After a pandemic, the transition to remote and hybrid work, the “great reshuffle” and numerous other upheavals, it has become clear in corporate America that the cookie-cutter approach to benefits isn’t working. What’s not clear is whether companies are sufficiently responding–86% of employers in a recent survey called mental health, stress and burnout a priority, but 49% hadn’t put a formal strategy in place for workforce well-being. 

That leaves an urgent question: what philosophy and specific benefits programs will fill the gap? And how can those benefits be personalized and responsive to employees, from health programs to financial well-being platforms? A panel discussion titled, “Supporting the Employee’s Whole, Individual Self at Work,” part of From Day One’s March virtual conference on enhancing total rewards, tackled those questions. “The ability to give every process a second look means maybe giving everything a complete overhaul,” noted moderator Lydia Dishman, a staff editor at Fast Company, “and that includes shining a light on benefits and on what workers want and need right now.”

Panelists who represent a range of companies shared what their employees are asking for. Kathleen Davin, senior manager of people operations at Maven, a virtual clinic for women’s and family health, characterized it as “a one-size-fits-one approach to benefits.” As employees continue to navigate remote and hybrid work, she added, “the biggest theme we’re hearing is that balance and flexibility is really important.” 

Kimberly Young, the VP for global benefits at PAE, an engineering and government-services company, said the highest demand was for affordable health care options. Kristen Carlisle, general manager for Betterment at Work, a financial-benefits provider, spoke to the increasing need for personalized guidance and “financial nuance” when it comes to financial benefits. And Sara Richards, director of benefits for Red Bull, said the company plans to kick off a listening tour to understand where employees need extra support.

Regular communication is key. “Understanding what the employee base needs, what they’re taking advantage of and what’s stopping them from taking advantage of the benefits you’re providing today is a conversation that should be happening at least annually, if not more frequently,” said Carlisle.

Navigating conversations around employee needs can be difficult and often touch on sensitive matters. Young said that PAE is working to provide its HR team with mental health training “to recognize when employees are in crisis,” she said. Davin suggested that companies adopt a “multi-pronged approach” that offers employees different engagement options, like anonymous survey feedback and personalized conversations with leaders. 

Panelists also spoke to how their specific companies were adopting new benefits. Richards said Red Bull is extending its “family care leave” beyond Covid, and also starting to allow employees to take advances on their paycheck. “Coming out of the data, we’re seeing that some employees are taking out advances all the time, so what that tells us is that it’s not enough for their needs and the next step for us is to understand how common this is.” 

Davin said Maven offers flexible time off and flexible work arrangements as well as a stipend as new parents ramp back into work, and also expanded its parental leave. The company also personalized its time-off policy and built in a “week of rest” for employees. “We want to continue to provide direction and opportunities for people to take time off,” she said.

At Betterment, “we’re hearing that employees are less interested in time off and more interested in guidance around their financial decisions,” said Carlisle. “We’ve seen a rise in demand for support of ancillary benefits for how to think about things like your 401(k).” 

Creating New Benefits and Getting the Word Out

There’s still much more companies can be doing. Dishman pointed out that few companies historically offered support on student loan repayment, though the number offering programs to help has been growing recently. When companies don’t offer such support, “it’s not for lack of desire,” Carlisle said, “It’s a lack of how you integrate these kinds of programs successfully, affordably, and ensure they speak to each other.”

Once new benefits are created, communication to employees is crucial. “When an employee is being onboarded or we’re introducing a new benefit, we want to be sure it links to something our employees have been asking for and is a tangible result of their feedback,” Davin said. “And think about what’s going on at the organizational level, to make sure the timing makes sense.” Throughout, she stressed, companies should “meet employees where they are.”

Maven regularly reminds employees of a resource page with services like on-demand mental health counselors, career coaches and lactation consultants. Young said PAE also works to spotlight benefits. “We have these menus of offerings, but do employees really know what we have?” she asked. “We do spotlights on programs twice a month. We call them Wellness Wednesdays, where we focus on specific benefit elements and communicate how they work.” 

Richards, at Red Bull, found effectiveness through a surprisingly simple communication channel: “Good, old-fashioned postcards, which also gets at the spouses at home,” she said. “We’ll put a QR code on it so the employee or the spouse can use the code to be taken to a site that talks about whatever benefit.” 

Managing the Growing Array of Benefit Offerings

Panelists closed with insight and tips on how to juggle the personalized approach to benefits. “If you can, find that one vendor that helps you aggregate, whether that’s a consultant, TPA, or someone else, but find the one place where employees can go and see everything,” Richards said.

“Make all your resources super-intuitive and easy to navigate,” Davin said. “For our fitness stipend, for example, people had a ton of questions so we made a quick FAQ and flow-chart.” Companies should distill and simplify information as much as possible, she added. Young emphasized “there should be a central point for resources and it should be easy for employees to retrieve information once they get there.”

Carlisle also emphasized the importance of finding the right vendors. “It’s not all on you to solve this problem,” she said. “We’re in it together because we all want the same outcome, which is employee wellness.” 

Emily Nonko is a Brooklyn, NY-based reporter who writes about real estate, architecture, urbanism and design. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, Curbed and other publications.