Solutions 4 Recruitment

Firstly I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I hope you have settled back into work and the piles of work that were left on your desk before Christmas are slowly diminishing.

For those of you who receive our Newsletter, we have introduced a topic of the month, which will give readers an introduction into relevant subjects and will give you the chance to let us know what you think.

This month we have been discussing flexible benefits and what the advantages are to both the employer and employee. So if you didn’t receive our newsletter, here is what we said:

Flexible benefits are not a new concept and have been around for more than two decades, but more and more companies are adopting or actively researching this approach due to increases in technology and better ways of working. So what does “flexible benefits” mean and what impact would it have on your business?

“Flexible benefits” is a name given to an arrangement that offers employees a choice over the mix of cash and benefits they receive from their employer. This can be anything from a pension scheme, childcare vouchers or even the buying and selling of holiday, depending on the level of benefits appropriate to them. It enables employees to tailor their benefits to suit lifestyle and personal circumstances, so they are getting the most out of their package. Many employers that have actually implemented flexible benefits have seen an increase in employee’s motivation and ultimately retention. Not only are there benefits to the employee, but introducing this scheme successfully can also have a huge impact on your employer brand. The key word in that last sentence was ‘successfully’ because although flexi benefits have a large number of advantages, the key to its success is the implementation. It is highly recommended that an in-depth business case be put together focusing on whether it would be right for the business and that each function that it will involve has the capability to implement and run the scheme. Another factor that would need to be taken into account is the communication to employees about what they are being offered and why, how it will work and when it will be introduced. Therefore communication is vital for this schemes success.

We know we’ve only skimmed the surface on flexible benefits, but check out these websites if you would like some more detailed information:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/flexibleworking/
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/pay/empbnfts/flexiben.htm


If your company have introduced Flexible Benefits or you simply have an interest in the subject, we’d be really interested to know your thoughts, for example if it really does improve motivation and morale?

Also, if you’re currently looking for a job, what motivates you? Is salary still as important as it was six months ago or have you started looking at job security and benefits that the potential role could give you? We’d be really interested to know your thoughts, so get blogging!