Employee benefits make business sense
By Duncan Crerar, Special to Gulf News

Question: I run a Dubai-headquartered consulting firm with offices across the Middle East. Over the past few years, we have undergone a notable period of success, but I have recently noticed that the marketplace is becoming more competitive. This is particularly true when it comes to recruiting the best staff. Indeed, on several occasions we have lost out on key hires to our competitors and a handful of long-serving senior staff have been headhunted. Although our wages are on par with the market, we do not currently offer any extended employee benefits beyond what is legally required. Do you think this is holding us back when it comes to recruiting and retaining staff?Answer: You need more than a wage packet to attract the brightest and best in the modern-day job market.

In order to stand out from the crowd, you genuinely need to offer something extra, and employee benefits are a fantastic and often neglected incentive — particularly in some parts of the Middle East.

The main reason some companies are averse to underwriting benefits of this nature is the notion that it is an unnecessary burden on the bottom line, but that could not be further from the truth.

According to a study by Mercer, employers can expect to incur costs of between 6 to 18 months of an individual's salary should they need to be replaced. When you consider the time and effort it takes to recruit, reintegrate and re-train, it is not hard to see why it all adds up.

The best way to avoid this kind of headache, not to mention the loss of intellectual capital and the very real possibility that your erstwhile employee jumps ship to a competitor, is to keep them happy and loyal.

This is where employee benefits come in, boosting employee welfare, ticking those all-important corporate social responsibility boxes, as well as acting as a hugely prominent incentive for attracting talented recruits. Employee bene-fits also make good business sense. In addition to the aforementioned study, a robust set of employee benefits will stand you in good stead when it comes to adhering to, or pre-empting, industry and legislative standards.

Before you get started, it is important to define what actually constitutes an employee benefit.

Set figures

Many companies in the region bundle up all manner of "benefits" into a single lump sum wage. Strictly speaking, that doesn't qualify as a benefit. For example, a set figure for housing allowance that gets swallowed up with the rest of your monthly outgoings is not the same thing as a company-provided home.

Core benefits are things like holiday allowances, paid sick leave and gratuity. Other benefits can include accommodation, company car, life cover, medical plans, retirement schemes, health screening, critical illness and permanent health cover.

Group affinities and discounts are another way to make you desirable in marketplace. These are benefits that effectively cost you nothing as an employer, but simply involve granting service providers access to a targeted audience, creating an opportunity for volume business and bringing valuable discounts to your staff. Good examples include car insurance, travel insurance and gym memberships.

To structure an employee benefits package that yields optimal payback, it is a good idea to talk to an employee benefits consultant.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was once quoted as saying that if you took his 20 best people "virtually overnight, Microsoft becomes a mediocre company."

Employee benefits are an explicit acknowledgement that you care about your employees and that business success is inextricably linked to the efforts of individuals. It is an investment, but it has the potential to pay for itself many times over.


The writer is Head of Employee Benefits, Nexus Insurance Brokers LLC. Opinion expressed are his own and do not reflect that of Gulf News. if you have any questions, please email it to advice@gulfnews.com

Source : http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/employee-benefits-make-business-sense-1.891828