MetLife International’s annual Employee Benefits Trends Survey found the top three things most wanted by employees are a caring and supportive boss, financial security and flexibility in communications and benefits.
MetLife UK employee benefits director Tom Gaynor said employers needed to focus on engagement and retention.
“Many employers are experiencing talent shortages and need to engage the staff that they already have,” he said. “Organisations need to create a correct design for a benefits package that will focus on the concerns of the employees and help retention.”
The research also found two-thirds of companies see the need to provide more benefits, but are unsure of the needs of their workforce demographic.
Maria Morris, executive vice president, global employee benefits at MetLife said: “Stress was ranked very highly under employee and employer concerns. A wellbeing programme is needed, but so is encouragement from line managers to utilise the help on offer. This will also show to employees that employers care."
She added: “If you want to know where to start, talk to your employees and customise the benefits packages around them.”
