89% of bosses keen to help staff with rising cost of living

Australian employers are utilising financial and non-financial methods to better support employees with the rising cost of living, new research has found.

According to a new report released by specialised recruiter Robert Half, almost nine in 10 (89 per cent) employers have taken action in their organisation to support employees with these greater financial pressures.

In terms of financial support, 53 per cent of employers are permanently increasing salaries, 49 per cent are offering one-off bonuses, and 44 per cent are allowing workers to sell annual leave days.

In terms of non-financial support, 57 per cent of employers are extending remote working options to reduce travel costs, 55 per cent are providing mental wellbeing support, and 50 per cent are giving employees gifts to increase morale.

Elsewhere, 50 per cent of employers are introducing new salary sacrifice schemes, 45 per cent are offering income stream services (allowing access to earned wages before payday), and 43 per cent are delivering financial management training.

“With changing economic conditions, savvy employers are stepping up to address the rising cost of living to ensure employees are being supported. They know that not taking any measures is risky and can lead to the loss of great talent, particularly when they observe the ways in which other employers are supporting their staff,” said Andrew Brushfield, director at Robert Half.

By numbers

According to the report, medium-sized employers — those between 20 and 199 employees — are the most proactive when it comes to supporting staff with the rising cost of living.

“In every strategy measured, more medium-sized businesses are offering measures than small or large companies,” the report flagged.

“While small companies are less inclined to provide financial support, they are reverting to non-financial ways to help employees with the cost of living by extending remote work opportunities (47 per cent), giving gifts to increase morale (44 per cent), and subsidising employees’ in-work meals (39 per cent) being their top measures. Comparatively, large businesses are most commonly providing mental wellbeing support through an employee assistance programme (65 per cent) to support their staff.”

Mr Brushfield said implementing measures to help with the rising cost of living could be all the difference in attracting and retaining employees going forward.

“With inflation increasing and with many companies unable to offer salary increases to keep pace, some are reverting to their benefits offerings to attract and retain staff. Support doesn’t just have to be financial, and providing counselling or mental health assistance and allowing staff to work from home can make an employee feel they are supported. Companies are being creative, focusing on a mix of wellbeing, flexibility and other perks to help their staff enjoy a more positive working experience,” he said.

“While not all businesses have the budget to be able to implement many of the changes, they can still focus on implementing measures that do not require high upfront costs to still show their support to employees. In addition to non-financial support, companies must still consider the financial incentives that can be offered and can directly assist employees during this time of rising cost of living. Salary remains a top priority for most in today’s market. If no strategies are in place, companies run the risk of losing employees to businesses [that] recognise and are willing to take action from a financial point of view.

“Finally, employers should have ongoing open conversations with their employees on what motivates them, which can allow for new ideas as to what employees need.”