This is likely to be the first of several posts linked to our London seminar last week, in which we were fortunate to field Steve Webb MP, The Minister for Pensions, as one of our guest speakers.

Firstly, I would like to thank The Minister for his attendance, and a speech that was direct, informative and even a little fun (obviously, within a given range of ‘fun’, this is pensions after all). I know the speech was appreciated by all there. Secondly, I would like to thank all at the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) who made this happen.

It’s refreshing that both the Minister and the DWP seem willing and able to take the Pension Reform conversation beyond the issuing of detailed papers on the subject, and the audience seemed to think so also.

In our event last October we asked our audience the following, admittedly loaded, question:

‘Do you feel that Employers with fewer than 1000 staff receive adequate representation regarding the impact of pensions legislation changes?’

Whilst the audience was not exclusively employers of less than 1000 staff, the response was that 73% did indeed feel disenfranchised.

If nothing else, the presence of The Minister and DWP at our event has gained some traction here. Much the same questions asked at last week’s event indicated that only 48.4% of a similar grouping felt that they were no longer being listened to. Whilst not perfect, it’s a significant improvement. Evidence, if evidence were needed, that engaging with your audience and providing explanations in plain language can make a huge difference to how a subject is perceived.

The moral of this story? Communication is king, and no less so in the world of employee benefit provision. Very often employers spend significant sums in providing employee benefits, but fail to engage staff as to why the offering is so good. Perception of what is provided is often the principle failing of very decent benefit offerings, and I would encourage all employers to review the communication of benefits periodically to minimise this issue.