The results of our employee benefits survey. Are you providing benefits to attract, retain and engage employees? Info which will help companies benchmark themselves within the sector and against companies of a similar size. www.spherelondon.co.uk
2. Foreword
First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the
companies that have taken the time to complete the survey. It is
this valuable input that has made the analysis possible. We plan to
continue this survey each year to make the results even more
meaningful.
Benefits are an important way for companies to attract and retain
the best talent. Furthermore, they can be used to differentiate your
business from the competition. I think this survey is a great tool for
benchmarking and analysing how your business’ benefits package
ranks against others in your industry & your peers.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or anyone at Sphere for more
information.
Welcome to the Sphere Digital Recruitment
Benefits Survey.
Ben Steer - Financial Controller, Sphere Digital Recruitment
Ben is a qualified accountant with years’ of experience working for big brands such as, Tate & Lyle and Heinz. Ben also has a
background in Economics, completing a BSc from the University of Bath and working in Macroeconomic Research. He has also
been the main contributor to several Office of National Statistics surveys.
3. Introduction
1. To provide you with information on the benefits that similar companies provide to their staff
2. To provide you with information on the benefits different companies looking for similar staff offer their
employees
3. To provide you with a benchmark to review your benefits against
In addition to this, you can rank your business against other similar business either by size or in the wider
"ecosystem". Please note: This will be based on the "profile" of an organisation. We will not release any
information about specific businesses.
Why have we done this?
• Employee benefits are an important way to retain and hire people- we want to share this info with you
• We are regularly asked by our clients about benefits packages and want to provide you with credible info
• We want to understand and provide our customers prefer clients with an easy guide to what other
businesses offer employees, away from their basic salary, to hire and retain people
• To give you useful information that you can use when making decisions on areas concerning
employee benefits and staff retention
Thank you for completing the survey, we got the best response from fast growth companies like ourselves
who are looking to grow in a sustainable way and attract the right people to foster this environment.
Our Aim
4. Views & Reviews on Benefits
• Over 80% of companies surveyed say
employee benefits are important
• 40% have no formal review of benefits
• Only 20% have a structure in place to
review these benefits
• 60% of companies in Digital think
benefits influence the decision to join,
despite it being listed as the 3rd most
important factor when considering a job
after pay and company
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Not Important Neutral Very Important
Are benefits important when retaining and
engaging employees?
Total 21- 100 101- 500 501+
Size –
• The survey found that larger companies offer the most
comprehensive benefits package and review benefits
regularly.
• Smaller companies are often more imaginative and
creative in the benefits they offer
Type –
• Agencies are the best all-round companies for benefits,
with LOTS of fringe benefits
• MMA, Ad/Mar Tech think most important (both as part of
package and bringing people in)
• However, review less often than Brand/Client and Media
Owner/ Publisher
5. Maternity and Paternity
• 19% of firms offer above statutory maternity pay, 14% offer paternity
• 25% of companies that offer above statutory maternity pay do not do the same for
paternity pay
• 20% Brand/Client and Media Owner/ Publisher offer above statutory for maternity and
paternity
• 18% MMA and ad/mar tech offer maternity above statutory, only 12% offer paternity.
Therefore a 1/3rd of companies offering above statutory pay do not offer this to Fathers.
• Offering anything above statutory pay is usually saved for executive level roles. However
there is a clear difference between paternity and maternity cover with paternity not being
as considered as maternity.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Above Statutory Above Statutory
Maternity Paternity
Media/ Marketing Agency Advertising or Marketing Technology
Media Owner/ Publisher Brand/ Client
6. By Company Size Explanation
• Medical and Bonuses or bonus payments are popular
• Larger companies offer bigger benefits and a wider range and variety
• This includes fringe benefits such as season ticket loans, training and social events
• A greater proportion of smaller companies offer recruitment bonuses - perhaps to lower the
costs from recruitment companies
N.B. Brand figures show anomalies and therefore are not reflective of brands in general. This is due to big brands not being as
interested as start-ups in completing this survey. However, from our experience what this does reflect is how brands consider
their recruitment, with an attitude towards hiring and recruiters. They have got formal teams in place to review their benefits
packages and as a result of reputation don’t need to do much to hire people.
Benefits Offered
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Bonus/ Share
Scheme
Medical Retirement Plans Life Insurance Free/ Subsidised
Food
Season TicketLoan Staff Learning and
Development
Social Club/
Events
Recruitment
Bonus
Media/ Marketing Agency Advertising or Marketing Technology Media Owner/ Publisher Brand/ Client
7. By Company Type Explanation
• The majority offer benefits under £2.5k PA
• Bonus and medical insurance cover are consistently the most regularly offered benefits
• Value varies a lot between all companies in all sectors (perhaps based on size of
company)
• Brand/Client offer lowest benefits
• Higher percentage of MMA and Ad/Mar Tech offer a wide range of benefits
• 80% of agencies surveyed offer recruitment bonuses
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Bonus/ Share
Scheme
Medical Retirement Plans Life Insurance Free/ Subsidised
Food
Season TicketLoan Staff Learning and
Development
Social Club/
Events
Recruitment
Bonus
Media/ Marketing Agency Advertising or Marketing Technology Media Owner/ Publisher Brand/ Client
Benefits Offered
8. Pensions
• 48% of small companies offer pensions
• 68% of medium sized companies
• 80% of large companies
By Size:
By Type:
• 86% of brands and clients surveyed provided
pensions
• 65+% for MMA’s and Advertising/Mar tech
• 80% MOPS
N.B. Pension laws are about to change, in 2017 it will be become compulsory for businesses to provide pensions.
9. 3 Top Line Tips for a company
like you…….
• Speak with your MD, employee benefits are
important, why is this not being addressed? IS there
an issue with the management structure/ attitudes or
are you more open minded in the way that you
attract, retain and engage employees? Everyone
knows that 1 happy employee is worth the work of 5
• Review, review, review – What are you currently
offering and where are you against these companies
• Feedback- Whatever your size, anonymous feedback
from employees can show you where you can
improve, usually simple things like breakfast, sports
teams can show a bit more of a caring side and help
people mix within different teams
Recommendations & next steps
If you’d like to hear
more on how to attract
the right people for
your business and on
how to engage
employees please visit
our BLOG.
