British businesses must improve the administration of benefits and learn to communicate more effectively with employees if they wish to increase, engagement with, and to retain employees.

With more than three-quarters (76%) of companies looking to improve benefits administration and increase the return on investment in operational services, companies must decide whether to outsource or run benefits in-house, says new research from JLT Benefit Solutions (JLT).

According to the research, 55% of participating businesses communicate benefits to their employees less than once a month, while 26% admit that they communicate benefits on an annual or ad hoc basis.

Such an apparent disconnect between employer and employee only serves to make employees less engaged and decreases the perceived value of the benefits package, says the reaearch.

While two-thirds (66%) of respondents are actively looking at ways in which to improve their benefit communication, they are not always successful in developing a consistent communications strategy that meets employee demands.

Interestingly, just 29% of companies offer online access to benefits packages and it’s increasingly evident that the vast majority of survey participants have yet to capitalise on the benefits of facilitating an online service. However, with the growing need to reduce the administrative burden, cut paper documentation, support green initiatives and enhance communication, JLT expects this figure to increase considerably over the next 12 months.