Benefits Plus

When competing for talent or looking to drive company talent goals, an expanded benefits program, or Benefits Plus, is an opportunity for a company to differentiate itself.

When I design Benefits Plus programs, I start by defining benefit pillars: a pillar that serves Health and Wellbeing for sure…and what else?

At a company where continual development was a talent goal and growth mindset a part of culture, Growth became a benefit pillar. With that, we brainstormed unique and compelling opportunities to drive personal/professional growth for individuals and teams.  Here are some tried and true favorites…

• Personal Development Day – a day off and $200 reimbursement for seminar or experience fees.

• Connect Day – visit another of the company’s offices with a planned development goal in hand.

• Book Club – find a book that supports your growth plan; amp it up by inviting other colleagues to join you for a club.

With time off, expense support, and a “design my own plan for growth” framework, the goodwill built around these benefits was enormous. A common theme of employee feedback was: I can’t believe the company offers me the opportunity to do all this!

Imagine the employee meetings, newsletter stories, and social media posts wherein employees enthusiastically told their own personal stories of growth and development through use of the company’s growth benefits.

The team became authentic promoters of growth, their stories inspired others to act, and the company was regularly developing their team in line with their talent goals and culture.