For generations, workplace benefits referred to just the basics: health insurance, vacation days, and, if you were lucky, a retirement savings fund. But in today’s parlance, “benefits” refers to a broader lifestyle package that is far more holistic and personalized. 

“Back in the early days, benefits were just the thing that employers had. But as employers started competing more for talent, wellness became more of [an] imperative,” said Jennifer Dietrich, SVP, head of global benefits and wellness at Fiserv. Dietrich spoke during a fireside chat at From Day One’s July virtual conference, moderated by Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review. 

“It became part of the culture of our organization. Now, we’re using wellness to help to keep our people healthy, which then allows them to bring their best self to work and their best self to their communities. It does create this culture and environment where people feel cared for, and they want to come and work for you,” said Dietrich. 

The last five years have been a time of rapid social and cultural change, says Smith. From the global pandemic and “the fastest recession and recovery in U.S. history,” to a housing supply crisis, rising mental health concerns, a presidential election, trade war, and more. These “external shocks” can impact the personal and professional needs of the workforce, and employers must be prepared to respond quickly. 

“We’ve seen this interesting shift in people’s expectations, because the pandemic created a different scope of what’s possible for employees, and even for some employers,” Dietrich said. She encourages organizations to be more “human” in the approach to work structures and benefits programs. “If you’ve got the right culture [and] you’ve got the right programs, people can be the best version of themselves. That’s not just important in work, but in all aspects of their lives and in their community,” she said. This culture of support should be ingrained in all management training, ensuring that leaders understand the benefits programs available so they can direct their team in the right direction when the time comes. 

In response to evolving employee expectations, Fiserv introduced a remote flexibility benefit, enabling its 38,000 associates across 35 countries to work from nearly anywhere in the world for a set number of days each year, despite being an in-office company. 

Building a Benefits Program That Works for All

With such a large and diverse workforce, it can be challenging to create a benefits package that offers personalization while still appealing to a broad audience. “People value choice. And the definition of benefits can vary from one person to the next,” Dietrich said, saying some people are satisfied simply by free coffee in the office, while others might focus more on career development. “Doing the right thing for your people and for the business isn’t necessarily supposed to be easy.”

Fiserv relies on annual engagement survey data and feedback from its employees to build a comprehensive package on top of the basics, like healthcare, retirement, disability, and PTO. “Information is power,” Smith said. Since employee needs may be constantly shifting, organizations should be checking in with them regularly to gauge their thoughts on vendors. Dietrich recommends treating vendors as true partners, an extension of your team, equally invested in analyzing data and enhancing the employee experience.

But balance matters, as workers can become paralyzed by too many choices. Internal communications campaigns around benefits options can help them figure out how to make the most of what you offer. “I’m very fortunate to have an incredible team that thinks like marketers, and they have a constant focus on educating our people, including our managers, and making sure that everyone is aware of what’s available to them,” Dietrich said. “It’s never just a once-and-done sort campaign. We really focus on beating that drum constantly through a whole variety of communications to make sure that people are aware.”

Fiserv uses a portal called “Fuel Your Life” that is a digital “one-stop shop” for benefits that allows for personalization. But because not all employees are tech-savvy, the organization also mails hard copies of benefits information to workers’ homes, provides an email newsletter, puts physical signage in offices, and has cultivated a team of employee ambassadors who can discuss the offerings one-on-one. Dietrich foresees that AI will also ultimately be able to assist in this process.

Looking Ahead in the Benefits Space

As Dietrich’s organization looks to the future, it hopes to cultivate the next generation of workers, in part, through benefits offerings. “We focus on having what we consider a best-in-class people platform that focuses on driving a high-performance culture and continuous improvement within the organization.” That means investing in ongoing professional development, growth opportunities, increasing engagement, fostering trust among colleagues, and promoting in-office connection. 

The latter is especially important for Gen Z, as many of them spent crucial educational and developmental years behind a screen during Covid. “We stress [casual, organic in-person] connections for all of our associates, because that helps them feel connected and valued and seen when they are at work,” she said. Smith agreed, “You can’t replace human connection.” 

That human connection is not only integral to keeping employees engaged with the workplace; it’s also crucial to building a benefits package overall. Leaders, Dietrich says, are the ones who help drive the use of benefits, gauge whether the offerings are working, and best articulate to stakeholders what has been most effective—and what is most deserving of future investment. “When you can come back and tell the story that this worked out the way that we expected it to, it helps to build your credibility with leaders, so that you can get more yeses to things like that to do more for your people.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

(Photo by VioletaStoimenova/iStock)