In an increasingly competitive UK retail savings and investments market, many life companies and asset managers are pinning their future growth strategies on pushing into the workplace.

With impending auto-enrolment regulatory change set to force semi-mandatory saving (that sounds contradictory!) via the workplace for lower income employees, groups are looking to bolt on other savings options beyond pensions to allow a seemingly one-stop-shop for individuals.

These packaged offerings are typically referred to as Corporate Platforms.

Corporate platforms, which allow employees to choose their own investments, pension products, and other benefits through their employer, have been hailed as part of the solution to improve lacklustre saving rates across the UK.

But will employees use this new technology or shun it at the outset?

The corporate arena is not a simple yellow brick road with a pension-Emerald City at the end and critics of these workplace administrative tools claim employers are hesitant to take the plunge and sign up for such services.

However, regardless of the criticism, one cannot deny that going forward, the corporate arena is bound to be a key distribution battleground for pension and investment product providers. Despite the HR manager taking on the matter being heard, not much has been voiced from the employees’ point of view.

Given these individuals will be using, or not as it may happen, a corporate platform, it’s worthwhile understanding their attitudes and opinions on the matter.

The CoreData Workplace Savings and Corporate Platforms report reveals that eagerness to use and engage with a corporate platform appears to be more likely than not. Almost half of employees (46.1%) say they would use or definitely use a corporate platform were their employer to introduce one.

There are, of course, blockers and inhibitors that will keep employees back from using a corporate platform; the foremost among these being cost, followed closely by the prospect of too much jargon.

Below are some of the other reasons individuals gave for their reluctance.

Despite some resistance, the eagerness to use corporate platforms is a significant boon to the burgeoning world of corporate offerings, as the appetite for making use of a corporate platform appears to be quite healthy.

Of course one needs to take into account that the follow-through, that is, whether employees will actually use a platform once it is set up, cannot be guaranteed.

The research finds that employees within five specific industries are more amenable to the notion of a corporate platform and individuals in these sectors are more willing than their counterparts to use such a service.

These industries include human resources, insurance and oil and gas sectors. More than 60% of people working in these three trades say they would be willing to use a corporate platform. The oil and gas sector is home to the most enthusiastic individuals.

Though in an aggregate, more people working in HR say they would use a corporate platform, a greater number of employees within oil and gas say they would definitely use one, were it made available to them.