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There’s a lot of buzz around employee benefits platforms, but if you cut through the noise, what are the actual perks on offer? 2023 data from The Business Blocks has shown that more than half of employees surveyed would leave their jobs to pursue jobs with better benefits.

While it would be ideal to give everyone a significant pay rise and offer copious paid holiday days, realistically most businesses do not run this way. Benefits seem like the route to take then, right? But what will you get back from using My Staff Shop in your workplace? Let’s break down some of the perks…

Helping employees save

With the cost of living crisis and inflation causing financial strain for most people, offering perks that can ease money worries is a game changer. A key benefit that your people will have access to through My Staff Shop is exclusive discounts and savings for a multitude of high street shops and the top UK supermarkets. By saving money here and there, your employees can also choose to use our digital currency of Reward Beans to save for a holiday or even contribute to an ISA.

There are also the more fun financial perks, such as our exciting monthly lottery that helps save a bit of pocket change on that weekly lottery ticket, and the Dutch Auction-style Price Drop could get you an amazing saving on something you were already considering purchasing.

Prioritising health and wellbeing

We are big on both physical and mental health, so providing staff with wellbeing support, physical health digital platforms and discounts, and Reward Beans when using nutritional support are just a few of the health benefits we give.

You can also choose to add-on My Health Xtras to your benefits package for insurance, private health services, treatments not available on the NHS, and financial assistance in the event of a hospital stay.

Having an EAP there for support

Employee Assistance Programmes can offer a safety net and that extra level of help beyond what may be accessible in the workplace. From counselling to financial advice and legal resources, there are services in place for when there are obstacles that employees need help overcoming.

Around 88% of UK employers use an EAP, and although not every single employee may use it, having it there for when times are difficult can be a huge weight off the shoulders.

Opportunities for growth and learning

Feeling like there is no progression or development can be a killer when it comes to passion and enjoyment, both generally and professionally. Learning and Development within the workplace should be taken seriously, as there are so many skills that are transferable.

Whether it’s a digital skill or management mentorship, there are heavily discounted courses through My Staff Shop. Even for skills such as cooking or learning a new language, by enabling employees to gain new confidence, they will have positive associations between their latest skill and the company that facilitated for them to do so.

The importance of Employee Value Proposition

As a company, one of the most important aspects of the business is your brand. And this goes for not just public facing branding as a business, but also the reputation as an employer. With such keen interest in ethical and compassionate employers in recent years, taking control of the narrative and showing current and potential employees that you care can do wonders for staff retention

It’s Team Green Britain Bike Week! What does that mean? Essentially it is just an annual reminder of the many benefits of cycling, and why getting on your bike to get you where you want to go can be the best mode of transport. So why not try to encourage more cycling to work in your workplace?

Reap the health benefits

There are many elements of regular cycling that can have a positive impact on physical health. From reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke, to acting as a low-impact form of exercise, so most people should find it a feasible form of workout. It doesn’t have to be the Tour de France, just getting out on the bike for half an hour a day can help you get your activity levels up!

See the mental health benefits

While the physical perks of regular cycling are undeniable, it can help you with your mental health too. As with general exercise, cycling can help to improve your mood and help to reduce the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression, with the added plus of being outdoors helping endorphins to flow! As exercise can also help to improve sleep and sleep quality, it’s a win-win by getting some biking into your daily routine.

Go greener

Many of us are always on the lookout for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and by travelling to work without using petrol, less harmful emissions are being released into the atmosphere. Reducing both air and noise pollution, the more people on bikes, the better!

While it may not be practical for everyone to get to work everyday by cycling, by just increasing the use of a bike where the car may be used instead can all help to reduce pollution.

Save money on petrol!

With inflation and the cost of living rising, most people have noticed the increase in the cost of petrol reaching eye-watering levels at certain points in the previous year or two. Once you have a bike however, you are your own petrol! While you may have to feed yourself a bigger breakfast, you can save money on filling your tank up by hopping on your bike instead.

