We’ve partnered with KAM, to reveal the use and awareness of employee engagement services within the hospitality sector and understand to what extent employees are more likely to remain in a role because of them.
The study led by research consultancy KAM involved 500 employees within the hospitality sector as well as eight hospitality bosses. The findings clearly highlight how employers in the hospitality sector are missing a trick in effectively communicating the employee benefits they offer as part of their retention strategies.
Unsurprisingly, there is a demand for certain employee engagement services and even an expectation from employees. And the availability of such services increases the extent to which they are likely to remain in a role – 75% say that offering employee engagement services makes the business a more attractive place to work and 3 in 4 hospitality employees said they were happier in their role because of employee engagement services. In fact, offering certain benefits can have the power to encourage employees to switch jobs; 83% said their company offering a specific health and wellbeing benefit contributed to them deciding to switch jobs.
But despite high numbers of hospitality employers offering employee engagement services, the research found that many employees find them difficult to understand and access; 72% said they would use employee engagement services more if they were easier to access. The majority would find it easier if they were all accessible in one place, like an app (82%.)
Key findings from the research
- Employee engagement services make a business a more attractive place to work and there is an expectation for businesses to offer services which look after employees’ physical and mental wellbeing as well as their financial wellbeing.
- Employers need to do a better job of communicating employee engagement services not just when advertising, but to current employees too.
- Employees would use employee engagement services more if they were easier to access, most employees have them but find them difficult to understand and access.
- Health and wellbeing benefits have the power to encourage employees to switch jobs with 83% of people saying the offer of a specific health and wellbeing benefit contributed to them deciding to switch jobs.
- Online access to pay slips, receiving pay earlier than payday and an online chat to sort out issues with pay are the most sought-after financial benefits employees look for.
→Download the new Research Paper here
When it comes to health and lifestyle the most popular benefits among hospitality employees are gym discounts, flexible shifts, healthy eating programmes and medical healthcare – this is particularly popular among older employees. And when asked about financial benefits, 24/7 online access to pay documents, the ability to receive their pay earlier than payday and an online chat service to query/sort out issues with their pay slip came top.
This research has highlighted how employers may have employee benefits in place but if they’re not easy to access or communicated effectively, they’re not having an impact – potentially adding to the problem rather than helping to resolve it.
Do you need help bringing services together all in one place?
We provide employers across all sectors with a cost-effective end-to-end service for payroll, pensions and employee engagement services. If your workforce could benefit from their pay, pension and employee benefits all in one place, book your no-obligation demo of My SMART-e here.
Did you know? We provide all our clients with an employee engagement support payment and a dedicated employee engagement manager. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you to reduce costs, attract and retain employees, increase productivity and ensure compliance.