One-size-fits-all approach doesn't work: A Q&A with Melanie Langsett
Melanie Langsett, Recognition, Rewards & Wellbeing leader at Deloitte believes that benefits should be catered to the individual employee.
Lately, benefits professionals have started to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to employee benefits.
Melanie Langsett, Recognition, Rewards & Wellbeing leader at Deloitte believes that benefits should be catered to the individual employee. She says this will allow the employee to get the best out of their benefits.
Why does the one-size-fits-all approach not work for employee benefits?
Employees are individual humans, with needs that vary based on what makes them individuals. Their unique needs make it nearly impossible to address through one-size-fits-all programs. In order to support employees’ needs to thrive mentally, physically, and financially, it’s important that employee benefits provide flexibility for each person to access the specific resources that they need when they need them.
What can employers do in order to provide benefits that work for their employees?
The best benefit designs are employee-centered, data-driven, culturally aligned, and intuitively delivered.
First is to validate what your employees view as a benefit. Traditionally, “benefits” have encompassed plans and programs like insurances, retirement plans, and some perquisites. Many in the workforce today consider other aspects of their talent experience like development and career growth, leaves, and access to alternative work arrangements/locations as benefits and consider these as equally or more important to them as their medical insurance and 401(K) matching contribution.
Next is to understand what matters to your workforce. Looking at what competitor’s offer is interesting, but “keeping up with the Joneses” should never be a guiding principle in designing benefits. Instead, ask your employees what they value, and measure what they value most via more quantifiable trade-off modeling. This approach also provides insight into the perspectives of ALL workforce segments.
Before finalizing the benefits you offer to employees, aligning these to your business values, sustainable cost models, and culture is a critical step. For example, offering extensive development opportunities or generous paid-time off programs while not creating space – or permission – for employees to be able to use those programs diminishes the value of what otherwise would be considered a great benefit.
Finally, it is important to create a compelling engagement model that is easy to navigate so that employees can access the benefits they need when it matters most.
What systems are there to help with flexible, individualized benefits?
Organizations are increasingly embedding wellbeing directly into the way work is designed. They are complimenting wellbeing programs adjacent to work, with efforts to embed wellbeing into the work. Some focus on building in digital wellness and productivity, while others are managing capacity at both the individual and team level; others are encouraging job crafting. Overall, it’s important to give individuals autonomy to make meaningful decisions about what and how they contribute to the organization.
Why are these systems important in today’s workforce?
The past two years have reminded us of the dual imperatives of worker wellbeing and work transformation, but executives are still missing the importance of connecting the two. Organizations that integrate wellbeing into the design of work at the individual, team, and organizational levels will build a sustainable future where workers can feel and perform at their best.
Related:
How small business owners can craft the right benefits package
5 ways to increase employee understanding and adoption of benefits