The research found that almost 3 in every 4 employers (72%) would be reviewing their employee benefits provision for workers as a direct result of the national health emergency.
Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy at Howden says; “The truth is that the mortality, physical health, and mental wellbeing risks for workforces and their employers have been made so much more apparent by the COVID-19 crisis. It follows that employers in all sectors are now much more acutely aware of the need to support their workers wherever possible, and we are expecting this new attitude to feed through into many more conversations about a variety of workforce wellbeing initiatives in the months and years ahead.”
Howden undertook the survey as part of the intermediaries’ popular series of Howden Employment Webinars, and the same research also highlighted how the pandemic has also led to a significant change in personal as well as corporate attitudes towards employee benefits provision.
6 out of every 10 delegates questioned felt that employee benefits are now either “much more important” (38%) or a “little more important” (22%) than before the crisis. And not one single audience member felt that the need for employee benefit provision had reduced since the lockdown began.
Herbert concluded; “It’s really encouraging that so many employers and their Human Resources teams are now fully accepting the true value of employee benefits provision in protecting workers of all grades, their loved ones, and of course the employer too.
2020 has been a year of desperately bad and sad news, but we hope that this new found understanding and belief in the value of a robust employee benefits offering will result in many more employers supporting their workers in all aspects of their wellbeing for many years to come.
Ultimately that would be a huge step forward for the nation and its workforce and might yet be a silver lining to what has been a horrible and tragic year for the entire nation.”
For more information, please visit www.howdengroup.co.uk
Full Survey Results:
Will your organisation be reviewing the Employee Benefits provided as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes – we have already reviewed with this in mind: 11%
Yes – we are currently reviewing with this in mind: 19%
Yes – we are likely to review after the pandemic is over: 4%
Yes – we will include as part of our regular benefits review: 38%
No: 18%
I don’t know: 11%
Has your own personal view of Employee Benefits changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes – I now think Employee Benefits are much more important: 38%
Yes – I now think Employee Benefits are a little more important: 22%
No change in my view: 41%
Yes – I now think Employee Benefits are a little less important: 0%
Yes – I now think Employee Benefits are much less important: 0%
The survey took place on 10th September 2020 amongst more than 140 senior HR and Finance professionals from a variety of Private and Public sector organisations.