While a clearly articulated global benefits identity is key to helping a company transform into one that offers world-class benefits programs, it’s important to balance this perspective with local compliance.
From Global Strategy to Local Implementation and Compliance
A well-articulated benefits strategy should be used as a “north star” to prioritize benefit spend on the programs and policies that drive value to both the business and employees. While this doesn’t make tough choices any easier, it does make them easier to communicate. It should also give stakeholders confidence that they’ve made the right choice.
However, many companies still struggle with meaningful implementation. Only one in five global benefits professionals formally align their local markets to the global strategy. This can be counterproductive. To have a true impact on employees and ensure an authentic employee experience, the global benefits strategy needs to be interpretated and implemented locally.
Leveraging employee benefits captives is one way to accelerate and incentivize local implementation. Our global study finds that companies with captives are 50 percent more likely to have enforced local alignment to a global benefits strategy.
Regardless of its growing importance, compliance remains a low priority for global benefits professionals. In fact, just over one third see it as a key objective. But compliance is not going away. It will be increasingly critical to address as implementation starts for legislation required by the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Countries will likely need to set up different reporting requirements, and account for the impact of benefits within this framework. Ensuring a robust compliance component when designing benefits plans will ensure that the organization is prepared for any future legislation.