CleverCards CEO Kealan Lennon on Rethinking Employee Rewards for 2025
View original article at Employee Experience Magazine
With the cost of living crisis and shifting workforce expectations, employers can no longer rely on outdated perks to engage their teams. We sat down with Kealan Lennon, CEO and Founder of CleverCards, to explore what employees actually want from their benefits, how employers can support financial wellbeing, and why flexibility is the cornerstone of modern rewards programmes.
Big Picture Shift
Over the past couple of years, what are the most significant shifts you’ve seen in how companies are approaching employee benefits?
The workplace is evolving, shaped by a changing world and new generations entering the workforce. With Gen Z and Millennials becoming a prominent force in the professional world, it’s clear that their values and interests are starting to dominate the demands for benefits. Over the past years, companies have had to put more emphasis on mental health and wellness support, a priority for both these generations. They have also had to adjust their benefits system to be more flexible, catering to the hybrid work model that has become dominant since the pandemic. The classic office pizza party has changed to offering employees meal vouchers or credit on their favourite food delivery app. It’s important that employers stay aware of what their workforce values and continuously adjust their offerings if they want to keep everyone happy and productive.
“The classic office pizza party has changed to meal vouchers or food delivery credits.”
UK vs Ireland Policy Gap
You’ve spoken before about the differences in tax-free employee benefits between the UK and Ireland. How do those policy decisions actually play out on the ground in terms of employee satisfaction or usage?
In the UK, tax-free gifting is limited to £50. This is far lower than other countries in Europe. Ireland, for example, recently raised the limit to €1,500 and increased the frequency of gifting to five times a year. This makes a huge impact on an employee’s finances, as a benefit of this size would allow them to cover essentials such as rent, utility bills, and several weeks of groceries. With the current economic climate worsening almost daily, employees are increasingly reliant on their employers for assistance. The UK’s policies, however, severely restrict how much help employers can offer, leaving both them and their employees frustrated. While the £50 limit on tax-free gifting does not stop employers from rewarding their employees, it simply makes it more expensive and complicated to do so. By raising the tax-free gifting limit and embracing the flexibility of digital solutions, the UK can take a crucial step toward supporting its workforce in a way that aligns with modern needs.
Behavioural Insight
With hundreds of thousands of users on your platform, what trends are emerging in how employees are choosing to use their benefits?
Most employees, even at a senior level, do not choose to spend their rewards on luxury items, but rather on everyday expenses such as grocery bills and utility payments. As the cost of living has gone up throughout the past years, so too has the number of employees making more practical use of their benefits. We have seen that restricted benefits such as traditional gift cards, which are often limited in their spending options, do not always get redeemed, wasting the employer’s money and leaving the employee feeling underappreciated. Configurable gift cards offer employees the choice to spend their benefits wherever and whenever they want, which, more recently, has been at the supermarket or electricity provider.
“Most employees use rewards to cover groceries and utility bills, not luxury items.”
What Employees Value
Are there any particular preferences or expectations from employees that companies often overlook when designing benefits?
It has been proven that employees value employers who are aware of their needs and offer them benefits that fit those. In fact, 75% of employees are willing to stay with an employer based on their benefit programme. With unique lifestyles across a workforce, a comprehensive and flexible benefits package is essential to making as many employees as possible feel their needs are being addressed, and clearly assists in employee retention.
Sector or Size Trends
Do you see different attitudes or adoption rates when it comes to flexible benefits between small businesses vs large organisations, or between industries?
No, what we’ve been seeing instead is a sustained effort across businesses and industries to reward employees in a way that is helpful to both the employer and employee. While the extent of benefits that employers are able to offer naturally differs according to how big the business is, it is clear that employers of all sizes know that an essential component to keeping employees satisfied is to provide them flexible benefits that work for them and their lifestyles.
Local Economic Impact
You’ve touched on the local economic benefit of modernising rewards and gifting; could you expand on that?
With many households and businesses being affected by the cost of living crisis, traditional rewards options like restricted gift cards do little to help communities. What people need is the opportunity to ease their financial burden in practical ways. For businesses, this means increased revenue. For households, this means extra income to help pay for weekly groceries or electricity bills. Configurable digital cards can often provide this necessary assistance, providing the opportunity to pay for a meal at a local restaurant or cover the cost of a utility bill. Modernising rewards therefore means that, not only are employees supported in whatever their lifestyle needs are, but the local economy in turn benefits from increased business and revenue.
Future Outlook
What do you think employers will need to get right in 2025 to stay competitive when it comes to employee perks and recognition?
With 62% of employees last year stating that they are unhappy with their benefits, it is clear that many employers are missing the mark. An emphasis on diversity and inclusion will likely be the defining factor of employee benefits in the near future. With a young workforce that places increased importance on holistic wellbeing, employers will have to find ways to support a wide range of lifestyles. Offering a comprehensive healthcare plan, which covers physical as well as mental wellbeing, is an important part of making employees feel taken care of. In addition to this, it is vital that the financial health of employees is taken care of, as the majority of them feel they are financially unstable.