As the talent war continues, it’s become increasingly clear that
At EBN’s Workplace Strategies Agenda, several HR and benefits leaders came to the same conclusion: inclusive family-building benefits are the foundation of essential employee offerings. For Leslie Guckert-Neitzel, chief HR officer at family-forming benefits provider Carrot Fertility, these offerings are proof of how much, or how little, an employer cares for their workforce.
“Employees are expecting a lot more from employers — to support all stages of their lives,” said Guckert-Neitzel. “As employers, if we don't respond to that, your employees will find employers that do.”
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According to a survey by International Foundation for Employee Benefits Plans, there has been a 4-10% increase in fertility benefit offerings between 2018 and 2020. Mercer now estimates that a third of employers with less than 500 employees offer fertility benefits, while 61% of employers with over 500 employees offer it.
However, family-building benefits cannot be built on fertility assistance alone, explained Abbie Buck, chief people officer at integrated health benefits platform Collective Health. This leaves out LGBTQ couples, who may wish to adopt, and parents who already have children.
“It’s not just about helping through conception or adoption, but also responding to child care needs,” she said. “It’s about expanding our mindset in order to serve our employees.”
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Shawna Oliver, head of global benefits and wellness at multinational insurance company Manulife, noted that employers often do not examine the benefits they already have, and instead focus on what new benefits they can add to the mix. This can lead to employers accidentally holding onto discriminatory benefit offerings, rather than finding more equitable solutions that would expand access.
“Maybe the question is, “Are our benefits not working the way we intended them to?’’ said Oliver. “We assume one-size-fits-all, but when everybody goes to access that benefit, your employees are not having the same experience.”
In order to design and revise benefits with inclusivity in mind, Buck advised employers first to acknowledge that people have different levels of privilege throughout their company. This could range from pay and their role in the company, to their identity. “If you start with privilege and think about how to create access for my workforce, no matter what level of privilege they have, they will have access,” said Buck.
As Guckert-Neitzel pointed out, an LGBTQ-identifying employee may need assistance dealing with the legal process that comes with adoption, or need help accessing clinics that have been vetted for LGBTQ-affirming care.
Eric Thompson, executive vice president and chief HR officer at Vantage Bank, saw firsthand what happens when companies step away from a one-size-fits-all approach to benefits and actually work to customize their offerings around the employees. After conducting engagement and pulse surveys, and digging through people analytics, Thompson’s team realized just how essential family-building benefits were to younger generations entering their company.
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“Banking is not generally the most progressive,” said Thompson. “But family-planning was one of our biggest areas, and those were the areas that we started saying, ‘Wow, that’s what we need to change.’”
When interviewing potential hires, family leave policies and child care assistance often come up for Thompson, further confirming the importance of prioritizing family-building benefits for his team.
Guckert-Neitzel, Buck, Oliver and Thompson agreed that standing for inclusivity starts with ensuring every employee can build and support the family they choose. One of the easiest ways for employers to prove that they are all talk and no action is to allow their family-building to serve only a few — instead, employers have to listen and learn from their workforce and put those teachings into practice.
“People are experts at recognizing, experiencing and articulating cognitive dissonance when values and actions are not aligned,” said Buck. “A willingness to learn and curiosity blends beautifully with employee feedback, and gives you an opportunity to respond to different needs.”
