Employee Benefits Live 19: Product trends

We made our annual visit to Employee Benefits Live at the start of October. Its mix of exhibitors and conference programme always gives a good indication of current trends.

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​The marketplace for online benefits platform is well-established, and each year the stands promoting the major players become more polished with large suspended screens and competitions taking centre stage. Stress balls and pens took a back seat, but still play a supporting role promoting smaller exhibitors!

​Last year, we reported a shift towards the promotion of responsible lending products, where loans are provided to staff with payments taken directly from salary. These still features on the exhibition floor, but the emphasis seemed to have shifted more to the provision of low-cost or employee-paid voluntary benefit options that companies can offer to their employees, boosting the attractiveness of their reward package. 

​Some providers offer a package of affordable benefits like critical illness cover, life assurance and retail discounts, supported by representatives promoting the products on site. For companies with 100 plus employees, this provides a no-cost way of boosting existing benefits.

​Wellbeing was still at the core of promotion, with plenty of evidence to show the link between providing support to staff with financial and emotional problems to ease mental health, to avoid the adverse effect that this has on their ability to function at work. 

​The independent alcohol charity Drinkaware is worth a particular mention, promoting their one-hour interactive session that they can provide to employees on what they need to know about alcohol, providing impartial advice to help make better choices about their drinking. 

​In all, it was a day well spent assessing the trends so that we can keep our clients in the picture!