Exploring the employee benefit trends shaping UK SMEs

In partnership with YouGov.

The past few years have been challenging for businesses of all sizes and stages of development. For SMEs, the numerous obstacles faced by business owners have often pushed employee benefits down the priority list for decision-makers. 

Howden Employee Benefits partnered with YouGov to conduct online interviews with benefits decision-makers in UK startup businesses. We surveyed over 900 SMEs with 1 to 250 employees about their current employee benefits, future plans, and challenges. 

Who we asked

  • 901 benefits decision-makers in UK SMEs  
  • 520 SMEs with up to 30 employees (for this report we have referred to these as small SMEs)  
  • 198 SMEs with 30 to 99 employees (mid-sized SMEs)  
  • 183 SMEs with 100 to 249 employees (larger SMEs)  

What we asked

  • Howden Employee Benefits commissioned YouGov to conduct online interviews among benefits decision makers working in startup businesses in the UK.

Get in touch with our team!

If you have any questions please get in touch with one of our specialist consultants.

  • Be compliant – as an absolute minimum, make sure you are meeting legal requirements, such as offering a pension scheme for auto-enrolment. Stay ahead of changes in legislation (for pensions and wider benefits) either by developing expertise in-house, or by partnering with a consultant. We will always know the latest on legislation and can help small businesses meet their obligations.  
  • Understand why you offer benefits – ask yourself how employee benefits will help the organisation grow existing talent, recruit new skills and experience, and fulfil its broader business objectives. Identify what your long-term benefits plans are and build a strategy to achieve those goals over time, when cost and business time allows.  
  • Meet employee needs – even with a small workforce, flexible benefits programmes alongside core benefits such as pensions and health cover, can help employees choose options that meet their personal priorities. This supports employee retention, holding onto crucial skills and experience.  
  • Think about future talent – plan for benefits that will help with talent recruitment as well as retention. That could mean exploring what other companies offer that are trying to attract the same skills and making sure you can compete with them. Howden’s small business experts can help you build an affordable, sustainable benefits package that puts a small SME on a par with much bigger companies. Our expert knowledge and commitment to SME businesses means we have developed a range of products and services with enhanced terms and features allowing you to compete with much bigger employers. Come and talk to Howden about the benefits that these could bring to your business. 
  • Explore more flexible benefits - As the workforce grows, employees are more likely to have different benefits needs. For example, parents may want to extend healthcare cover to their families, whereas others may want to put more focus on retirement planning. Adding choice into your benefits package can help to address all of these options in a simple, manageable format.  
  • Focus on recruitment and retention – Hiring talent with sought-after skills and experience is a core priority for mid-sized SMEs. Good quality core benefits, such as pensions and healthcare, complemented by more flexibility in your benefits to meet varied needs can form the backbone of an attractive package. Benchmarking what you offer against others competing for the same talent can also help to define strategies. Remember that communication is always going to be the key to engagement, understanding and utilisation. 
  • Plan for the long term – It might not be possible to address all your benefits ambitions at once, either from a budget or time perspective. Building a strategy can help to identify which benefits and needs should be addressed now, and which are lower priority or can change over a longer time frame.  
  • Speak to a broker – Working with a broker gives mid-sized SMEs the opportunity to really understand their benefits needs, identify the best products for those needs and agree the right terms and conditions for their workforce. Howden Employee Benefits has close relationships with major benefits providers. We have negotiated enhanced terms and features that mean SMEs can offer benefits programmes that compete with much larger employers. Talk to us today to find out more.
  • Keep pace with business growth – As businesses become bigger and more diverse, communicating benefits and helping employees to get value from what’s on offer must also evolve. Making sure that communications are meaningful and consistent, and that leaders can explain benefits to their teams, are just some of the actions that can help.  
  • Ask employees what they want – Expanding employee numbers can also mean finding new ways of capturing people’s benefit needs. Surveys, focus groups, employee forums and networks can all provide valuable insights, alongside metrics such as usage. Crucially, having access to experts that can interpret and create actions from the resulting data is invaluable.  
  • Get the right balance between basics and flexibility - Offering pensions and health cover is becoming a necessity rather than a nice-to-have, especially for recruiting top talent. At the same time, enabling employees to choose benefits that are right for them is equally important. The challenge is in getting the balance right between core and flexible benefits, in a way that is manageable and affordable.  
  • Work with a broker – As businesses grow, their employees’ benefits needs will evolve. Working with a broker helps an employer to make sure that their benefits programme remains fit for purpose, offers the right features and communications for employees, as well as delivering value for businesses. Howden Employee Benefits can help – talk to us today.
Employee Benefits YouGov Report cover

Your essential guide to employee benefit trends shaping UK SMEs

Employee Benefits YouGov Infographic

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