How to incentivize five generations of employees

I help manage a multidisciplinary organization comprising nearly 21,600 faculty, health care professionals and staff at the University of Miami. A particular challenge in that task is the fact that employees span five generations, from Silents to Gen Zers. As part of recruiting, hiring, training and retaining that diverse workforce, our HR team administers a total compensation package featuring a mix of traditional and innovative benefits that reflect different needs at different stages of life and career. So along with a merit-based scale of wages, benefits range from a variety of retirement options to tuition assistance plans.

The U.S. has been dealing with a complex global economy during the past several years, impacted by the COVID pandemic, a shakeup in work routines, employment fluctuations and inflationary pressures. Those forces have seeded a cloud of economic uncertainty for many employers as they move into 2024, leading some to reassess their wage and benefits plans, according to a recent Glassdoor report.

UM is certainly not immune to stresses, and we are constantly reviewing our overall organization in terms of operational efficiencies, costs and resources. Yet unlike certain industries that experienced turmoil in 2023, such as tech and finance, most of our expenses are in human capital components. Therefore, given our mission areas, in higher ed and health care, we have to make sure we hire and retain a workforce that is equitably compensated, engaged and productive. That’s why, for instance, we have a competitive incentive structure that rewards high performers, while never losing sight of combining compensation and benefits geared toward our distinct employee base.

Now more than ever, it’s important that we focus on delivering both broad-based and innovative benefits, thinking about individuals across our workforce and meeting them where they are throughout their time with the university. Again, keeping in mind the generational spread, some employees should have the ability to choose different plans covering retirement, health insurance, paid time off, vacation, tuition and other benefits.

We also have to be able to offer benefits that might not be available to the entire workforce. For example, we have implemented a pilot program for student loan repayment assistance, recognizing that some employees either don’t have student loan debt or have already paid it off. Within the health care field, though, people in certain roles, such as nurses, often are carrying student loan debt. From a recruitment and retention perspective, we want to have a benefit that is attractive to them. Then we can work with them over time to pay off that debt as they build a long and meaningful career with us.

At the same time, we always consider which benefits offering are most significant and valuable to our extensive workforce, understanding that we can’t offer everything to everyone. So it’s imperative that we regularly communicate with all our employees, in open and transparent ways, to determine what’s important to them.

Although we can’t ignore the impacts that inflation and high interest rates have on our organization, concentrating on putting together a comprehensive compensation package is paramount. Instead of wondering whether or not to erode access to benefits, a trend noted in the Glassdoor report, we prefer to look at the big picture.

For example, we’ve had significant wage increases on the health care side of our operations. They were necessary to ensure that we remain competitive. Conversely, on the higher education side, the pace of growth is different across the country. It’s not increasing as quickly, and the employee pipelines aren’t shrinking in the same way as they are in health care.

Related: Generational differences should be addressed in benefit offerings, research finds

One of our best practices in adhering to a holistic approach to compensation is to assess our benefits structure and costs routinely and not just once a year, as do many organizations. This gives us regular opportunities to negotiate with our wide array of vendors to explore innovative solutions to potentially cutting costs, while continuing to evolve a generous benefits program for the workforce.

With that approach, we can evolve to be an employer of choice, and retain and attract a high-level workforce that will endure for generations to come.

Alison Mincey, J.D., Chief Human Resources Officer, University of Miami