Member Article

Yorkshire companies attempt to stem the flow of talent with greater employee benefits

Firms in Yorkshire and Humberside are focusing on the benefits they offer to employees to stem the flow of talent going South, according to a director at EY.

Employment packages encompassing a range of tailored benefits can often provide a better deal for the employee whilst saving money for the business according to the firm.

Luigi Falivene, who works in the professional services firm’s Human Capital practice advising on reward strategies, talent programmes and maintaining workforce effectiveness, said that his team has seen an uptick in enquiries from companies looking to review the benefits packages available to their employees.

He believes this is a result of Yorkshire and Humberside businesses working even harder to retain their best people in the face of strong competition for talent, which he puts down to reduced recruitment during the downturn.

Luigi commented: “Some companies in Yorkshire and Humberside reduced the number of people they took on and trained during the recession to adjust to the low growth environment.

“This has translated into fewer experienced people in the regional market across some industries today.

“As businesses begin to focus again on expansion, competition has intensified for skilled people and first and foremost, companies are working harder to keep their best employees.

“To do this, businesses are increasingly using employee benefits to create the most attractive possible packages for their people.”

“There are innovative and standard employee benefits that companies can offer which represent value for the business and the individual, but understanding your workforce and the need to support individuals’ varying priorities is vital.

“Through benefits like company cars, pensions, childcare vouchers, bikes to work and charitable giving, firms can offer a suite of relevant benefits that can often be more compelling than remuneration alone in incentivising employees.

“We expect more and more companies in the region to look at their benefits offerings over the coming months as the focus on people retention continues.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .