The Cost of Living: What Works Best to Help Employees?
This InsideHR session looked at how employers can support employees under sustained financial pressure, from pay decisions to flexible working and family support. James Marsh of HRreview hosted Alastair Woods, Partner at PwC, Sarah Jackson OBE of Cranfield School of Management and Jennifer Liston-Smith of Bright Horizons.
Alastair Woods, Partner, PwC; Sarah Jackson OBE, Cranfield School of Management; Jennifer Liston-Smith, Bright Horizons. Hosted by James Marsh, HRreview.
Key takeaways
Target a limited pay budget instead of spreading it evenly
Alastair Woods said that when inflation was running at 10%, PwC's pay budget survey found most large employers planning increases of 5 to 7% for the general workforce and less for managers. Woods urged HR to direct the money at lower-paid staff, people low in their pay band and roles at retention risk, and to explain openly that pay rises and inflation will not always match.
Build a joined-up toolkit, not a string of one-off cash fixes
Woods warned against scattergun interventions and suggested mapping your assets in buckets: family support, wellbeing, learning and skills, recognition and flexibility. Different groups value different things, so ask people how they want to be helped: "don't do to, do with".
Do not assume a decent wage means your people are coping
Sarah Jackson used CIPD examples of in-work poverty: too few hours on a living wage, irregular shifts that make budgeting impossible, rent swallowing a good salary, and part-time workers stuck below their skill level. Debt charity StepChange found a third of its clients in negative budget, with more going out than coming in after every cost had been reviewed.
Treat time as part of the family budget
Jackson argued that control over where, when and for how long people work lets families cut cash costs: fewer paid childcare sessions, less commuting and lower home energy use. State in job adverts what flexibility is possible, and remember that some people want more hours, not fewer.
Give people more control over hybrid working, not less
Jackson cited a study of desk-based workers in Scotland: those with full freedom over where they worked were the happiest and most likely to recommend their employer. Those told to attend two or three set days came in less than those simply asked for a general office presence. Check that set patterns reflect real business need.
Segment the workforce so support reaches those in greatest need
Jennifer Liston-Smith described how Bright Horizons, as an employer of nursery staff, invested £10 million mainly in frontline pay, paying everyone at least the adult minimum wage regardless of age and moving 67% onto the voluntary living wage. Staff turnover fell month on month afterwards.
The Q&A: how to offer practical help without patronising people, and how a manager can run informal flexible working fairly by judging what people deliver rather than how they work.
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