Tech that delivers value – from all angles

Deploying best in class technology to maximise your reward and benefits strategy is mission-critical. But that’s only half the story, as Alexis Parrish, Director at Isio, explains.

At Isio we talk a lot about value in the context of reward and benefits packages. But how do you define value when it comes to benefits technology? For a CPO, value is about ensuring the money invested in reward and benefits is successfully enabling employees to make informed choices. For employees, value is being able to easily engage with a platform that delivers on their unique preferences and needs. The result is quite different value objectives from one platform. So it follows that any investment in employee benefits technology will be scrutinised carefully.

The advantages of successful tech implementation for employers are clear. In terms of benefit design, packages can be personalised and customised so that they’re truly inclusive, and management information data can drive informed decisions around employee preferences.

But it doesn’t end there. Technology also has a critical role to play in bridging any confidence gap – so employees can actually use their benefits.  However diverse and comprehensive an offering may be, it falls down if individual users don’t feel empowered to make the most of what’s on offer to them. An intuitive and accessible interface that’s tailored for usage on various devices for example can make all the difference.

And the end goal makes this worthwhile: employees who can access and appreciate their benefits can have better productivity, improved employee financial wellbeing and reduced attrition rates.

What else is there to consider when appraising the market? It might be tempting to roll out the tech and think the job is done. But there are other important considerations, and this is where the value point comes in. To maximise that value – for both organisations and employee experience – the technology needs to be flexible and dynamic. It needs to grow as a live component within an ever-evolving reward and benefits strategy.

Adaptability is therefore key. Restrictive or cumbersome technology platforms that are not easily able to change to new circumstances may end up as more of an obstacle than a solution. All too often, software is assumed to be future-proofed. Instead, the focus should be on that continuous development concept, embedding technology as a vital component in employee journey.

Not only does this mean the front end will feel unique, fit for purpose and fresh – customisation means organisations can put their own stamp on the technology for example – but in terms of the back end, HR teams are supported as the landscape continually shifts. Whether that’s around analysing management information, pre-empting upcoming regulatory change or enhancing reporting.

There’s flexibility in the scale of the deployment too. At one end that would involve simply bringing benefit information into one place, highlighting to the employee what’s on offer and what’s relevant to them and communicating that effectively. Individuals can be given a clear picture of what’s being provided and that can be a powerful factor when making decisions about leaving or staying in their role. At the other end, a fully flexible solution would allow employees to tailor and customise their package to make it unique for them.

For CPO’s, the trigger for investing in a benefits technology platform can vary. For some organisations, it’s a compliment to introducing flexibility in their benefit package, for other it’s driven by a desire to put in place a more flexible, reactive system.

And that experience draws out the bottom line here: making reward and benefits work for all. Given it’s one of the biggest areas of spend for many organisations, getting the tech right has never been more important. After all, a poorly designed employee benefits approach can cost money, time and talent – and the keys to unlocking value for a modern workforce.

Isio.beam is Isio’s newly enhanced, highly customisable employee benefits, reward and engagement platform that reflects your unique requirements, gives your employees control over their benefits and evolves with the needs of your business. Ready to put your employees in full control of their benefits? Watch our demo video here and get in touch to request a demo today.