in their onboarding, and each time there is a change to your benefits offering, make sure this is clearly communicated to all in a timely manner.

Implement Continuous Feedback Mechanisms

Remember that your employees’ personal lives will evolve along with their professional lives, and therefore so will their individual needs. Incorporating continuous feedback mechanisms to allow benefits to be refined and adjusted over time is key in ensuring that your benefits continue to add value to your employees’ lives.

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