 "Andrew Heard")
To be successful, a benefit strategy should be aligned to the goals of the company, the needs of the employees and should be sustainable in the long term, Andrew Heard tells Ankita Rai
What are the key trends observed by Towers Watson with respect to India Inc's benefit programmes? Are they on par with global best practices?
The findings of the 2015 Towers Watson Asia Pacific Benefit Trends Survey indicate that Indian employers are struggling with how much benefits are valued by employees - 22 per cent of India employers responded that they believed employees do not value the benefits provided to them, either sufficiently or at all. This was the second highest result in the region and significantly worse than the average of 14 per cent across Asia Pacific as a whole. The reason is employees do not understand the benefits provided to them - 45 per cent of the employers flagged this as an issue, compared with only 33 per cent in the region. However, it is reassuring to see that Indian employers are acknowledging the challenge of perceived value with 47 per cent telling us that this is a key focus of their long-term benefits strategy. Also, high up on the agenda is a focus on employee well-being where 42 per cent of the respondents in India stated that this was a top objective for their benefits going forward.
Despite the high number of Indian employers wanting to drive employee well-being, the prevalence of many health management benefits is still relatively low. The most prevalent health management benefits in India are occupational health and safety and biometric screening (56 per cent and 51 per cent of Indian companies providing these respectively). However, other well-being benefits, such as stress management (36 per cent), get-active programmes (34 per cent) and web-based health information tools (27 per cent) are provided by relatively few employers. It is reassuring that many companies (typically a further 25 per cent plus) did respond that they intend to introduce such benefits in the next 12 months or so. As companies struggle with continuously increasing health costs, getting to grips with benefits that look to prevent poor health rather than just cure will be essential in developing an engaged and productive workforce.
How should Indian companies reshape their benefit strategy to incorporate millennials who already form a big chunk of the workforce?
Millennials are, in general, well-educated and tech savvy, so may be impatient with companies and colleagues who rely on 'old-fashioned' methods, which they view as less efficient. They are more socially minded than prior generations and prefer flexibility, greater self-control and better work-life integration. So having a benefits strategy that embraces these traits, and the way they are delivered and communicated, is essential to keeping millennials engaged.
One way of delivering an engaging benefits package for millennials is to empower them with choice over their own benefits. By utilising technology, employers can deliver a flexible benefits programme that draws in even the most tech-savvy millennials. Such programmes allow employees to choose the benefits, which best meet their life needs, so their benefits can evolve as their lives evolve. Our research shows that 31 per cent of companies in India will consider introducing flexible benefits in the next 12 months.
A majority of the benefits programmes stop at annual leave and medical inpatient in India. What should be the key focus areas of a successful benefit strategy?
To be successful, a benefit strategy should be aligned to the goals of the company, the needs and values of the employees and sustainable in the long term in terms of cost and risk. By taking this approach, India employers can deliver a benefits package, which is unique to their organisation and be an employer of choice.
It is encouraging to see from the 2015 Asia Pacific Benefits Trends Survey that Indian employers are focusing their planned actions for the coming year on reviewing and updating their benefit plan designs and strategies (63 per cent of respondents), and increasing employee communication (63 per cent of respondents), ahead of increasing the number of benefit programmes (40 per cent of respondents).
What are the top challenges Indian companies face when it comes to implementing their benefit strategy?
Rising benefit costs is by far the topmost challenge for Indian companies when implementing their benefit strategy. However, providing benefits that attract, retain and engage talent does not necessarily mean significant increases in benefit costs. The key to getting it right is to provide benefits that are meaningful and highly valued by employees, while also controlling potential future risks to the employer. As such, it is important that India employers are focusing more on improving employee well-being over purely focusing on containing health-related costs, with more than twice as many employers citing the former as a key focus of their benefits strategy (42 per cent of respondents compared to 19 per cent respectively).
Are many companies taking a strategic view of employee benefits?
Progressive companies are taking a much more strategic view to their benefits, aligning them to their overall business, talent and reward strategies. They are also providing choice and effective communication of the total reward experience to their employees. Progressive companies are using their benefit programmes to send a clear message to their employees that they are a employer who cares about the lives of their employees, a company worth investing your career with. These forward-looking employers have benefit strategies that are globally consistent as well as locally relevant, provide benefits that are relevant to a diverse employee population and administered and communicated thoughtfully.
