Any employer taking that first step of committing to understanding that they need to do something has to be applauded and welcomed. Many will approach us with an intention or specific product in mind. But our role here is very much to understand what's driving that decision, and we always look to get an effective strategy embedded for an employer. Often, this is driven around budgetary levels and constraints.
What we also need to understand is how the strategy will actually relate to the physical, mental, financial, and social wellbeing of the employees that they have – this tends to depend on which sector they operate in. Once we understand that, it’s really important we have a clear, defined communication strategy. Some employers already have benefits and a communication plan in place, but the message isn’t landing with employees. If issuing the staff newsletter, or putting information on the intranet isn’t enough, we will work to look other ways to get the message out there. That can be things like group seminars, or even one-to-one sessions.
It's all about understanding the three key parts; the why, the how, and, lastly, the cost. Once we can piece all of those things together we can all move forward, with a clear brief as to how we want to proceed. We aim to deliver the best value through getting the right package concept before we go for procurement.