The power of non-traditional benefits plans: A Q&A with Ali Payne

As employers think of recruitment and retention strategies, they might think of competitive pay, a great office culture, or strong traditional benefits plans. One strategy that tends to be overlooked is the non-traditional benefits plan.

Ali Payne, President of ethos, shares her thoughts on the advantages of offering non-traditional employee benefits and how employers can find the right ones.

When discussing with employers regarding offering non-traditional benefits, what are some of the common benefits in demand?

The common benefits that employers are finding to be in demand amongst their employees are parental leave for new mothers and fathers, volunteer time off (VTO), floating holidays, and grief counseling and bereavement leave. Along with flexibility, a positive workplace culture and the ability to plan their future career path with their employer are also important to employees.

With today’s multigenerational workforce, how can employers guarantee they’re offering benefits for everyone?

Employers can guarantee they’re offering benefits for everyone by truly learning who their employees are. Employers will be surprised at not only the differences that a multigenerational workforce offers, but the similarities as well. The experiences and support that employees seek can help employers determine how to help everyone feel seen, heard, valued, and supported both in and out of the office.

How can employers ensure their organization’s brand and culture align?

Employers can ensure their organization’s brand and culture align by making sure their actions reflect what they’re communicating. Companies tend to build a strong external brand but will neglect their internal culture, which in turn counteracts their own brand building and employee experience efforts. Employees want to experience authenticity within their companies, and when they have a different experience from the company’s external brand that originally attracted them, it creates distrust. A way to offset this is by focusing on a holistic approach to the employee experience so that it completely aligns at every touchpoint. Employees who are experiencing the company’s promise every day will exude that purpose in their own work and customer interactions as well!

Read more: Fertility benefits: More affordable than employers think

What is the best way for an employer to discover which of their existing benefits they should continue offering and which should be replaced?

We’ve seen that the best way for an employer to discover which of their existing benefits they should continue offering is to create a plan for making the existing benefits easily accessible, and communicating their availability frequently and clearly, companywide. By doing so, it’ll be easier to see which benefits employees lean towards. If employers notice any benefits are proving to hold little value to their employees, they should find other resources within the company’s budget that employees would rather have. By implementing this plan of keeping existing benefits of value and supplementing new resources as needed, a powerful and supportive culture is created for the entire team.

Are non-traditional benefits on track to replace traditional benefits entirely?

Non-traditional benefits will act as a complement to traditional benefits rather than replacing them. Traditional benefits are very much still valued, and as the workforce changes, so will the benefits. By offering non-traditional benefits, like adding or enhancing employee assistance programs, supporting mental health benefits, paid language classes, and college bound assistance for parents, it allows the company to engage with a multi-generational workforce and appeal to new applicants. It’s also great to offer new benefits to keep up with benefit trends within the company’s budget.