Employees working for financial services companies are increasingly looking at benefit packages when considering recruitment opportunities according to new research.
Benefits platform Zest found that 97 per cent of firms in the sector said company perks were one of the first things they are asked about by new candidates. However the repost by Zest found there is often a disconnect between the benefits employees want, and those being offered by financial services companies.
Top of the wish list for employees is private medical insurance (cited by 47 per cent of employees), increased pension contributions (45 per cent) and salary sacrifice for workplace pensions.
However, the top benefits offered by financial services employers are paid mental health leave, followed by sustainability benefits – with only one in four (25 per cent) offering PMI.
This disconnect is reflected in the fact that a third of employers (31 per cent) said they did not feel as though their employer listens to their needs and responds through the benefits they offer.
In total six in 10 (62 per cent) employees admit they don’t use most of the benefits currently available to them, with 36 per cent saying the benefits available are irrelevant to them.
Nearly all (99 per cent) employers agree that they’d see better engagement with their benefits packages if they were more personalised.
In total four in 10 (37 per cent) financial services firms say they are struggling to keep up with competitors who are raising salaries, and over half (54 per cent) of employees say that they’d leave their current job if another company offered them better perks. As a result Zest says that employee benefits can provide a cost-effective opportunity to attract and retain talent in a way that differs from salary.
Zest CEO Matt Russell says: “April has proved to be a financially challenging month for both businesses and workers alike. Providing the right support through a benefits package can ease this load, offering improved value for money for businesses and helping employees to manage the increase in household bills and ongoing high cost of living.
“However, if both parties are to reap these rewards, financial services firms must work to create more personalised, targeted benefits packages that their employees will truly value. With over half of workers in the sector claiming they’d jump ship for better perks, getting this right has never been more critical.”
Zest’s employee benefits platform is now utilised by over 500 corporate customers, including Hargreaves Lansdown, Taylor Wimpey and Yahoo.
