"Suffering from employee attrition? The solution may be closer than you think.
What’s the biggest challenge facing you and your fellow maritime employers today?
According to Ensign Pensions' latest research study, finding high quality candidates that not only want to join your company, but stay with you beyond training or probation, is the primary issue keeping you and fellow maritime employers awake at night.
“Employers view the recruitment and retention of staff as their single biggest HR challenge, ahead of political and regulatory developments and globalisation.”
Ensign Maritime Study, May 2018
This challenge is echoed in discussions with shipping employers, who, after training up new recruits or apprentices, find them walking out the door in favour of higher paid jobs in sectors such as oil or yachting.
So are shipping employers always going to lose the battle for talent to a competitor or industry with deeper pockets? Or is there a trick up your sleeve that you’ve yet to fully exploit?
Well, according to our research, we believe there is.
96% of maritime workers surveyed, rated a good company pension scheme as quite or very important, ranking pensions as more important than job satisfaction, workplace environment or flexible working arrangements, when choosing their employer.
This is in contrast to the views of employers, where more than half see pensions as a “not very” or only “moderately” important part of their overall employee benefits package. And by ranking pensions only sixth among factors seen as affecting recruitment and retention, behind such factors as flexible working and workplace surroundings, it is clear that many employers are undervaluing the role pensions can play in fulfilling their HR strategy.
“Today’s workers are savvier and more discerning about pensions than ever before. Our research shows a disconnect between the importance workers place on a good pension as part of their benefits package, and employers’ perceptions of this. Employers must recognise the real cost of providing an inadequate pension plan isn’t monetary; it’s in the potential skills lost.”
Jemima FitzMorris, Marketing Director, Ensign
As such, employers could be significantly missing out in the battle to attract top talent by underplaying their existing pension arrangements.
Despite understanding the vital importance of pensions, however, employees’ understanding of them is significantly less developed.
Only 42% know how much they are paying into their pension; only 1 in 3 know what they need for a decent retirement, and over half (54%) have no idea, or have forgotten, how much they are paying in fees and charges. Equally worrying is that 41% of employees surveyed are unaware of the tax relief on their pension contributions, and are therefore potentially undervaluing the benefits to be gained by saving through a pension.
So this leads to yet another opportunity for employers.
Programmes to support communication, awareness and understanding can help you by not only promoting what you have, but also increasing engagement with your workforce. Demonstrating that you understand what is important to your employees, and helping them get the most out of that significant investment, will only increase their level of loyalty, reducing your biggest HR challenge.
At Ensign, we never underestimate the value of pensions to maritime employees. Nor do we underestimate the help employers want in reducing their pensions red tape, and in delivering solutions that meet their company HR needs. That is why we are the go to defined contribution pension plan for over 80 maritime employers."
If you would like a copy of Ensign's research study, are looking to consolidate your pension arrangements, or would like to switch your pension to one with low charges, flexibility and great investment choice please get in touch www.ensignpensions.com.
