Improving workplace diversity with more inclusive employee benefits packages

Gone are the days when companies can just provide benefits based purely on pay grades. Today’s job market has become highly segmented, and workers have varying needs and wants. Having a benefits package that speaks to an employee’s specific priorities can spell the difference between getting that star to hire or settling for the average.

More than being HR buzzwords, workplace diversity and inclusion are actually impacting how businesses perform. According to Deloitte, diverse companies have 2.3 times more cash flow per employee. In another research by the Boston Consulting Group, diverse management teams show 19% growth in business revenue compared to their less diverse counterparts. With this backdrop, HR now has a critical role in driving workplace diversity and inclusion through the employee systems they design.

As employee needs become more disparate and priorities non-uniform, having flexible and varied benefits will help future-proof your organisation. This means taking a hard look at your healthcare benefits, paid sabbaticals, and even flexible working arrangements to meet your workers’ needs and preferences.

Benefits packages that are inclusive by design send a clear message

How you treat your people sends a clear message to every potential employee. If your benefits consider varied life circumstances and backgrounds, job seekers implicitly understand that you value everyone that walks through your doors. For instance, you can offer flexible holidays that allow workers to take extended leave during Hari Raya instead of the typical Christmas break or Chinese New Year. This ensures that all demographic groups can have meaningful rest days that fit their culture, instead of favouring the majority due to the status quo or tradition.

Your benefits package also sends signals about what’s important to your organisation. Do your healthcare benefits cover mental wellbeing? What subsidies do you provide for employee learning and development? Can people claim extra time off instead of bonuses?

You can make your benefits program more inclusive by creating more options that employees can choose from.

Varied and flexible benefits allow workers to pick the things that matter more to them, bringing a greater sense of satisfaction with it. Taking this approach in benefits design increases inclusion, and subsequently, belongingness.

Ask yourself: Is there a segment of your company that seems more disengaged? When developing benefits for your company, what do you do for those whose wants don’t fit the majority rule? Inclusion happens when employees feel that their individual needs or preferences are being considered, as opposed to only having benefits designed by the majority rule. It sends the message that “Your uniqueness matters to us” and “We want you on our team”.

Let’s look at healthcare and health insurance as an example.

Most companies offer standard coverage for employees, with packages varying according to pay grade or associated job risk. But what if you provide options that consider employee lifestyles? A fitness buff may prefer to have his gym membership covered and cut back on medical premiums that cover doctor’s visits. After all, he probably sees a doctor only once a year for an annual check-up. You can also reward those who stay fit and haven’t used their medical benefits, both as a motivator for people to stay healthy and as recognition of personal wellness choices.

Rewarding employees will help them stay

While attracting talent is hard, every HR practitioner knows that keeping top talent can be just as challenging. In Singapore, pay and benefits are the top reasons for employees leaving. Getting the right benefits formula can help you hold on to your star performers even when an attractive job market is trying to lure them away. One way to do that is by recognising and rewarding excellent performance. 

Rewards and recognition help make your employees feel seen. This is especially critical for employees from minority groups or segments, who may typically feel overlooked because of their background. A good rewards structure can speak to and motivate the full range of personality types too, even the shyest people in the organisation, allowing and encouraging different workers to shine. For these people, the physical reward may not be the motivator, but the recognition and acknowledgement by their peers and seniors.

Many workplaces have dedicated programs to celebrate their employees—ranging from formal dinner-and-dance awards nights to achievement or target-based rewards. If you don’t have a rewards system in place yet, try asking your best employees what kind of prizes would motivate them to do better. You’ll be surprised to learn that some of the best rewards are fairly simple, such as extra paid time off or achievement bonuses. 
While attracting talent is hard, every HR practitioner knows that keeping top talent can be just as challenging. In Singapore, pay and benefits are the top reasons for employees leaving. Getting the right benefits formula can help you hold on to your star performers even when an attractive job market is trying to lure them away. One way to do that is by recognising and rewarding excellent performance. 

Rewards and recognition help make your employees feel seen. This is especially critical for employees from minority groups or segments, who may typically feel overlooked because of their background. A good rewards structure can speak to and motivate the full range of personality types too, even the shyest people in the organisation, allowing and encouraging different workers to shine. For these people, the physical reward may not be the motivator, but the recognition and acknowledgement by their peers and seniors.

Many workplaces have dedicated programs to celebrate their employees—ranging from formal dinner-and-dance awards nights to achievement or target-based rewards. If you don’t have a rewards system in place yet, try asking your best employees what kind of prizes would motivate them to do better. You’ll be surprised to learn that some of the best rewards are fairly simple, such as extra paid time off or achievement bonuses. 

Employee motivation starts with a choice

Don’t be afraid to include your employees in the decision-making process when curating your benefits and rewards packages. You can do this by doing one-on-one sessions with employee representatives or sending out pulse surveys.

Allowing workers to choose their benefits also gives them a sense of agency. Instead of treating them as passive recipients, variable and flexible benefits engage employees in designing their own rewards system. After all, nobody knows what your employees want and value better than themselves.

Giving workers a sense of agency also increases their emotional investment in the company. This then elevates their sense of ownership and commitment, which then leads to better quality work.

Here are some examples of flexible benefits that can boost workplace diversity and inclusivity:

• Remote work. In the wake of the global pandemic, this benefit should no longer come as a surprise. Having worked remotely for extended periods, some employees may prefer to have the option to work from home at least part-time. This helps support workers with young children or aged parents by giving them more time with family. Supporting remote work may also include an allowance for getting equipment to set up a home office, ensuring that your employees have the right environment even at home
• Flexible work schedules. Another benefit that rose in prominence during the past year. Working from home tends to also mean having flexible schedules. This is not only beneficial for parents juggling work and childcare, but even for dual jobbers, part-time students, or anyone who would like more agency over their schedules. The employee who has always wanted to finish his bachelor’s degree may ask to take two afternoons off and make it up on other days. Having this setup shows how you support high-potential workers that may not have had the privilege to finish schooling.
• Needs-based health coverage for same-sex couples and domestic partners. Some companies offer health benefits that extend to immediate family members, but this is usually only the case for employees in heterosexual relationships. Companies can become more inclusive by broadening their coverage to include benefits for same-sex couples or even those in domestic partnerships. 
• Floating holidays. Offering more options for paid leaves beside the usual vacation or sick leave shows employees that you care about their personal circumstances. For instance, not everyone celebrates Christmas, but it’s one of the typical holidays businesses consider. You could, instead, offer floating holidays so employees get to choose which occasions they would like to celebrate. This is a great opportunity to make employees feel seen and appreciated.
• Learning subsidy. Your best employees are likely to be the ones who are constantly looking for ways to grow and learn. Providing a subsidy for professional learning and development helps keep these star performers motivated. It can also diversify the skill sets within your existing talent pool, particularly if you include training that’s outside an employee’s core functions. This brings in the added benefit of fresh perspectives— and people who adopt a variety of views tend to be positive contributors to their teams. A learning subsidy doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy—a paid subscription to LinkedIn Learning or a Coursera program might be enough.

Creating a workplace employees love

While there’s no secret sauce to building the perfect workplace, designing systems that promote diversity and inclusion is a key ingredient to success. We are living in a patchwork society filled with an ever-widening spectrum of workers. Ensuring that each member of your workforce feels seen and heard helps build loyalty and appreciation that last beyond the average worker tenure.

One final note, though—as much as benefits design matters, how people get to claim and use their benefits matters, too. Everyone hates red tape and paperwork. Having a seamless experience in claiming benefits contributes to overall workplace satisfaction and helps keep the employees you worked so hard to attract.

Remember that your benefits package will tell potential employees what kind of organisation you are in, so make sure you send the right message.

Not quite sure how you can design a benefits program that responds to a diverse workforce? Reach out to our specialist brokers at Howden for advice on how to create inclusive employee benefits packages.