The UK Budget announcement to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) might have raised concerns for many businesses, but it’s also an opportunity to reinvigorate your Share Incentive Plan (SIP).
With the right SIP communications strategy, you can turn these changes into a win-win for your organisation and your colleagues. SIPs are already a tax-efficient way for both employees and employers, but the NIC saving potential often goes underutilised.
NIC savings: a golden opportunity
Increased NIC rates mean greater savings when employees choose to participate in SIPs. This creates a compelling case for businesses to double down on SIP communication and engagement efforts.
For employees, SIPs provide the opportunity to acquire shares in a tax-advantaged way, helping them build financial resilience. For employers, increased participation not only enhances company culture but also delivers measurable savings in NICs.
So, how can you supercharge your SIP?
Make the investment
Investing in your SIP communications is a worthwhile investment. By increasing participation, you’re not only helping your colleagues grow their financial future but also creating a culture of ownership and engagement. The bonus is that employer NIC savings can be reinvested into other areas.
With the rising cost of living, we’re all looking for ways to make our money go further, and SIPs offer colleagues a way to do just that. The key is making sure they know about it – and feel empowered to take part.
Revamp your communications
While your SIP might be evergreen – running quietly in the background – this doesn’t mean it should be out of sight and out of mind – communications can become stale both in content and branding – leading to many ignoring them. Now is the perfect time to revamp your communications to engage, educate, and empower colleagues to make the most of the SIP benefits.
Equip: Provide dedicated resources for your internal influencers – Talent Acquisition teams, HR partners, and managers. When these stakeholders feel confident and well-informed about the SIP, they’ll become powerful advocates, helping to promote the plan and drive participation on your behalf.
Engage: Bring your SIP to life with a fresh, creative campaign that captures people’s attention. Use storytelling to showcase real-life examples of colleagues’ SIP journeys, you can breathe life into key features of affordability, flexibility and any benefit of a match. Short emotive messages are key for this phase – perhaps a video and use of internal social channels.
Educate: Many employees may feel intimidated by financial topics, so break down the benefits in a way that’s accessible and relatable. Provide colleagues with tools and resources, such as calculators or interactive FAQs, to help them understand how SIPs can fit into their financial plans. Show them the direct impact of their contributions, including the tax and NIC savings. Finally, consider creating a microsite as a single source of truth, accessible to everyone, even those off the IT network – allowing ease of content updates going forwards.
Empower: This phase is all about making the joining process as painless as possible, ensuring they can easily access any administration account, join and know how to take advantage of flexibility to stop, start of change contribution levels.
Evolve: Gather feedback directly from colleagues and your equipped internal stakeholders to understand what’s working and where improvements can be made. Monitor any increases in participation and contributions and use this data to build a strong business case for further investment in communications if needed.
A win for all
When colleagues feel supported and empowered to make informed financial decisions, the benefits ripple across the organisation. Increased SIP participation doesn’t just translate into happier, more engaged employees – it also strengthens the company’s financial position through NIC savings. It’s truly a win-win!
So, don’t let your SIP remain a well-kept secret. Use the employer NIC increase as a springboard to refresh your strategy, amplify your communications, and achieve better outcomes for everyone involved.
Need help creating a SIP campaign that delivers results? Book your 30-minute discovery call today.