Make the most of the Cycle to Work Scheme

By offering a Cycle to Work Scheme to employees, you are giving your people the option to invest in a bike that suits their needs, and therefore a mode of transport that can be used everyday. They can choose a quality bike that’s built to last, rather than choosing a cheaper one if not through the scheme.

And once you have your bike, you needn’t spend money on fancy equipment! Just a high-vis vest for the winter and a bike lock will have you off to a great start.

Rising living costs, tax increases and even the effects of Brexit are all affecting people’s incomes, and that means at a time when everyone is tightening their belts, workers are looking to their employer to support them in whatever way they can.

Of course, a good employer will always have their people’s best interests at heart, but recruitment is a costly process and the risk of losing good people to competitors that are more aligned with the needs of their workers – particularly during the current talent shortage – is a headache that HR can do without. In other words, if there was ever a time to revaluate the perks and rewards that will benefit your workforce, it is now.

Tell me what you want, what you really, really want!

The people function in an organisation is meant to have its finger on the pulse of what its staff need – and want, and in most cases, most of the time, HR has got it right. However, when it comes to benefits and perks, do you really know what your employees desire in a benefits offering?

Passé benefits are not fit for purpose

Creating a benefits strategy that is relevant and actually provides your people with something they will use isn’t rocket science. A staff ping pong table and Doughnuts on Friday just won’t cut the mustard anymore. Looking at the trends is one way of garnering what the employee appetites for perks are. Here are some of the popular benefits that we know are likely to engage your current workers – and pique the interest of prospective new hires.

Mental health and wellbeing benefits

Health benefits continue to be a draw for many employees in fact research shows that women’s health support like menstrual, fertility and family-focused benefits are in demand. For example, a Women in the Workplace study by Biote showed that almost 20% of workers are managing menopause and 20% of those are thinking of leaving their job due to menopause symptoms. By putting women’s health benefits in place would have a huge impact on these employees.

Similarly, a growing awareness of mental health in the workplace is seeing a rise in Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) which are ideally placed perks to support mental health and wellbeing. And with people more likely to make use of this type of benefit, offering it shows employees that their employer is providing a psychologically safe environment for them.
The same goes for providing benefits like virtual gym membership. Not only does this provide the opportunity to strike the work/life balance that many employees crave, but staff can access their online digital wellbeing platform at their convenience, empowering them to take charge of their own health and better manager their time.

Lead with L&D

Professional development opportunities and continuous learning is another great benefit that is important to employees and can give your company a competitive advantage. Learning and development can improve retention and is now seen as a right and not a privilege – particularly with Generation Z. In fact, 87% of millennials would be swayed in their decision to take up a position with a company that offers L&D.
A further study from Genesis Analytics found that while money talks in benefits provision, it only offers short term satisfaction. Instead focusing on developing your people is going to have far-reaching benefits and provide motivation and engagement.

HR can provide opportunities for professional skills development and training, mentoring programmes and coaching opportunities. From soft skills training, digital learning, e-learning or even mental health first aider training, giving employees the opportunity to improve themselves is a great tool for engagement, and the organisation should benefit too with an enriched skills pool.

Employee discount schemes: Don’t discount the discount

Programmes which give money off on things like supermarket shopping, holidays and hotels, cinema tickets, eating out and car services, for example, are a way for employers to provide a perk alongside their more targeted benefits offering such as healthcare or an EAP. The provision of this kind of benefit can be a great morale booster and with the current cost-of-living crisis, anything that stretches a salary and offers value for money is welcome.

To get that engagement and to ensure that you maintain a competitive advantage it is certainly worth asking your people what they want. Pulse surveys and focus groups are a good way to test the water and see what might be popular. Tailoring your benefits offering to ensure you are providing the right rewards to your people will go a long way in helping create an optimum workplace culture.