Fancy a Life at Sea With a Pension?

EMPLOYMENT - Rory Murphy, Chair of Ensign, the UK’s only pension provider exclusively for the maritime industry, discusses the issues around employee retention in the sector and how to stop the job-hopping generation from jumping ship.

Millennials are predicted to be the largest demographic in the UK workforce by 2020. Their development and contribution are critical to the maritime industry. However, this generation changes jobs more than any other and with almost half planning to leave their current role within two years[1], it’s no surprise this cohort is known as the “job hoppers”.

Couple this with research that suggests less than a quarter of 17 and 18-year-old seafarers intend to remain at sea until retirement, and more than a third anticipate coming ashore within their first 15 years and the challenge of retaining a talented workforce becomes greater.

The recent Seafarers Happiness Index revealed employees onboard cruise ships and ferries rank amongst the unhappiest in the industry. ISWAN’s recent ‘Welfare of Superyacht Crew’ report also revealed that over 80% of crew members have experienced low crew morale whilst at work – this poses a real challenge when we know that there is a direct link between happy, engaged employees and employee retention.

Of course, poor employee retention leads to a myriad of new costs and complications for any business; additional costs of advertising, recruiting, onboarding and training of new staff, as well as decline in productivity from the outgoing team member, often also reflected in the wider team.

How can we ensure the industry evolves to create and nurture a supportive, engaging workplace environment for a generation that expects more, for employees to feel valued, in order to retain them?

Millennials are 22 times more likely to stay with a company they perceive has a high-trust culture and at a time where retaining a generation of workers has become a nationwide issue, a good benefits package can go a long way in attracting the talent the industry needs, whilst shielding the welfare of existing employees.

Ensign’s 2018 maritime pensions survey revealed that 96% of respondents believe a good company pension scheme is important and ranked pensions as the third most important factor in choosing their employer – behind only salary and annual leave.

A well-managed, high-performing pension plan, underpinned by generous employer contributions, as part of an attractive, progressive benefits package, is a great way for a company to show the value they place in their employees. Boosted employee morale and a shared sense of value and inclusivity serve to lock in the brightest and best. This all comes with the right pension plan.

Remember too, if employers are not aware of what is required to fund a meaningful retirement it could well end up leeching into employees’ well-being.

As a not-for-profit industry specific master trust, Ensign provides a low cost, high-quality pension scheme which you and your employer pay into as a way of helping you save for retirement. With members of the maritime industry at the heart of decision making, Ensign is of the highest standard and will continue to meet its members needs now, and in the future. Ensign is managed by trustees that have an excellent understanding of the specific characteristics and priorities of the maritime industry, and any income is invested directly back into delivering a high-quality scheme, not in shareholder returns. This low cost in real terms equates to an additional £27,000 being saved over a 40-year retirement savings lifespan, compared with alternative, more costly pension schemes.

In an industry that contributes £40bn to the UK economy and is responsible for moving 95% of global trade, keeping workers engaged and happy should be number one priority for the maritime industry, and an overhaul of pensions as part of a valued benefit mix must be part of this.

With needs such as connectivity at sea and better working conditions becoming more front of mind across the sector, good pension provision should also become a differentiator for employers, attracting and retaining the best employees.

For those cadets joining the industry today, the journey ahead seems a long and exciting one. But if we are truly to support maritime employees, the sector needs to step up and share ownership of the new challenge of employee recruitment and retention.

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 The Seamans Happiness Index is below: