How to create a global benefits plan
Remote's specialists explain how to provide benefits that are locally relevant yet competitive worldwide, how to maintain compliance during international expansion, and how to foster equity and trust across your multinational team.
- How to design an equitable global benefits program
- How to remain compliant with local labour laws
- How cultural norms and expectations can affect your benefits plans
- How to attract and retain top talent by offering excellent benefits to global workers
- When and how employers should offer benefits to contractors
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Download the guide
Want to provide top global benefits but unsure where to begin?
Providing strong benefits and promoting equity across your workforce can be straightforward. Remote hires in 70+ countries worldwide. In our free Global Benefits Guide, our experts outline what global benefits entail and provide guidance on implementing them to suit your organisation’s specific needs and objectives.
The state of remote and flexible work
Remote and flexible working are clearly important today, but which employees value these arrangements most?
By surveying 10,000 full-time employees across genders, industries, job functions, countries, and parental statuses, we identified the most sought-after employee benefits in 2022. The highlights below offer a preview of findings from the full research report:
- Research shows that health insurance ranks highest in importance in the USA
- Additional parental leave ranks as the top benefit for parents with one child
- Employees in the Netherlands expect employer contributions for home office setup
Research highlights
The Remote Global Benefits Guide explains which benefits employees value most.
Parents with one child place greater value on remote work than those with multiple children
For parents with one child, the chance to work remotely is especially important, although employees generally agree on the value of remote work regardless of family status or future plans. Remote work and flexible scheduling enable parents to align work with their family needs.
Companies should recognise that many employees are most productive outside the traditional 9 am–5 pm window, frequently because of childcare or other commitments.
Permitting staff to set their preferred hours can lower stress and burnout risk, reduce absences and boost job satisfaction.
Employers that offer remote work and flexible hours are better positioned to attract skilled professionals with young children who seek roles with those arrangements.
Employees in the Netherlands place the highest value on remote work
Dutch employers are more accustomed to staff working fully remote or in hybrid models. Even prior to the pandemic, the Netherlands had a notably flexible working culture. That may explain why, among surveyed countries, Dutch employees most often regard remote work as an important benefit. Employers recruiting in the Netherlands should enable remote work to attract and retain top talent.
The UK, Germany and the USA come after the Netherlands, while employees in France are least likely to consider remote work important, whether it is offered part-time or full-time.
Remote work is most valued by employees in advertising and IT roles
Employees in advertising roles place the most value on full-time remote work, whereas those in IT roles prioritise part-time remote options.
Regardless of whether it is part-time or full-time, remote work is notably less sought after by employees in production and sales compared with other functions. This suggests employers may need to make remote arrangements more accessible for those roles so those workers can also benefit from remote options.
These findings underline the value of providing remote work options—at least part-time—when compatible with the role. The most effective benefits packages are tailored to the employee profiles they will serve.
The employee benefits that matter most when contemplating a job change
We surveyed 10,000 full-time employees across France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US to identify benefits viewed as most desirable when evaluating a job move, considering gender, parental status, role and industry. When contemplating a change of employment, workers compare their current benefits to those offered elsewhere. That comparison influences whether they stay, and if they choose to leave, guides which roles they apply for.
Whether an employer aims primarily to attract or retain top talent, our survey of 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US shows that flexible hours, company-sponsored retirement plans or pensions, and early finishes on Fridays are the three benefits most worth considering. Regarding health-related benefits, employees in the US place more importance on paid time off for self-care/mental health and on private and family health insurance than employees in the European countries we surveyed. Residents of France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK generally have access to universal healthcare, while in the US medical expenses fall to individuals.
As an employer, it is therefore essential to develop customised benefits packages that reflect what matters most in each business region. Providing medical insurance to help US employees with healthcare costs demonstrates care and helps maintain equity across your global team.
In nearly every job function, employees want flexible work hours, particularly in HR.
Flexible working ranks as the top benefit across job functions except production and some other roles. Employers with many staff in production or in roles not detailed in our survey may find company-sponsored retirement plans or pensions a better fit for their benefits packages.
Further results show that access to dedicated breastfeeding rooms in the office matters most to employees in advertising roles.
Regardless of industry, employers should consider providing private, dedicated spaces for parents to breastfeed. Besides promoting inclusion, this supports new parents returning to work and is likely to attract a more diverse pool of high-quality candidates.
