Although most companies offer some sort of benefits package, you might be surprised how few staff are aware of what they actually are. Joanne Christie looks at some of the different ways to get the message across.
"Did you know that we could get free dental and optical cover just by filling in a form," I overheard a woman asking four of five colleagues in an office recently. "No," they replied in unison. "I wonder why no one has ever told us," pondered one. Undoubtedly, someone had told them at some point - probably in an email or memo, or perhaps during induction – but they didn't remember. Unfortunately, this kind of conversation is all too common in modern offices - a survey by AIG UK Benefits found that while 86% of employers believe they communicate effectively with employees about the benefits they offer, 36% of employees disagreed and 45% found the products available difficult to understand.