Employers across industries are experiencing a shortage of skilled resources. A Manpower Group report disclosed that a whopping 75% of the companies are finding it difficult to fill roles. This talent scarcity is both industry- and company-size-agnostic. Interestingly, India is one of the leading countries where employers (81%) are finding it difficult to find the right employees.
In such a market set up, the onus falls on employers to attract and retain talented professionals with the best employee flexi-benefits program. Competitive salary has now become a norm, forcing enterprises to look for ways to make flexi benefits packages more attractive.
Implementing a successful employee flexi-benefits plan requires HR leaders to consider a range of factors. Starting from employee preference to compliance restrictions, crafting a benefits package can be tricky. In this article, we will discuss the best practices through a list of Do’s, and Don’ts of managing employee flexi-benefits
DO’s of Managing Employee Flexi-Benefits
Employee flexi-benefit programs are immensely potent in improving employee engagement and ensuring the creation of a lasting bond with employers. However, the trick is to get it right. For this, we have listed the top DOs when designing your employee benefits plan.
Understand employee needs for personalization
Employee flexi-benefits programs must be personalized to suit the preferences, needs, and wants of every employee. For this, you can conduct surveys or one-on-one interviews to get a good understanding of their expectations. Given the diversity that you need to have in your flexi benefits plan, you will need a solid employee benefits solution like Zaggle SAVE. It eliminates administrative overhead by automating a range of tasks, offering a simplified management process.
Offer a variety of flexible benefits
Having a generic flexi-benefits plan will not give you the desired outcomes. Instead, it may work against your company by demotivating your workforce. To avoid this, you must include diverse offerings as a part of employee flexi-benefits. It typically includes options like meals, fuel, leave travel allowance, telecom, gift, transport, and education. However, not every employee benefits platform will offer all the benefits. Zaggle SAVE, however, was built specifically to empower employers to offer any number of tax-saving flexi-benefits.
Make onboarding and fund management easy
The first step towards the success of your employee flexi-benefits program is judged by the onboarding and fund management process. Employees shouldn’t find the process a hassle. You must provide a user-friendly and intuitive process to enroll, grant benefits, and avail them. Utilize platforms like Zaggle SAVE to streamline this process. This automation platform will allow employers to schedule payout for seamless and digital grants, while employees can avail of these funds through the Zaggle prepaid card and manage their finances using a mobile app.
Communicate with employees regularly
Employees must thoroughly understand the rules, benefits, and limitations of employee flexi-benefit programs. For example, the funds allotted for meals cannot be used for fuel, and so on. Additionally, the tax-saving allowance has a monthly limit that employees must be aware of. Employers must ensure clear and thorough communication in this regard to avoid later confusion and disappointments.
Get employee suggestions and feedback
As an employer your job is not done with the implementation of the employee flexi-benefits program, You must constantly evaluate and refine the program. For this, you must conduct regular polls and surveys with your employees to gauge the effectiveness of the benefits plan. It is essential to identify challenges early on so that you can make a streamlined process.
Nurture employee bonding and trust
The purpose of having an employee flexi-benefits program is to enhance employee satisfaction and make them feel valued. However, the underlying factor here is to ensure employees feel that they are treated fairly and inclusively. Your benefits program policies must be equal or the same for everyone. This simple measure can go a long way in fostering their bond and trust towards the company.
DON’Ts of Managing Employee Flexi-Benefits
As much as companies want to have a successful employee flexi-benefits program, they often make mistakes unwittingly. Below we have given the list of things that must be avoided at any cost.
Don’t limit options
When offering a flexi-benefits plan, more is always good. Limiting the opportunities to save tax may lead to frustration among employees.
Don’t underestimate the power of communication
Poor communication can undo all the good that your employee flexi-benefits can potentially do. Employees must be well-informed about the program.
Don’t fail to evaluate
Employee flexi-benefits program isn’t a one-time thing. It must be improved and revised to regular intervals. You must take feedback and suggestions from your employees to avoid having a redundant program.
Don’t make availing benefits a hassle
Avoid having a process that makes it a challenge for employees to avail of the benefits. Instead, it must be as easy as using their own money or card to purchase items.
Don’t be misleading
In an attempt to make benefits programs more attractive, employers often add rewards to benefits. Rewards are earned and are offered selectively. Including them in the benefits program
Right way to offer Employee Flexi-Benefits is with Zaggle SAVE
Most organizations hesitate to implement employee flexi-benefits programs due to the administrative complexity. Customizing benefits for hundreds of employees if not thousands may seem like an expensive endeavor. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right employee benefits solution like Zaggle SAVE, it takes just three steps to manage benefits and centralize funds.
- Step 1: Onboard employees through a mobile-based KYC process and instant card activation.
- Step 2: Simplify fund allocation through a corporate dashboard, where you can schedule payout to automate the process.
- Step 3: Employees can avail of these benefits using the Zaggle Prepaid Card while managing their funds and transactions from a mobile app.
Furthermore, the Zaggle prepaid card works similarly to your debit card. It is compliant with RBI and IT regulations and comes with a chip-based security layer. This card can be used both online and offline at every store that accepts VISA and Rupay cards. Learn more about Zaggle SAVE here.
