Employers must adapt to keep up with changing workforce

By: Siobhan Cassidy, MoneyMarketing Contributor

Agility is often demanded of the modern employee. Now it is the turn of employers, who must rethink Employee Benefits (EB) as they try to find ways to turn the tide on the increasing and expensive plague of absenteeism, presenteeism and even resenteeism.

Absenteeism costs the economy millions of rands in lost productivity. Dr Themba Hadebe, Clinical Executive at Bonitas Medical Fund, says, “Occupational Care South Africa reveals that absenteeism costs the South African economy around R12bn to R16bn per year, whereas the Human Capital Review estimates it to be even higher, at R19.144bn. This equates to about 15% of employees being absent on any given day – a productivity killer that is affecting both small businesses and large companies across the country”.

Presenteeism – where workers who are unwell go to work – introduces its own risks and costs. Sick workers make mistakes, they get sicker, and they put colleagues and customers at risk of infection. Dr Hadebe explains that a third problem, resenteeism or ‘quiet quitting’, refers to employees who are disengaged and unhappy. “Doing the bare minimum due to burnout and feeling underappreciated, they stay at their current job due to financial constraints, but are unproductive.”

Disengaged employees a problem

Meeting the ever-changing needs of today’s dynamic, diverse workforce requires an agility that won’t come naturally for many institutions. The consequences of doing nothing are already playing out. According to the latest Gallup State of the Global Workplace report, 71% of the South African workforce is disengaged. The report also found that 56% of South Africans were looking for another job, or at least keeping an eye out for opportunities.

The workplace has changed a lot since Covid-19, with the increase in remote working and even those at the office demanding more autonomy and more support. Also, the Great Resignation after the epidemic started the trend where workers leave jobs that make them unhappy, even if the chances of finding replacements look slim. “The value of experienced and motivated employees should not be underestimated, nor the cost of replacing staff who leave,” says Reo Botes, Managing Executive at Essential Employment Benefits, adding, “By actively engaging with staff, tailoring benefits to specific income levels, and adopting a thoughtful, inclusive approach, organisations can create rewarding employee benefit programmes that not only enhance employee satisfaction but also contribute significantly to the overall success of the business.”

Why benefits are essential

Belinda Sullivan, Head: Consulting Strategy Retirements at Alexforbes, agrees that a proactive, thoughtful approach will pay dividends for employers. She describes employee benefits delivery as “an interconnected framework” of providing employees with benefits, which creates a “corresponding improvement in engagement and productivity, leading to improved profitability for the employer”. While the standard EB offering of retirement fund membership and group risk cover, and sometimes membership of a medical aid, was enough in times gone by, progressive modern employers are offering a range of benefits and incentives to attract and retain talent, and keep staff engaged.
“As the world we live in changes, what employees find value in also changes. While the pandemic may have accelerated the pace at which things changed, change was already happening,” says Melissa Ramsamy-Agapitus, Executive: Group Risk & Investments, Liberty Corporate Benefits. “What is important to an employee has certainly changed over time. The exciting and attractive employee benefits that worked 20 years ago may not necessarily work for all the employees today, let alone those of the future.”

Personalise the benefits

Tailoring of these offerings, often with the help of AI, is another way that businesses can stand out as employers of choice. “Employers should view personalised benefits as a strategic investment, balancing the resources needed with the long-term gains in workforce performance and loyalty,” says Botes. He adds, “AI can enhance and support these processes by analysing data, providing predictive analytics, personalising benefits, automating feedback collection, real-time reporting thus optimising costs. AI’s capabilities allow for real-time insights and proactive adjustments, leading to more effective and satisfying benefits programmes.” Ramsamy-Agapitus adds, “A business is built on the backs of their employees. At Liberty Corporate Benefits, we believe that ‘better benefits are better for business’ – if you treat your employees well, they will treat your business well, which will impact on how your customers engage with you and drive your business’s success.”

You get what you give

Gallup, which examines decades of employee engagement and performance data from more than 100 000 teams to evaluate the connection between employee engagement and 11 key business outcomes, estimates the cost to the global economy of poor employee engagement as $8.9tn, or 9% of global GDP. Ramsamy-Agapitus says, “As an employee, your job is just one of several things that demand your attention. Part of your focus is also on the safety of you and your loved ones. Good employee benefits provide reassurance to employees about some of the things that can detract from them being fully present.”

With employee engagement falling and workers leaving jobs in the middle of economic uncertainty, employers must work hard to retain their staff, especially top performers. Pay scales count but the source of lasting loyalty to an organisation is often something deeper. Employers have long finessed strategies and tactics to discover what their customers want and need. They would do well to turn these often highly focused, data-driven processes onto the issue of staff engagement. Testing employee benefits and making continuous improvements could ideally be treated in the same way that finessing a new campaign or sales process is.

“In today’s challenging business landscape, success hinges on employee engagement as much as it does on customer satisfaction,” says Kinola Pather, CEO of Randgo, bespoke customer, incentive and employee rewards provider. “Staff incentive programmes have emerged as pivotal tools for fostering engagement, rewarding transformation, driving productivity and nurturing both individual and organisational growth.”

Education is essential

Another key aspect not to be forgotten is educating employees about resources offered so that they can make informed decisions and maximise the value of benefits. NMG Benefits has gone as far as launching a division, M1, that helps employers assist employees with benefits. Lettesha Pillay, Head of Sales and Business Development at NMG, says “Often people have benefits, or employers have this amazing benefit landscape, but the mark is missed when staff don’t know how to access the benefits.”

The M1 team engages with employees from inception, guiding them on benefits available and decisions on, say, medical aid choices and retirement savings options. The service includes guidance on budgeting, saving, will-writing, and other aspects of an employee’s life into which benefits can be integrated.

Pillay describes the M1 service offering as a “prequel to a financial adviser”. She says, “A lot of people will say, ‘I’m not earning enough to go to a financial adviser’, but once they start becoming more familiar with these financial concepts – saving, budgeting, investing for retirement – that triggers the conversation, they are quite likely to realise the value of a financial adviser.”
Noting that “financial freedom comes with education, mentoring and having structures and resources available to staff across all levels of the organisation”, Botes agrees that helping employees to make informed decisions is best practice. He adds, “Here, trusted, registered and licensed advisors or financial services providers are worth their weight in gold.”