How to construct a global benefits plan
Remote's experts explain how to provide benefits that are locally appropriate yet competitive globally, how to maintain compliance when expanding internationally, and how to foster equality and trust across your multinational team.
- How to develop an equitable global benefits programme
- How to ensure compliance with local labour laws
- How different cultural norms and expectations can affect your benefits plans
- How to attract and retain top talent using outstanding benefits for global workers
- When and how to provide benefits to contractors
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Want to provide top global benefits but unsure where to begin?
Providing excellent benefits and promoting equality across your workforce can be straightforward. Remote hires across 70+ countries worldwide. Download our free Global Benefits Guide, where our experts outline what offering global benefits involves and how to implement them to suit your company’s specific needs and objectives.
The state of remote and flexible working
Remote and flexible working is clearly important nowadays, but which groups of 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 for 2022. The highlights below illustrate the kinds of insights available in the full research report:
- Our research found health insurance is most important in the US
- Additional parental leave ranks highest for parents with one child
- Employees in the Netherlands prefer employer contributions for home office setup
Research highlights
The Remote Global Benefits Guide explains which benefits employees value most.
Parents with a single child place greater value on remote work than those with several children
Access to remote work matters most to parents of one child, although the majority of employees—irrespective of family situation or future plans—consider remote work important. Remote work combined with flexible hours enables parents to arrange work in a way that best suits their family commitments.
Companies should recognise that many employees’ most productive hours fall outside the traditional 09:00–17:00 window, often because of childcare or other external commitments.
Permitting staff to select hours that suit them can reduce stress and burnout, lower absenteeism and improve job satisfaction.
Offering remote work and flexible hours increases an employer’s chances of attracting skilled professionals with young children who are actively seeking such arrangements.
Employees in the Netherlands value remote work most
Dutch employers and workers have long experience with fully remote or hybrid models. Even before the pandemic, the Netherlands supported flexible working practices; this may explain why Dutch employees are most likely to regard remote work as an important benefit. Employers recruiting in the Netherlands should facilitate remote work to attract and retain top talent.
The UK, Germany and the US follow the Netherlands, while employees in France are least likely to consider remote work important, whether offered part-time or full-time.
Remote work matters most to employees in advertising and IT roles
Full-time remote work is the highest priority for those in advertising roles; part-time remote work is most valued by IT professionals.
Whether part-time or full-time, employees in production and sales roles desire remote work far less than others. Employers may need to make remote options more accessible for these functions so those employees can experience the benefits.
This underscores the value of providing remote work at least part-time when it suits the role. The most effective benefits packages consider the employee profile and are tailored to match.
The most important employee benefits when considering a job move
We surveyed 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US to identify which benefits matter most when contemplating a job change, across genders, parental statuses, roles and industries. When employees consider leaving, they compare current benefits with those available elsewhere; this helps them decide whether to stay and determines which roles are worth applying for when they choose to move.
Whether the priority is attracting or retaining talent, our survey of 10,000 full-time employees in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US shows flexible working hours, company-sponsored retirement plans or pensions, and early finishes on Fridays rank as the top three perks to include. Regarding health benefits, US employees place greater importance on paid time off for self-care/mental health and on private and family health insurance than respondents in the European countries we surveyed. Residents in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK generally have access to universal healthcare, whereas in the US medical costs are typically borne individually.
It is therefore essential for employers to develop customised benefits packages that reflect regional priorities. Providing medical insurance to support US employees with healthcare costs demonstrates care and helps preserve equity across your global team.
In almost every job function, employees want flexible work hours – especially those in HR.
Flexible working is the top benefit in all job functions except production and some other roles. Employers with large numbers of staff in production or in roles not captured by our survey may be better served by adding company-sponsored retirement plans or pensions to their packages.
Further results indicate that access to dedicated breastfeeding rooms at the office is most important to employees in advertising roles.
Regardless of industry, employers should consider providing private breastfeeding spaces for parents. As well as promoting inclusion, this supports new parents returning to work and is likely to attract a wider range of high-quality candidates.
