Cash is no longer king - the future of C&B

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It is essential to start rethinking what compensation and benefits means to your employees. Gone are the days where cash is king. In a shrinking pool of talent that has adequate future-ready skills, employers need to be creative and holistic in the benefits they offer beyond the traditional C&B models to attract and retain star talent.

According to the “2017/2018 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey” research from leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, Willis Towers Watson, managing their health is a top priority for two-thirds of employees (67%) in Asia. Moreover, more than half (56%) say they suffer from elevated levels of stress.

While employers endeavour to engage their staff in an increasing array of non-traditional benefits, there is still a disconnect with employees according to the survey. Finding the “right” programmes and leveraging technology will be key as employers start to take a more strategic approach towards health.

On 30 May, AIA, which has close to 100 years of experience in the region, was a proud sponsor of the Employee Benefits Asia 2018 conference hosted by Human Resources. Attended by almost 200 HR professionals and C&B experts, the event helped employers improve awareness of their options, and the challenges and solutions available to them when it comes to providing the optimum benefits package to their employees while balancing the needs of the business.

Delegates gained insights on the biggest C&B trends through a series of keynote presentations, case studies and panel discussions. Delivering one of the presentations was Shah Rouf, chief executive officer, group corporate solutions, at AIA Group.

“We’re talking about employee benefits in terms of the depth and in terms of the activities that go on. It’s far more complex and far more nuanced than it was 60 years ago,” he said. “Whether it is cash or added services it’s something that has been at the forefront of the commercial world for a long time.”

The key concern for the HR community when it comes to talent is employee turnover and retention followed by recruitment and culture management and engagement. These all loop back to how all-encompassing compensation and benefits can play a role in strengthening the business.

“After cash, it’s not surprising that the main tool for the HR community when it comes to retention is cash plus benefits.”

Talking to the hundreds of HR professionals in the room about research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, Rouf said: “Over 40% in your community and your line of profession took wellness and health-related benefits as the next best thing after cash in order to retain and attract talent.”

This is ultimately based on supply and demand. HR is increasingly looking at what employees really want and need when it comes to benefits and then tailoring individual solutions while balancing business interests. This means prevention is better than the cure.

AIA has developed a three-pronged approach to help companies create and implement longlasting wellness solutions for their employees. Hong Kong’s Healthiest Workplace Survey by AIA Vitality was launched in 2017. It is a comprehensive survey of employees’ health, providing employers with an essential overview of their employees’ wellbeing.

AIA Vitality is a science-backed wellness programme that helps individuals and organisations make positive changes to their health. AIA Vitality uses technology to implement this holistic wellness programme.

AIA Analytica is a platform built to enable the transformation of healthcare data into business insights for management’s strategic actions and decision making.

For business and employees to thrive, wellness and a healthy lifestyle will be a cornerstone of attracting and keeping talent of the future.

This article was brought to by AIA

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