4 ways global benefits technology brings consistency across regions

A huge of number of organisations are looking to install some form of global benefits platform in the next 12 months.

Although only 8% of employers currently have a global benefits platform in place, a whopping 72% of organisations are looking to implement one in the next year.

Indeed, many organisations are placing greater emphasis on delivering a more consistent employee experience across markets and regions.

Multinational companies recognise the need to align benefits provision to wider organisational values and purpose at a global level, while also understanding and catering to local requirements.

Creating a consistent benefits experience

Although the benefits on offer will differ in each region, the top reason HR and reward leaders implement global benefits technology is to deliver a consistent global employee experience – regardless of location.

The right tech enables employers to better engage employees in benefits, support understanding, and communicate the value of everything on offer. A centralised platform ensures a consistent, recognisable and intuitive experience for all employees, which is especially important for organisations with employees moving between regions.

Samantha Sergent, director of International Benefits at Microsoft, highlighted at a Benifex customer event:

“Mobility is a big piece of work here at Microsoft; you get to work from different countries if your job allows it. We want people to log into that benefits system and think, ‘I work for Microsoft. This is the same approach and enrolment as I had in my old country. It’s consistent, I know how to do this.’”

Truly global technology also supports multiple languages so employees can feel confident making benefits selections in their preferred language. These platforms also ensure employees have access to the support they need, when they need it – and that support experience should not be neglected as a key part of the overall experience.

Delivering the hyper-personalised experiences employees expect

Employee benefits experiences have become central to the overall employee value proposition, with employees saying that, beyond salary, benefits are the top consideration when choosing a new employer.

As employees expect more of their benefits – and demand greater flexibility, choice and relevance in their benefits – a standout global platform is essential to deliver the personalised experiences employees want. Employers are increasingly using content on the benefits platform to show how benefits can support employees through different life events – such as getting married, moving house or having a child.

And benefits allowances are also growing in popularity as a way to give employees the ultimate flexibility and choice within benefits provision. For employers, they provide ease and simplicity, enabling them to offer benefits in areas which currently sit outside of their provision, and to establish a more consistent approach across their international workforce. For employees, allowances deliver complete choice and relevance; everything is a benefit.

Streamlining administration and reporting

As many as 85% of organisations without a global platform in place are still using spreadsheets to manage their benefits across multiple markets. This will inevitably mean their benefits and HR teams are facing a monumental administrative task. It may be manual and burdensome processes that have existed for some time, such as mass use of Excel, so there is an opportunity to eliminate these.

A global benefits platform makes administering benefits infinitely more manageable; automation lifts teams out of manual processes, freeing them up to focus on strategic priorities.

Sophie Gilliam, EMEA Benefits Lead at Ciena, shared how OneHub has greatly reduced administration.

“We were using a lot of spreadsheets and reporting from our other HR tool. But this clearly wasn’t scalable; a lot of manual intervention and time was required – and it also caused some data issues with our providers. It was taking us at least a week every month to complete the monthly benefits report.”

It also becomes far easier to measure and optimise the outcomes of your benefits investment with the right tech in place. Better global benefits data, insights and reporting mean HR and reward leaders can more easily understand the needs of their people and evolve their strategies – at both a global and local level.

Connecting employees, wherever they are

Forward-thinking companies are using their benefits platform to communicate their stories and content around values, behaviours and culture. By using their benefits platform as a focal point for the employee experience, organisations are strengthening their cultural identity and fostering a workplace where employees feel connected, valued and inspired. HR leaders say the top way they plan to evolve benefits in the next 12 months is to better align benefits with company values and purpose.

Beyond sharing what’s on offer, benefits platforms are increasingly being used to show how benefits, reward and recognition support the organisation’s culture, purpose and mission – as well as environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) goals. For example, showcasing the impact of green benefits like EVs is a tangible way to show progress towards environmental goals and encourage employees to explore that benefit.

Rolling out global benefits tech

As working patterns are increasingly remote and global, benefits technology can help you attract, engage and retain the very best people – creating an experience that showcases your total reward package and caters to all employees.

There can be a lot to consider and decide when launching global benefits tech. Whether you’re at the start of your global benefits journey, or you’re looking to launch your benefits platform to new regions – Your guide to global benefits tech will see you to success.