A warm welcome back to all our followers. I hope you enjoyed the (largely) excellent summer weather of the last few weeks.
Many of you may be feeling a tad depressed at the thought of long working weeks, and shorter, darker, days ahead. Yet, as we all get back into gear following the summer holiday season, it’s worth reflecting that the outlook for the UK economy has improved significantly.
For those that have not been following the business news over the last few weeks, virtually all the economic indicators have been positive. Indeed, for the first time in several years, we have seen several forecasts revised upwards. Perhaps the economy, like people, just needed a nice break in the sun to fully recover. Whatever the reason, it does feel like an economic corner may have been turned, and let’s all hope that the recovery continues in the months and years ahead.
And should the economy be genuinely recovering, I will be interested to see from an Employee Benefits perspective what impact the last half a decade will have on the remuneration packages, and buying habits, of UK employers.
As long ago as 2008 I openly speculated that the impact of the crash would change the mindset of employers making business decisions around new benefits packages. After all, the previous recession was so long ago (the best part of 2 decades) that corporates had largely forgotten the disciplines of managing cashflow and talent management in more challenging times. I would suggest that this latest downturn, the longest in modern economic history, has reversed this trend somewhat for those employers that have survived, or even thrived, over this period.
So it is likely that even in a growing economy employers may be more cautious in selecting and implementing benefits packages. Yet organisations would be short-sighted to put employee benefit provision too far down the scale of priorities.
For when the economy recovers, so too will the jobs market, and job mobility. It’s far too early to announce a war for talent, but I would expect an increasing focus on remuneration packages over the next few years. Having survived the downturn, employers will be keen to retain the employees that helped them achieve this, and attract new talent to grow the business also. Employee Benefits will continue to offer a cost-effective and tax efficient route to achieving these goals, whilst also offering many wider business benefits as well. I expect these themes to be reflected in many of our events, and on this blog, in the coming months.
Best regards
Steve
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