Jessica O'Connor97% of financial services firms said that company perks are now one of the first things they are asked about by new candidates, research from Zest has revealed.
With energy, water, Council Tax, broadband, mobile and TV prices rising in ‘Awful April’ this year, many are looking to their employer for additional support – two thirds (64%) of financial services employees said they want more financial support in their benefits package.
Despite this, three in 10 (31%) did not feel as though their employer listens to their needs.
Six in 10 (62%) employees admitted they don’t use most of the benefits currently available to them and 36% felt as though their benefits are irrelevant to them.
Findings come from the launch of Zest’s latest report – Are financial services firms losing talent through poor reward packages? – and highlighted a clear disconnect between what employees working in financial services want, and what their employers are offering.
Nearly all (99%) employers agreed that they’d see better engagement with their benefits packages if they were more personalised.
Given four in 10 (37%) financial services firms said they are struggling to keep up with competitors who are raising salaries – and over half (54%) of employees said that they’d leave their current job if another company offered them better perks – employee benefits could provide a cost-effective opportunity to attract and retain talent in a way that differs from salary.
Matt Russell, CEO of Zest, said: “April has proved to be a financially challenging month for both businesses and workers alike.
“Providing the right support through a great benefits package can ease this load, offering improved value for money for businesses and helping employees to manage the increase in household bills and ongoing high cost of living.”
He added: “However, if both parties are to reap these rewards, financial services firms must work to create more personalised, targeted benefits packages that their employees will truly value.
“With over half of workers in the sector claiming they’d jump ship for better perks, getting this right has never been more critical.”
