We often chat to employers who have grown their businesses and now want to introduce benefits for their staff, but are worried this will result in an unaffordable increase in salary costs.
This doesn’t have to be the case. HRTorQue can help make this transition easily and affordably.
The first step in the process is to review the existing contracts of employment and staff relationship and move to a cost to company package for all staff. This requires a consultation with staff as it is a change to their package, but if done properly results in no change to their existing take home pay and therefore shouldn’t be contentious. Even aside from the ability to introduce employee benefits, this move to a cost to company structure is a far better way for employers to manage their payroll costs and avoid surprises.
Once everyone has moved to cost to company, it is time to start reaching out to financial service providers to get quotes for the benefits you wish to offer your staff. This can be set up to cater for staff at all ends of the spectrum, and includes post- retirement benefits (provident funds and/or retirement annuities), tax free savings accounts, medical aid or health insurance, risk benefits (dread/disability/life cover) and others such as funeral benefits. Key to consider is what you are trying to achieve for your staff, and how this can be accomplished at the right cost benefit for both the employer and employee.
Once you know what employee benefits you wish to provide and who you wish to source these through, you can roll these out as follows:
- Existing staff can be offered the right, but not the obligation, to access the various employee benefits. Because they are on a cost to company, any selection they make would reduce their take home pay, but would not change the overall payroll cost to the employer. Take up can be encouraged by illustrating the tax benefits of, for example, contributing to post-retirement benefits, or the cost savings from an employer backed insurance product compared to trying to source this in an individual capacity.
- New staff members must automatically be engaged with the employee benefits that the employer has elected to be mandatory.
As part of this rollout, it is strongly advised to have a good process in place to monitor your employee benefits, and make sure all employees are having a positive experience. This includes:
- Training of staff so that they get the maximum benefit from their cover.
- Regular feedback to re-assess the suitability of the benefits, cover and pricing.
- A thorough payroll process for onboarding and exiting staff from benefit programmes, and making sure all risks to the employer and employee are covered.
All of this can be managed by a good broker. HRTorQue Financial Services is well-placed to assist employers with all parts of the process, including the switch to a cost to company. With our knowledge of payroll, HR and financial services, you will struggle to find anybody better to help you manage the process. Contact us today for more information.