3 overlooked corporate benefits to transform workplace culture in 2024
Preply’s survey revealed that 65% of workers agree that professional development opportunities are the top non-monetary benefit an employer could offer.
Companies continue to grapple with diverse cultures, languages, time zones, and skill sets within their own employee base. The good news is that innovation in corporate benefits has made it easier than ever to start unifying the mosaic of backgrounds within the workplace, enabling your organization to think through a global lens when it comes to delivering a product or service across the world.
Having built Preply, an online language training platform, from three employees to a team of over 600 in the last 10 years, we’ve worked hard to strengthen our community of over 62 nationalities. Here are three of the transformational employee benefits we’ve learned about along the way.
Global mobility and the impact on work-life balance
In a post-pandemic era of complete comfort with remote collaboration, the value of sending employees to work abroad has become an unsung corporate benefit. Inviting staff to travel overseas and work in a different office goes beyond fostering cohesion and camaraderie amongst employees. Whether a short business trip or a 2-3 year assignment in a new office, employees consider these opportunities a significant lifestyle perk; a unique chance to experience a new country and get a taste of what it’s like to work in a different culture.
According to a recent Preply survey of over 2,500 respondents, achieving a good work-life balance was the most important work ambition after increasing their salary. Global mobility ladders directly up to this ambition. Showing support for your employees’ professional and personal goals through cultural experiences will benefit your organization in several ways. It will enable you to keep your talent highly motivated as well as bring employees of different cultures together, broadening perspectives which will lead to deeper business impacts. Critically, it establishes a richer level of connectivity within your workplace.
Professional development is a path to personal growth
Most companies have created comprehensive professional development programs across their organizations, with top talent often receiving additional support. Preply’s survey revealed that 65% of workers agree that professional development opportunities are the top non-monetary benefit an employer could offer — proving to employers that keeping their foot on the pedal here is key. The desire for professional development opportunities far outstripped requests for better workplace amenities (31%) or access to healthy snacks and meals (25%); sending a clear message to HR departments of where they should be investing resources to motivate and retain talent.
In particular, we are seeing that sessions led or attended by senior leaders from across the organization are having a massive impact on workplace culture. Visible, transparent displays of authentic leadership – whether this be in a workshop, or in a fireside chat with an HR professional, create a ripple effect across the company. When leadership models your corporate principles, it fosters an environment of belonging and psychological safety.
Language learning as a corporate catalyst
The survey also proved that foreign language skills have become more than a desirable asset, they are a workplace pre-requisite. A staggering 88% of respondents acknowledged that foreign languages have significantly benefited their careers with 64% frequently encountering professional situations where knowledge of a foreign language was necessary.
The U.S. is home to the headquarters of some of the largest multinational companies in the world with 90% of U.S. employers relying on a multilingual workforce. However, the demands are not being met and as a result, 25% of U.S. employers are losing out on business opportunities. Additionally, the University of Maryland’s National Foreign Language Center survey of 2,100 HR professionals in the U.S. in which 66% of respondents said that identifying foreign language skills was now “part of the hiring process.”
The surge in corporate interest in language learning is not just a trend but a compelling response to actively address a glaring gap in the labor market. Whether it’s rallying your workplace for immersive Spanish learning to help engage the company’s clients from Latin America, or simply working to limit communications mistakes that can be financially and reputationally costly, many Preply clients are seeing the return on investment for their business. Creating a cohesive, culturally engaged workplace is an additional and highly valuable benefit.
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As organizations navigate the challenges of a globalized economy, fostering a cohesive workplace culture emerges as a key strategy. Global mobility, professional development, and language learning can prove transformative tools in achieving this goal, propelling organizations towards an inclusive, connected, and innovative future in 2024.
Kirill Bigai, Preply’s co-founder and CEO