A Guide to Flexible Benefits

Flexible benefits are employee benefits packages that have been structured in a way that allows employees to choose their benefits based on their values and priorities. From healthcare coverage and pension plans to lifestyle perks and self-care opportunities, there are a variety of ways to offer and manage flexible benefits for your employees.

Here, we’ll look at specific types of benefits that help to make up a successful benefits plan, with tips on how to offer them to your team. Read on to learn everything you need to know about flexible benefits and the advantages they can bring to your business.

What Are Flexible Benefits?

Flexible benefits are, by nature, flexible! It’s all about offering employees options when it comes to building out their benefits package. From a stipend that they can spend on activities of their choice to dedicated wellness plans they can opt into, flexible benefits cover a whole host of things.

Some common flexible benefits include:

• Extended healthcare coverage
• Pension or retirement matching schemes
• Life insurance
• Remote working
• Spending accounts for health-related benefits, such as fitness and self-care activities
• Lifestyle-related perks, such as a travel subsidy or childcare

Offering flexible benefits is a great way to empower your team by giving them a personalised experience. They have the opportunity to choose the perks that are meaningful to them, which helps to boost satisfaction and loyalty.

How Flexible Benefits Packages Work

Flexible benefits packages work in a variety of ways, depending on the specific benefits you’re offering.

Some flexible benefits may be included as an extension of the employee’s salary package, such as a flexible spending account that they can use to subsidise relevant purchases. These are benefits that all employees have access to and can choose to use towards expenses that make the most sense for their lifestyle and values.

Other benefits may require a small salary sacrifice that employees can choose to make in order to opt into the scheme, such as extended health coverage, retirement matching, or a cycle-to-work plan.

Examples of Flexible Benefits

There are many different ways you can build a benefits package for your employees and incorporate benefits that cover the key aspects that are important to your team.

Health and Fitness

Offering health-related benefits can help employees and your business – wellness perks have been proven to reduce absenteeism while boosting productivity and job satisfaction.

Regardless of the size of your business or your team, there are many ways to incorporate health and fitness into your flexible benefits package. Some common flexible health and fitness benefits include:

• Subsidised gym memberships
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Flexible funds dedicated to health and fitness sources and equipment
• Mental health support
• Gym passes
• Fitness experiences, such as climbing

In a flexible benefits scheme, employees might have the opportunity to choose to add some of these benefits to their package, or they may have a set amount of funds that can be allocated towards the health and fitness perks that resonate most with them.

Private medical care

Employer-covered healthcare is the top benefit that employees want, which makes it a great option to include within a flexible benefits offering.

There are plenty of ways you can incorporate medical care into your employee benefits scheme. Consider giving your employees the opportunity to sign up for an extended healthcare plan, in which they can sacrifice a small part of their salary and gain access to a suite of services such as dental care, massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, vision care, mental health support, and beyond.

You can also give your team the option to sign up for online medical care platforms that cover telehealth, complete with virtual GP services and mental health appointments.

Subsidised transport

For employees that are required to commute, subsidised transport is a big perk that can offer them financial relief (and help you stand out from competitors). The way you incorporate subsidised transport into your flexible benefits scheme depends on the structure of your business.

Consider where your workplace is located, where your employees are based, and what the onsite requirements are for each department. From there, you can support employees with their commuting and travel expenses through flexible benefits such as:

• Railcard or bus passes
• Fuel stipend
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Carshare program
• Company car

Working from home allowance

A flexible benefits package can extend beyond a set of perks and into the general structure of your workforce and routine. 87% of people report that they want to work remotely at least 1 day each week, indicating that flexible working is a benefit that appeals to employees.

When considering how to build working from home into your overall benefits structure, think about ways you can offer your team:

• Remote work options
• Flexible hours – this could be daily hours that they can choose to work, or set days each month where they can take advantage of more flexibility
• Employer-provided equipment
• Home office spend allowance
• Subsidy for work from home-related costs, such as internet

Childcare support

For employees that have family obligations, incorporating flexible benefits that offer family-related perks can be a great way to add value for team members who are looking for this kind of support.

There are many different ways to implement flexible benefits for families, such as:

• Flexible working
• Childcare vouchers
• Family healthcare plans
• Grocery vouchers
• Fun family experience vouchers

Social and entertainment

As well as providing individual employees with perks, there are many ways you can extend flexible benefits as a perk for the entire department or team. In doing so, you can encourage a healthy work-life balance by providing employees with opportunities for socialising and entertainment – both in and out of the workplace.

Offering social perks and entertainment benefits is a great way to give your employees a personalised experience and allow them to select activities that suit their lifestyle. Some examples of team and individual-based flexible entertainment benefits include:

• Budget for team-building events and activities
• Budget for team getaways
• Budget for employee education and training
• Experience vouchers
• Employee discounts

The Advantages of Flexible Benefits

Offering a holistic benefits package is great for your employees and your business – from recruitment and retention to employee satisfaction and loyalty, a strong and relevant benefits package can support your daily operations and long-term goals.

More cost efficient

Flexible benefits allow you to be economical with your overall benefits budget. Rather than paying for blanket perks that some employees may not use, creating a flexible benefit offering ensures that you’re spending money on the things that your employees want and need.

This means you can be more intentional with your budget, while also giving your team members a package that feels personal and useful.

Improved employee satisfaction

Meaningful benefits resonate with employees. By giving your team agency and control over the benefits they choose, it shows that you value their wellbeing and want to support them in ways that matter. This builds a positive relationship and sense of loyalty, which boosts retention and engagement.

Learn more about how we can help improve your employee experience by creating a flexible benefits package that makes sense for your team.

Positive company culture

Benefits are called ‘benefits’ for a reason – they should add value to your employees’ lives! A flexible benefits package can result in happier employees, which means your company benefits from operating with happier teams – 77% of employees say that wellness programs positively impact workplace culture.

This can create a positive spiral that improves all aspects of your operations – reports find that offering wellness benefits results in fewer sick days and increased productivity, where employees are more likely to enjoy their work and stay at their jobs.

Find out how we can help you provide appealing employee benefits

Creating a flexible benefits package is all about giving your employees access to perks and services that make their lives better. From healthcare and financial incentives to improving their work-life balance with remote work opportunities and wellness benefits, there are many ways you can structure a meaningful, flexible benefits offering for your team.

Personalised experiences can factor into all aspects of your employee experience, from self-care to teambuilding and beyond. Reach out to us to find out how we can support you by building out a benefits strategy that helps to build loyalty and boost retention.