NEW YORK, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Namely, the modern all-in-one HR, payroll and benefits platform for mid-market companies, today released findings from a new #HRWins report from industry analyst George LaRocque. The report, "Where Purpose Meets Performance, Can HR Tech Solve Culture?", features new industry research revealing that in order to build a healthy company culture, employers should prioritize core benefits and compensation before introducing employee engagement perks like recognition, wellness or rewards programs.

Mid-market HR professionals are dealing with a heightened regulatory environment and increasing demands from the C-suite to deliver strategic HR, but according to the #HRWins research, employees still want the basics: meaningful work, efficient HR processes and competitive benefits. The research, sponsored by Namely, also found that HR and finance leaders see the biggest potential ROI from investments in core HR technology and improved employee benefits. The findings are clear: mid-sized companies should focus on core HR and benefits—not perks and gimmicks—to create a healthy company culture of engaged employees.

The #HRWins research shows direct alignment: employees want meaningful work and great employee benefits, and mid-sized companies perceive the highest ROI in those same areas. 57% of employees surveyed responded that "meaningful work" contributes most toward a positive sentiment in the workplace. And when asked to rate employer-provided perks, 54% of employees chose "benefits and paid time off" as the perk which drives engagement most. When mid-sized employers were asked which perks they believe have a high ROI, nearly 60% also ranked "benefits and paid time off" well above rewards programs, team outings, office environment, snacks and recognition.

Featuring three case studies of high-performing mid-market companies, the #HRWins report concludes that the greatest opportunity to reinforce culture and engage employees is during onboarding and benefits open-enrollment periods, or at the time when payroll and PTO information is being reviewed. The report also found that many mid-market companies are planning to make purchasing decisions in HR technology in the coming year. Payroll outranked all other options as the #1 area where companies plan to increase their technology investment in 2017.

"It is often cited that 87% of executives rate culture and employee engagement as their biggest HR related challenge and this #HRWins report clearly highlights that for the mid-market, core HR is the surest driver of a meaningful employee experience," said Matt Straz, Founder and CEO of Namely. "Once that's established, HR leaders can turn their attention to delivering strategic HR, where the challenges are partnering with finance, using data and analytics and creating a healthy, high-performance work environment."

While HR has long been fascinated with engagement, finance has little priority around investing in it. Only 37% of respondents characterized finance's priority level on measuring employee engagement, satisfaction or happiness as a "priority" or "significant priority". In fact, only 8% of companies have actually implemented a strategy across their enterprise to measure employee engagement. To understand the disconnect, the #HRWins report points to the challenge in tying employee engagement to business results. Instead, finance leaders are willing to increase budgets for core HR initiatives like benefits (39%) or learning and development (34%), areas they know employees value.

"These results buck some of the trends currently supported by many thought leaders, consultants, and market analysts covering the topic. Employee engagement is not an outcome and it is not about pulse surveys, ping pong tables and happy hours," said George LaRocque, industry analyst and author of the report. "The modern workplace and its millennial workers have the same basic needs. People, meaningful work and strong corporate cultures are leading us forward and modern, core HR technology is illuminating that path."

LaRocque, LLC surveyed employees and HR professionals from companies with fewer than 5,000 employees, receiving more than 600 responses. Namely sponsored the report as part of the company's expanded presence at this year's Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)annual conference, June 19-21 in Washington, D.C.

About Namely
Namely is the first HR platform that employees actually love to use. Namely is powerful, easy-to-use technology that allows mid-sized companies to handle all of their HR, payroll, benefits and talent management in one place. Coupled with dedicated support and benefits consulting, every Namely client gets the software and service they need to deliver great HR and a strong, engaged company culture.

Namely is used by over 500 clients with over 100,000 employees globally. Headquartered in New York City, the company is funded by Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, True Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Greenspring Associates, Vayner/RSE, Bullpen Capital, and others. For more information, visit www.namely.com and schedule a free personal demo. See today how Namely can help keep your employees engaged and your company growing.

About #HRWins
#HRWINS are the body of reports and analysis that explore and celebrate innovation in Human Resources with a particular focus on technology. Published by LAROCQUE, LLC, an analyst and advisory firm helping employers and HR technologists better understand the intersection of technology and the workforce.

Topics found at hrwins.com include Human Capital Management (HCM) and core HR, company culture, employee engagement, talent management, and talent acquisition.

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SOURCE Namely