
Firms' benefits spend is ‘undervalued' by workers
UK - Employers are spending millions of pounds on employee benefits which are undervalued and often go unnoticed, research by Aon Consulting claims.
The consultant’s 2003 [email protected] survey shows that the average level of corporate spending on benefits is approximately 30% of salary expenditure.
But 47% of staff believe the total equates to 5% or less, and a further 31% think it is under 10%.
And the study shows that while more than three-quarters of staff feel employer-sponsored pensions are a critical or very important benefit, nearly a third claim their benefits packages and the communications supplied are inadequate. Additionally, 58% of workers feel that they do not have enough choice when it comes to the types of benefits they receive.
Aon senior benefits consultant Lisa Page said: “In many instances employers are providing a wide range of employee benefits, but because they fail to communicate the value a large proportion of the costs go unnoticed.
“Employee perception and appreciation of the benefits they receive can be vastly improved by identifying and providing what employees see as the most important aspects of their benefits package.
Improved communication and improved flexibility will play an increasingly important role in this process.”
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