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VGIP | EAP watch | 10 Golden Rules | Events

Dear Client,

Welcome to the December 2008 issue of Up Close and Personal.

In the current economic climate, and with the festive season here many of us are under pressure to maximise budgets and deliver a real return on investment wherever possible. No where is this more the case than in the world of employee benefits. But regardless of the challenges presented by today’s economic situation, our current position is actually a great opportunity to review your benefits’ offering and take positive steps to remind your people of the products, services and solutions that can help them during these difficult times.

To help you do this we’ve taken the opportunity to remind you of Personal Group’s ‘Golden Rules’ for implementing a
well valued employee benefit package. This edition also outlines the top issues currently being raised by callers to our employee assistance programme helplines and invites you to learn how to make your benefit budget go further at one of our free seminars.

The thought of falling sick or injured and having to take a long time off work is a nightmare for many employees, particularly at this time of year when none of us can really afford to suffer a big hit on our personal income.

This is why Personal Group offers Voluntary Group Income Protection (VGIP) which has set the standard for a growing army of cost-conscious employers to help their people protect themselves when illness or injury strikes.

VGIP makes perfect sense for employees:
it provides a monthly benefit if an individual is sick or incapacitated for a continuous period. It also provides a lump sum if they are likely to remain out of action indefinitely and regular monthly payments can be paid in a way that dovetails with current sick pay arrangements. We have also found that VGIP schemes can work out 30% to 40% cheaper than if employees source their own income protection.

It makes sense for employers too:
VGIP offers significant savings when it comes to National Insurance contributions because employee payments to the scheme are through salary sacrifice. VGIP can also be a great tool to help lure the best talent to your company or keep hold of the talent you have.

After all, your people want to know you’re doing all you can to keep them and their loved ones safe, especially at this time of year.

Interested and want to find out how VGIP could work with your business? Call Caroline Jordan on
01908 605 000 or click here for more information.

With the Christmas season looming and ongoing talk of an economic downturn, a huge number of calls received by Personal Group’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) help lines have unsurprisingly been about debt. There has been an increase in callers asking for information on managing their debt and many of the general counselling calls received have had debt at the heart of the problem.

Given the confidential nature of calls it’s not possible to pinpoint particular sectors or organisations whose employees are suffering most when it comes to financial worries. But it is a wake up call to all employers to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to reassure your people that help, whether this is through line managers, HR teams or EAPs, is available around the clock. And for employers who don’t currently offer this type of benefit, services like EAPs are worth considering as your people may need assistance too but just aren’t sure where to turn.

The 10 Golden Rules of Employee Benefits

The way to implement a well valued employee benefits package in your business isn’t top secret. Following these 10 Golden Rules from Personal Group will help ensure that the benefits you’re offering are the ones your people want to see.

1.	Ask your staff what they want in their benefits package – give them controlled choice and guidelines and keep the feedback process simple.
2.	Know what you want to achieve – align your benefits with your business culture and strategy and have a clear picture of what success would look like.
3.	Choose your suppliers carefully – look at their relevant experience in your sector and their track record of success.
4.	Have a clear agreement – what will happen if the service fails and do the benefits provide value for money?
5.	Communicate effectively – when is the right time for the business and who needs to be involved?
6.	Variety – use all available and appropriate communication methods that you think are right for your business.
7.	Gain staff feedback – ask them what’s good, what’s missing and what can be improved.
8.	Take action on the feedback you receive – remind your staff their feedback is valuable and that you have acted on what they’ve told you.
9.	Adopt a long-term view – benefits may take time to have an impact and don’t expect everyone to thank you for your efforts!
10.	Keep it fresh – constantly look to refresh and reinvent the benefits you’re offering.

Events: How to utilise benefits effectively in an economic down turn

Interested in learning how you can effectively utilise your benefits in these tough times? Then come along to this free seminar and networking event at The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London on Thursday 29th January. We have run several of these popular events in the past to focus on some of the key challenges facing HR and benefit specialists.

The session will focus on how you can maximise your benefits communication by keeping your offering up-to-date and right for your changing workforce. Other topics will include creative communications and how you can generate interest in your available benefits, as well as how to capture and act on employee feedback. There will be a chance to hear a thought provoking case study from TNT and the seminar will also look at effective absence, rehabilitation and employee welfare strategies should injury or illness strike.

Further information on this event will be sent to you in due course.

Until next time and with best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,
Personal Group

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