Try to be Flexible: How SMEs Can Attract Staff

It may once have been true that the most talented individuals would look for employment at large, well-known companies. Substantial budgets allow big organisations to offer higher salaries and broad ranging benefits. However, it is becoming increasingly the case that talented people seek the informal environment and varied workload offered by SMEs. Big salaries have become less important than overall job satisfaction, which is dependent on a myriad factors.

There are countless advantages of working for an SME. Firstly, there are fewer employees and so staff members are able to build rewarding relationships, thus forming solid, more productive teams. A Great Place to Work, a global human resources firm, studied successful workplaces for 30 years and reported that “investing in a high-trust workplace culture yields distinct, tangible business benefits” including attracting “better quality job applicants”.[1] Furthermore, most employees will have the opportunity to work closely with senior management, so work is more likely to get noticed and ideas are more likely to be heard. The environment of an SME is generally less formal and bureaucratic and the work more varied; this keeps employees engaged and drives productivity.

The best employees are most likely to be career-focused people. As such, you will need to show them that you can offer promotion possibilities that come with additional perks along with additional responsibilities. SMEs typically have fewer employees than larger companies and so there is more opportunity to demonstrate creativity and skill. Let potential recruits know that there is room within your SME to develop and flourish and that their efforts will be rewarded with appropriate promotion.

SMEs that are recruiting must focus on projecting the message that their work environment is more progressive and desirable than that of a larger company. A company website is an excellent shop window: photographs and website content (blog posts, for example) should reflect the flexible, exciting environment you can offer as an SME. Optimise your use of social media to connect with younger talent and extol the benefits of working for an SME.

Attaining a better work/life balance has become a high priority for most employees and SMEs are best placed to offer desirable flexible working hours. According to recruitment agency Robert Half, 29% of HR executives found that work flexibility was the main motivator for staff members.[2] The offer of split-shifts, customised hours or telecommuting will appeal to potential workers, particularly those with young families.

An excellent benefit scheme is a way for SMEs to attract high-calibre employees. In their most recent annual trends survey, MetLife reported that in 2014, employees who claimed to be very satisfied with their workplace benefits were almost four times more likely to be very satisfied with their jobs.[3] Similarly, a study by Bupa last year found that 42% of SME workers felt that workplace benefits were the most important consideration when choosing a job.[4] This is good news for SMEs who may often find it easier to make changes to their benefit schemes compared with larger organisations and so are able to integrate features that will appeal to new recruits.

Flexible benefit plans allow employees to select the additional benefits that best suit their lives, such as increased pension contributions, childcare vouchers, subsidised training, and access to mentoring, company cars and entertainment incentives. Healthcare is one workplace benefit that is increasingly in demand as it offers real value to employees.

Attracting the best recruits may seem like a daunting task for some SMEs. But, in actuality, SMEs are more than able to attract staff by capitalising on those aspects of their work environment that separate them from large organisations. Flexibility is of primary importance in the battle for human capital so don’t underestimate the power of a flexible benefit package, not only to motivate existing employees but also to attract new recruits.

Mark Howlett
CEO

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7893 3456

Email: contactus [@] broadstone.co.uk

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[1] http://www.greatplacetowork.com/our-approach/what-are-the-benefits-great-workplaces

[2] http://www.roberthalf.co.uk/how-to-attract-the-best-talent

[3] https://benefittrends.metlife.com/benefits-impact

[4] http://www.bupa.com/media-centre/press-releases/uk/flexibility-key-to-retention-and-happiness-in-uk-smes/

Leaving Service - What Happens Next to your pension?

In today’s workplace, the days of a job for life are long since over. Many people will change jobs ten to fifteen times during their working careers. Their workplace pension can become a casualty of these frequent changes, with pension arrangements being made and removed on leaving the employer.

Most of the UK’s leading pension providers follow a standardised process which ensures that the former employee retains their benefits and ceases the pension relationship between themselves and their former employer.

At the time of leaving service with their current employer, employees will receive a leaving service pack which will confirm their options and most likely include a direct debit instruction to continue contributing to their pension personally.

The pension plan is converted by the provider into an individualised arrangement, and once this change has been made both the employer and their engaged financial adviser, both cease any liability or obligation to provide assistance to the former employee.

Starting a new job will most likely result in an additional pension being set up for the employee by their new employer. The employee can then choose to transfer the existing plan into their new arrangement or continue with two (or more) plans. This can create administration issues both during employment and at retirement.

Employee awareness and understanding is therefore vital to this process and it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the employee knows what comes next.

Robert Simmons

Corporate Pensions Administrator

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7893 3456

Email: contactus [@] broadstone.co.uk

The Previous Pension Minefield - A Survivors Guide

In today's modern workplace individuals change employer ever more frequently so that an individual may change employer numerous times during his/her working life. The days of a 'job for life' that the previous generations enjoyed are long gone.

In most cases, individuals moving employer have pension benefits with their former employers.

With pension transfers becoming more common, employees with benefits in old pension schemes from former employers may decide to transfer these benefits to pension schemes run by their current employer. This can serve to eliminate the additional administration that can result on an employee’s retirement.

In recent years, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator have heavily scrutinised the area of pension transfers and have especially highlighted the need for good quality advice in this area.

Mindful of this need for greater transparency, many of today’s pension providers will not consider the transfer of benefits for any employee until they receive financial advice from an independent financial adviser. Others will not allow transfers without employer consent.

Employees may be unaware of the value of their pension ‘pots’ and the potential minefield that they may be stepping into when seeking to transfer benefits. Many previous pension schemes may have additional (hidden) benefits that may be lost on transfer to their current employer’s scheme.

As advisers, it is important for us to be mindful of these benefits when reviewing  the previous pension arrangement of a corporate employee and understand when a line is crossed from providing mere factual information and explanation and veering into the area of individual ‘advice’..

Robert Simmons
Corporate Pensions Administrator
Telephone: (0)20 7893 3456
Email: contactus [@] broadstone.co.uk