India Inc tailors benefits to what employees want

India Inc is pushing the boundaries in rolling out employee-friendly benefits beyond the tried-and-traditional to cater to an increasingly diverse workforce. Fertility/IVF treatment benefits; pet, bereavement, menstrual, family care leaves; adoption/surrogacy assistance; access to mental health coaches; sabbatical programmes; tuition coverage; assistance in setting up remote offices are among the many aspects companies are looking at as the importance of total wellbeing soars after the pandemic.

P&G has just introduced a programme for employees who are caregivers to children with disabilities or special needs. Accenture's medical insurance benefits include coverage for gender reassignment surgery for partners of LGBTIQ+ people and medical insurance for the partners' parents. Intuit has up to four weeks of paid time off to provide care and support for a family member as well as tuition assistance of up to ₹4 lakh a year.

Startups too are equally proactive. Last month, Wingify launched an exhaustive mental wellness programme with Nova Benefits and Manah Wellness. Simpl has menstrual, pet care and adoption leaves.

Two Factors Driving Shift
Two major factors are driving this shift, say experts: Companies are continuously tapping new talent groups, including stay-at-home women, transgender persons, people with disabilities etc. Also, the demographic of the typical organisation is fast changing with a high proportion of young and mobile people.

“This means that a new-age organisation looks more like a congregation of workers with very different needs. Hence, it’s imperative for companies to think beyond the usual and come up with appropriate and appealing support programmes,” said Arvind Usretay, commercial leader, India and South Asia at management consulting firm Mercer.

A one-size-fits-all approach does not and will not work when it comes to addressing the wellbeing needs of people, pointed out Srinivas PM, head, human resources, P&G, India subcontinent, speaking of its new Lead with Care programme. Effective April 1, 2023, this will enable employees to avail of early preventive care and treatment for children impacted by specific neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioural or physical impairments.

Benefits like these are a win-win for both organisation and employees. It helps companies become more attractive talent destinations and impacts key metrics such as engagement, attrition etc.

“For employees, it provides a sense of belongingness for them and their families that helps increase productivity and contentment,” said Jharna Thammaiah, director and India site people and places leader, Intuit.

Employee health insurance platform Plum told ET that organisations are now looking beyond basic health insurance to policies that are more inclusive and holistic. Some firms are including complications related to maternity, which weren’t there before. Treatments like IVF and related fertility treatments are also being included.

Companies are also focusing on preventive care -- for instance, easy access to telehealth, mental health consultations, counselling, etc., added Plum.

Accenture said it undertakes regular reviews of policies and benefits programmes to ensure it meets people’s evolving health and wellbeing needs and is in step with emerging societal trends.

“We understand that every family is unique and has needs that evolve with time and life stage. Hence, we offer our people options to personalise their benefits for their family’s unique requirements. Last year, we introduced a programme called Benefits YOU wherein we have partnered with leading third-party service providers to offer a wide range of personalised services that address the holistic well-being needs of our people and their families,” Accenture in India told ET in an email response.