Employee benefits are a key pillar of any people strategy, shaping how organisations attract, support, and retain talent. But when making decisions, personal biases can take over – often at the expense of your employees. Tackling these biases can deliver not only more tailored benefits, but it can also improve wellbeing, boost productivity, and inspire lasting business success.
Over-reliance on personal experience
Choices are rarely made in isolation. According to our recent report, ‘Overcoming blind spots in SME benefits strategy (opens a new window)’, 75% of leaders have taken a benefits-related decision based primarily on their own personal experience or needs, or those of a senior leader. What’s more, 66% of leaders have felt emotionally conflicted when making a benefits-related decision.
These numbers reflect the genuine empathy that many leaders feel for their teams. For SMEs, this can be a superpower – the recognition that employees are more than just headcount, they are people whose wellbeing matters. Harnessed well, this instinct can establish a culture of trust and loyalty that larger organisations struggle to match.
But the heart isn’t always a reliable guide. When benefits strategies lean too heavily on personal experience or gut instinct, they risk overlooking wider workforce needs, or opportunities for long-term planning. After all, what feels important to one leader may not align with what’s most valuable for employees more widely. Leaders must balance empathetic feeling against questions of practicality and utility.
The impact of poor decision making
Whether down to bad design or ineffective communication, the consequences of poor decision around benefits rarely fall evenly across the workforce. When packages are shaped without considering the needs of different groups, certain employees feel the pain far more than others.
As our findings show, employees on lower incomes are the most likely to miss out on benefits, including vital financial support. Employees with disabilities, women, ethnic minority groups, and others, can all find themselves excluded by design or by omission.
Groups in need of better support, according to leaders (top 3)
Over time, these blind spots don’t just limit financial return – they can deepen existing inequalities, weaken trust, and send a signal, however unintended, about who is truly valued.
Making better decisions
Stronger benefits strategies are built not on instinct alone, but on practices that are inclusive, transparent, and grounded in evidence. To achieve that, leaders must:
Embrace data – Many leaders fail to track benefits usage at all, meaning that they miss the chance to learn what’s working and where to improve. Without the data to demonstrate effective decision making, it also becomes harder to justify spend.
Seek employee feedback – Our research shows that fewer than half of SME leaders develop their benefits strategy based on employee feedback. Focus groups, surveys, and regular check-ins can help to build understanding and ensure benefits prioritise issues that matter.
Foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) – Benefit strategies should actively reflect the varied needs of your workforce. Leaders should seek out diverse perspectives to ensure that employees from different backgrounds feel included, supported, and valued.
Embrace expert guidance – Just 12% of leaders say they’re guided by a broker or external adviser. With most decisions being made internally, it’s no surprise that strategies can lack consistency.
Prioritise lasting relevance – Balance existing workforce needs with those of future employees by emphasising long-term gain over quick fixes and short-term thinking.
When benefits reflect employee need, it does more than strengthen trust. A well-supported workforce will be happier, more engaged, and easier to retain. What’s more, by attracting a diverse workforce, leaders will be able to build more effective teams – and create a platform for long-term business success.
To access the complete findings from our SME Benefits Report, click here (opens a new window).
For more information, reach out to a member of our team or visit our Workplace Benefits for SMEs (opens a new window) page.
