Foreword
I have been working in employee benefits technology for more than twenty years, and during that time I have seen the industry evolve, and witnessed its growing influence on the employee experience. But for several reasons, I have never believed in the power of employee benefits and the technology used to deliver them as much as I do in 2023.
Employees around the world are struggling with a complex set of issues that affect their lives and their work and I see, first-hand, how employee benefits are offering real, tangible life support to help employees build better and brighter futures.
For employers, benefits are already established as one of the best tools we have to attract, retain, and develop talent. And technology has a crucial role to play in delivering better experiences, so employees can get the most from their benefits and employers can unite their employee experience across benefits, reward, recognition, and wellbeing.
In the midst of the pandemic, I wrote an editorial on the future of employee benefits. I predicted that employees would take centre stage, that employee wellbeing would continue to saturate so many of the decisions employers make, and that employee benefits would enter their very own ‘renaissance’ – all of which has come to fruition.
Technology has a crucial role to play in delivering better experiences, so employees can get the most from their benefits and employers can unite their employee experience across benefits, reward, recognition, and wellbeing.
I also believed that the complex needs of employees and employers would lead to a greater reliance on technology. As we head towards 2024, your employee is now officially the most influential stakeholder in your organisation. We find ourselves in the midst of a benefits revival. And employee wellbeing remains one of the top priorities for almost every HR leader around the world.
Building on these predictions I wanted to turn specifically to reward technology. The continuous evolution of the workforce has led to significant changes in the employee benefits technology landscape. In the growing and complex world of employee benefits, where employers want to do more, employee expectations are rocketing, and there’s an abundance of new workplace providers, your employees no longer just want better benefits technology, they expect it. Half of your employees say workplace technology is an important factor for them when choosing a new employer (Benefex, 2023 Evolution report). Yet, just 23% of global employees say the technology used for employee benefits is excellent.
To meet these growing expectations, global benefits technology is adapting in new and interesting ways – and at pace. And as part of this evolution, benefits tech is becoming an even more fundamental part of the employee experience. I’m lucky enough to speak to hundreds of reward, benefit and HR leaders from around the world every year, as well as work closely with our product teams. I’ve never believed in the potential of what we do at Benefex more than I do as I write this special report.
Understanding the new opportunities afforded by benefits technology can help organisations like yours to better engage your employees, mitigate risks, and support long-term decision making. In this editorial, I explore five ways I think employee benefits technology is evolving to help HR and benefits leaders deliver on growing employee expectations.
Gethin Nadin, Chief Innovation Officer, Benefex
To meet these growing expectations, global benefits technology is adapting in new and interesting ways – and at pace. And as part of this evolution, benefits tech is becoming an even more fundamental part of the employee experience.
