A decade ago, employees didn’t care much about their benefits. Healthcare policy? Check. Wellness program? Sure, why not. Retirement plan? Throw it in too. They accepted whatever was handed to them without a second thought.
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Fast forward to today, and employees have wised up. Now they’re stopping to ask, “Wait, is this benefit actually useful to me, or am I just checking boxes?”
This very question sparked another episode of The CHRO Mindset (yeah, one of the top podcasts on leadership out there), where we’re diving into what modern employee benefits actually look like—hosted by Sajja Praveen Chowdary, Director & Head at Policybazaar.
And Trust us, you don’t want to miss this one! Ready to dive in?
Dive into the full episode of our insightful leadership podcast, The CHRO Mindset to lead HR more effectively.
What are Modern Employee Benefits?
Modern employee benefits are employee benefits but more personalized, customized and meaningful. These benefits take care of the holistic well-being of an employee, including financial empowerment, learning and career growth, and flexibility at work.
The workplace has evolved—and so have employee expectations. While traditional benefits like health insurance, provident fund, and basic leave policies were once sufficient, today’s workforce seeks a more holistic, personalized, and value driven approach to benefits.
Here’s why modern employee benefits are replacing traditional ones in today’s corporate landscape because they
- Aren’t one-size fits-all
- Allow flexibility and choice
- Use technology to personalize
- Holistically address mental health and emotional well being
- Include financial wellness and life stage planning
- Support diversity, equity, and inclusion
Good Benefits, Great Retention: What Modern Employee Benefits Today’s Talent Wants
To be honest, free coffee and a ping-pong table won’t stop your top talent from updating their LinkedIn and planning their exit. Today, employees want real benefits that support real-life moments—not just workplace frills.
What they want is,
- Mental health support that’s more than an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) brochure
- Working flexibility that doesn’t require 3 approvals and loads of flattery
- Financial wellness programs (and not PDFs) that help manage money
- Parental benefit that goes beyond one week of paid leaves
- Upskilling facilities that help them grow, not just survive
Benefits that align with an employee’s life stages—be it starting a family, caring for aging parents, or pursuing higher education, bring the difference and when people feel cared for as humans, not just ‘resources, they don’t just stay—they show up. It wins their trust, loyalty, and yeah, eventually retention.
So, if you’re still offering a one-size-fits-none package, don’t ask why people are leaving—ask why they’d stay?
Reading the full blog sounds boring? Tune into Spotify to listen to the enlightening episode by Sajja Praveen Chowdary.
How Modern Employee Benefits Keep Teams Engaged (and Happy)!
Gone are the days when company perks were more like a checklist. Modern employee benefits go beyond the check boxes. They’re tools that drive engagement and enhance employee benefit experience. Modern employee benefits that align with employees’ professional growth needs, they foster a sense of satisfied career and a long-term contentment with their jobs. This in turn engages them and reduces burnout, ultimately achieving productive outcomes.
Want to know how modern employee benefits help HR keep teams and employees engaged?
- Offer flexible work options to help your employees work whenever they’re most productive, not just when the clock says so.
- Provide learning & development perks to sharpen skills and make daily tasks easier, faster, and more fulfilling.
- Launch recognition programs to tie great work to real-time feedback, encouraging people to keep showing up strong.
- Build wellness support that helps employees manage stress so they can focus, think clearly, and do better work.
Nurturing an environment that supports an employee’s overall health over toxic productivity ensures they are stress-free, happy, and productive.
Brownie Point: Modern Employee Benefits Also Drive Productivity!
Yes, it’s true. Modern employee benefits not only drive retention and engagement. They also improve productivity.
Why? Because when employees feel supported, valued, and actually like where they work, they stop searching for the nearest exit.
Because they know industrial competition is cut-throat—tighter budgets, mass layoffs, and toxic culture are becoming daily business no one really talks about. And when employees find a secure place in your company, they not only want to stay there but perform better to ensure long-term stability for their career.
So yes, we know perks aren’t magic. But if done right, they keep your best people focused, loyal, and ready to go the extra mile—not because they have to, but because they want to.
