A beginner’s guide to employee benefits platforms

A Beginner’s Guide To Employee Benefits Platforms

Struggling to organise and provide employee benefits to staff? Employee benefits platforms could be what you’re looking for!

Online benefits platforms allow you to set up a range of employee benefits all accessible within an online system for staff to access wherever they are and whenever they need it.

If you’re new to the world of benefits platforms, this article will introduce you to some of its key features and provide a real-life example from a current market leader, Thanks Ben.

Need help finding the best employee benefits for your staff? Give our friendly award-winning brokers a call on 01273 222805 or drop us an email at [email protected] for FREE advice and support.

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What is an Employee Benefits Platform?

Employee benefits platforms are a simple way to provide employee benefits to staff. They vary greatly in terms of features and functionality depending on the needs of a business.

The most common feature is that they enable businesses to make accessible a wide variety of benefits, including:

HR managers can also use employee benefits platforms as a way to keep in touch with teams about issues related to benefits, holiday entitlement, sick leave, payroll and all the usual HR issues. Some platforms can also link up with other HR softwares and payroll management systems.

Why invest in an Employee Benefits Platform?

Employee benefits platforms allow you to provide staff with the benefits and perks which are going to be most useful to them. This is particularly helpful for organisations with a diverse workforce where everyone wants and needs different things, whether that’s related to health and wellbeing, or family support.

Main benefits include of an employee benefits platform include:

  • More relevant and valued benefits: Customisable platforms means staff can access the benefits they specifically want, increasing the value and appreciation of the benefits provided.
  • Better value-for-money: Platforms can be setup so that you only pay for the policies and perks your employees opt into, rather than automatically enrolling everyone into the same policies.
  • Improved team management: HR can stay in contact with staff more easily and build more meaningful relationships with staff, especially those working from home.
  • Reduced time setting up policies: Utilising employee benefits can be a time consuming task, but staff can now do this easily for themselves. For example, staff can directly access services included within a health insurance policy instead of having to go through a back-and-forth with HR or management.
  • Easy to launch: It’s pretty simple to get started on benefits platforms and the best providers will help with the initial process and offer ongoing support.
  • Increased flexibility: There are different packages for companies of all shapes and sizes, with the range of perks made available – and scope of functionality – easily to customise.
  • Greater convenience: All employee benefits are accessible and manageable in one place.

Key factors to consider

A few things to keep in mind when selecting your employee benefits platform/provider:

The size of your business:

Your selected platform will need to be able to accommodate all staff, whether that’s less than 20 or over 100! There are many UK platforms to choose from including those for the businesses with a smaller workforce.

What benefits you want to offer:

Some platforms will specialise in certain types of benefits, so ensure you are getting exactly what you want and what your staff need. With the majority of platforms, there’s a lot of overlap in what they offer. But there are a few which focus on certain areas of wellbeing e.g., financial wellbeing, or offering more mental health support services.

Your budget:

Employee benefits platforms can initially appear quite expensive to begin with, so it can definitely scare off a lot of SMEs and start-ups with smaller budgetary limits. However, there’s lots of options out there to adapt to what you can afford and what you need for your staff. Just remember, opting for the full blanket health insurance plan can end up being less valuable to your staff, whereas platforms allows them to utilise what they actually need.

The type/level of support you are looking for:

Some employee benefits platforms offer more advanced features than others. This could be in the guise of more HR management and communication tools, data collecting capabilities, reward and incentive programmes, or enabling a wider selection of workplace perks. Ensure you are choosing a platform that perfectly fits with your requirements.

Thanks Ben and what they offer

Thanks Ben are an all-in-one platform which allows companies to personalise their benefits and rewards to their own liking. Employees can set their own benefits budget and select what matters the most to them (of course, within the parameters set by the employer).

Thanks Ben’s platform is aimed at small to mid-range organisations, providing smaller businesses with the means to fully support their staff just the same way a larger corporation can – something we love to see!

How does Ben work?

Companies can:

  • Add any current benefits into the system
  • Choose from their marketplace of benefits
  • Set flexible allowances, enabling employees to choose the benefits they want
  • Link to payroll and HR software
  • Measure success of your benefits scheme

Employees can:

  • Get easy access to the benefits they want (wellbeing tools, health insurance policies, discount schemes and more)
  • Use the Ben Mastercard to spend their benefits allowance on what they need most, whether it’s related to health, wellbeing, fitness, childcare or personal development.

 

How the Hooray team can help

Employee benefits platforms are a fantastic product to invest in to ensure you and your staff are fully covered in all areas of health and wellbeing. But it’s important to remember that features will always vary from provider to provider, so getting some expert advice will help ensure you choose the right platform.

At Hooray Health and Protection we offer professional advice on any issues surrounding employee benefits platforms and insurance schemes. Our friendly and award-winning team of experts take the time to listen to your specific needs and answer any query you might have. We bring the best quotes and deals in the UK market, ensuring you end up achieving the best value.

Contact us at [email protected] or call 01273 222805 for FREE no-obligation advice and support.

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