BTN News: Employee benefits are changing because of rising costs, new views on moving for work, clear salaries, fair rules, technology’s impact on work culture, and how engaged workers are. Aon’s “Global Benefits Trends Survey 2024” shows that basic global benefit standards are now common for big companies.
The Most Common Global Minimum Benefits and Their Strategic Importance for Companies
Across the world, companies often offer basic benefits like help programs for employees and life insurance (73%), maternity leave (70%), and paternity leave (69%). These common benefits support important goals like diversity, fairness, inclusion, belonging (DEIB), employee wellness, environmental and social good (ESG), overall health, and the future of work. To meet these goals, companies are setting up these basic global benefits.
Annual Review of Global Benefit Strategies and the Influence of DEIB and ESG Factors
The report says that one out of three big companies around the world now make and check their global benefits plan every year. This is because DEIB, employee wellness, and ESG are becoming more important.
Carmen Burgos, Managing Director of Health Solutions at Aon, says, “Companies everywhere are setting basic benefit standards to meet the main needs of workers, like life protection, health, and saving for retirement. We believe that in the next two years, the number of companies adopting these international basic benefit standards will double and include wellness and preventive health programs.”
Key Findings From the Survey Conducted to Understand Global Benefit Trends
The survey, done from March to April 2024, got 288 responses from people in 31 countries in North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM. It looked at global benefit trends for big companies and collected information about the changing roles, jobs, and priorities of global benefit experts.
Detailed Strategies and the Gap in Local Implementation of Global Standards
Here are the key findings from the report:
- Detailed Strategies: More companies now make detailed plans, with 64% having clear rules. But there is a problem with using these plans locally, leading to uneven experiences for workers.
- Employee Input: 59% of companies asked said they listen to workers to help set their priorities.
- Communication: Telling workers about benefits is a big chance for improvement. Many companies in the study want to improve how workers see the value of benefits, but current efforts are often disappointing, uncoordinated, and ineffective.
- Inconsistent Communication: Only 33% of companies include communication rules in their global plans. Also, 72% leave communication to local benefit teams, causing a mixed global experience.
Importance of Effective Communication to Enhance Employee Understanding and Appreciation
Good communication about benefits is very important to help workers understand and value them. But the study shows that many companies find this hard. While they know it is important for workers to understand benefits, their efforts often do not work well. This can make workers feel undervalued or misunderstood, which can hurt their overall satisfaction and engagement.
Future Trends in Global Benefit Standards and Their Impact on Employee Well-being
As companies keep dealing with the challenges of global work, the push for standard benefits will likely grow. This aims to create a more even and supportive environment for workers everywhere, meeting their different needs and improving their overall wellness.
In summary, the 2024 Aon survey highlights key trends and issues in employee benefits. Companies are making progress in setting basic global benefit standards, but there is still much to do, especially in communication and local use. As these trends change, companies will need to keep updating their plans to meet the changing needs of their workers, making sure benefits are both meaningful and well explained.