Can’t read anymore? No worries! Play it on and listen to this episode. No more work, same insights with our one of the best podcasts on leadership.
Ready to Dive into Some Real-world Examples of Modern Employee Benefits?
Let’s have a look at some classic cases that happened in the past.
Case study #1
Starbucks, in partnership with Arizona State University, offered 100% tuition coverage with its Starbucks College Achievement Plan (SCAP) in 2014 for eligible U.S. employees to earn a bachelor’s degree online to both part-time and full-time employees. Also, the graduates had no obligations to remain with the company once their degrees were completed.
And what were the results?
- By 2019, nearly 3,000 employees graduated through SCAP, with over 12,000 enrolled and a goal of 25,000 graduates by 2025.
- Employees participating in SCAP stay at Starbucks 50% longer and are promoted at nearly three times the rate of non-participants.
- Here’s a catch-Approximately 20% of job applicants cite SCAP as a primary reason for applying!
Case Study #2
In 2020, Microsoft launched its hybrid work policy that allowed remote work by 50%. What it meant was that employees had to ensure in-office presence for at least 50% of their total work hours. It was not just a policy but Microsoft’s commitment to make employees enjoy a flexible work-life. So, it made some serious investments in its office spaces and tools for collaboration like Microsoft Teams.
And what were the results?
- More than 70% of employees plan to take advantage of flexible work from home policies post pandemic.
- Over 80% of managers expect more flexible work from home policies in the future.
- According to Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022, 87% employees reported that they were productive at work in a hybrid work setting.
Case Study #3
In 2021, HubSpot launched a policy that allowed employees to choose how and from where they work-in-office, remote, or hybrid. It also introduced personalized benefits like special mental health days, wellness restoration stipends, and rest weeks across the company. These smart, and employee feedback-driven moves helped HubSpot in creating a more productive and engaged workforce.
And what were the results?
- 54% of remote and 58% of hybrid employees reported improved productivity.
- Lower burnout rates with unique initiatives, ‘Global Week of Rest’ and ‘Mental Health Programming.’
- It secured #1 Best Place to Work by Glassdoor in 2020 and ranked #2 in 2022.
So, How Do You Turn Traditional Perks into Modern Employee Benefit for Your Employees?
Making the shift—from traditional and meaningless to real and meaningful benefits is not that challenging. All you, as HRs must do is to add meaning and utility to the employee benefits to make them modern—that’s it!
Here’s a breakdown. You can do this by:
- Turning Perks into Purpose– Don’t just allocate a budget for your employee’s benefits but add a purpose to it. Consider who wants what and offer them. This truly makes it a benefit!
- Implementing Benefits into an Employee’s Life Stage– Offer them modern employee benefits that’s personalized, like fertility coverage in health plan, eldercare paid leaves, or student loan support that help your employees in their lives, instead of showing you care superficially.
- Building Connection Over Compliance– Throw the policies in the bin. Take one extra step to build connection over forcing compliance because that’s cruelty for sure.
- Flashing Your Culture Signal– Put your vision into action. Give them flexibility not because they want it, but because you trust them.
- Taking It Beyond Health Insurance– Go beyond mental health access. Include financial literacy tools, career coaching, and wellness programs also that hold real utility.
- Making Productivity a By-product-Don’t focus on your employee’s performance and productivity. Provide them with the necessary tools and they’ll handle the rest.
Sounds Challenging? Here’s a Simpler 5 Steps Guide!
Do the steps given above seem difficult and hard to implement? Worry not, we have tailored a simple playbook for you to achieve this!
- Listen to your employees first – Survey employees to understand what benefits they truly value.
- Personalize the benefits – Move beyond one-size-fits-all. Think wellness stipends, mental health days, flexible work.
- Go digital with advanced technology – Use tech to manage and communicate benefits better. Enable mobile access, AI-based recommendations, etc.
- Allow inclusivity – Offer benefits for all life stages: parental leave, financial wellness, elder care, and more.
- Keep reviewing your benefit package– Trends change, so revisit benefits annually to stay relevant.
Enjoyed the blog? Listen to the complete episode and learn the insights we couldn’t discuss here!