LONDON, 11 March 2014 – Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of
Aon plc (NYSE:AON), today announced the findings of its 2014 EMEA Employee Benefits Communication Survey.

Now in its second year, the survey found that while increasing employee engagement around compensation and benefits remains a top priority for UK companies, employers are frustrated at the level of impact made by their benefits communications efforts to employees.

Aon Hewitt believes that the gap between the benefits package and employee understanding can be closed through targeted and effective communications. However, the survey indicates that currently, just 9% of employees claim to understand their company’s reward policy.

Anne Oliver, Head of Communications at Aon Hewitt said: 
“73% of UK employers surveyed actively communicate with staff around compensation and benefits packages – so they are clearly aware of the importance of employee engagement on this issue. Encouragingly, employers also recognise that effective communication requires investment. However, at present, firms are struggling to see a real return on investment from existing communications efforts on employee compensation and as such are not getting the most from their benefits packages.”

The survey, which polled 590 organisations across 19 countries in EMEA, including 146 UK firms, found that companies still have significant steps to take in improving the quality and effectiveness of their communication with employees.  Currently, 86% of companies rely on printed materials to communicate with their staff over compensation and benefits, with just 13% considering using either social media or online portals in the future.

Furthermore, just under one-third of employers have adopted the use of total reward statements to communicate employees’ overall benefits packages, with only a further 27% reporting that they are considering it. Aon Hewitt believes that this slow pick-up has primarily been driven by a lack of understanding of the value of total reward statements and their role in improving employee awareness of company benefits.

Anne Oliver continued:
“Despite the recognition of its importance and the commitment to regular employee engagement on pay and benefits, only 20% of UK employers perceive communications as having a high level of impact. This highlights the importance of firms fully understanding their communications needs and tailoring their activity accordingly.

“Companies would do well to conduct a simple audit of their existing communications initiatives, ongoing needs and new opportunities for employee engagement. This will ensure that employers maximise the effectiveness of their communications programmes and gain a higher return on their investment in the form of improved employee engagement and understanding of benefits packages.”

Other key UK findings of the survey include:

• 52% of UK employers communicate several times a year with their employees.
• 54% of UK companies have a budget dedicated to benefits communication.
• 42% of employers currently use total reward statements to communicate employee benefits to their staff.

EMEA findings

Across the wider EMEA region, companies expressed similar frustration with the impact of their communications programmes, with budget constraints cited as a key factor inhibiting employers’ ability to derive a valuable return on investment from engagement initiatives.

Joyce Nehaïssi, Consultant in Aon Hewitt’s Paris office said:
“Across EMEA, the key restriction to improving communication with employees over compensation and benefits has not been a lack of understanding of the value in doing so or insufficient appetite to take action. It has simply been a shortage of available budget.  Reassuringly though, companies are increasing the frequency of communication with their staff - but the lion’s share of their time in this area remains spent on implementing, rather than explaining benefits packages. As a result, just 9% of employees claim to understand their company’s reward policy.”

Key EMEA findings:

• 52% of companies have no budget for compensation and benefits communication.
• 81% of companies spend more time on implementation than communication when there is a change in benefits packages.
• 45% of employers spend 20% or less of their time on communicating benefits packages to employees.
• 42% of companies engage in benefits communication several times a year, up from 37% in last year’s survey.

Media Contact: 
Colin Mayes                                   Giles Abbott
Aon Hewitt                                     Capital MSL
01372 733689                                 020 3219 8805
colin.mayes@aonhewitt.com           giles.abbott@capitalmsl.com
 

Notes to editors

A full copy of the report is available to download from: http://respond.aonhewitt.com/forms/UK_2014FORM-EMEABenefitCommsSurvey
 

About Aon Hewitt

Aon Hewitt empowers organisations and individuals to secure a better future through innovative talent, retirement and health solutions. We advise, design and execute a wide range of solutions that enable clients to cultivate talent to drive organisational and personal performance and growth, navigate risk while providing new levels of financial security, and redefine health solutions for greater choice, affordability and wellness.  Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource solutions, with over 30,000 professionals in 90 countries serving more than 20,000 clients worldwide.  For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

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About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 66,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.