The June issue of Benefits Canada includes a list of 30 organizations cited as having Canada’s best pension and benefit plans, based on employee feedback. The question arises as to how these employers are able to provide benefits that so completely meet the needs of their workforces.
There isn’t a single list of benefits that guarantees employee satisfaction. The programs offered by these 30 organizations are as varied as their businesses and employees. What these benefit plans do have in common is that they have been designed for the employee population that these organizations need to achieve corporate objectives.
However, as the labour shortage becomes more acute, employee populations will become more diverse. The benefit plan that works today—even for these 30 organizations—may not meet the needs of tomorrow’s workers. As the configuration of the workforce changes, so too should the benefits offered to employees.
Certainly providing a flexible benefits plan makes it easier to meet diverse needs. However, even the options provided in a flexible program have to be reevaluated from time to time to ensure they are still appropriate for both the employees currently on staff and those the organization wants to attract.
There are various steps involved in an effective benefit plan review:
Measure employee satisfaction with benefits
Before making wholesale changes to your benefits plan, find out whether you have a problem. Survey your employees to gauge their feelings about the plan. To pinpoint whether any issues lie with design, communication or delivery, ask questions about all three. If employees don’t understand the program, they won’t use it, let alone appreciate it. If delivery is complicated or unreliable, then the benefit plan will cause dissatisfaction, no matter how great the design.
Determine how important benefits are to your employees—and to various segments of your workforce
By surveying your workforce, you will also be able to determine the significance various benefit options have for different sectors of your employee population. You may have assumed, for example, that benefits are not particularly meaningful to younger employees. Benefits Canada research, however, cited in the June issue, indicates that 30-year-olds are looking for flexibility and wellness options in their benefit plans. If this is a group you want to attract and retain, you may want to consider adding those elements to your program.
Find out what the competition is offering
Comparative analysis tools can be used to benchmark your benefits against those offered by organizations that are competing for the same talent. Of course, it may not be to your advantage to be the leader of the pack, especially if benefits aren’t a big driver for those you want to attract and retain. Your company may have made a conscious decision to stay at the 50th percentile, for example.
Talk—and listen—to employees
While survey data can highlight the problem, it may not indicate the solution. You may want to consider holding employee focus groups. It’s important to manage expectations in these sessions, however. You don’t want employees to think that this is their opportunity to come up a wish list, only to be disappointed when all their “dream benefits” don’t materialize.
Consider low-cost options
Some benefits may be virtually free, yet may really boost engagement and even productivity. Data from the June issue of Benefits Canada indicates that a child-friendly workplace is important to the 30-year-olds surveyed, more than half of whom already had children. They’re looking for flexible hours and opportunities to telecommute.
If you make changes, communicate and deliver
If the majority of your employees have computer access, it may be worthwhile to invest in online communication, whether with or instead of traditional employee booklets. It’s also a good idea to keep an ear to the ground: listen to the feedback employees are providing, whether formally or informally.
Re-measure employee satisfaction
After the changes have had a chance to take effect, ask employees to complete another satisfaction survey and see whether scores have increased.
As the war for talent heats up, it’s important to ensure that employees understand the value of their benefit plan as part of their total reward package. If the benefits an employer provides are not meaningful to current and prospective employees, they don’t realize what they have, or using the program is frustrating, then it may be time for a revamp—or, at the very least, a tweak—of your benefit plan.
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