International Employee Benefits

One of the earliest International Employee Benefits, around since the 1970’s has held the No1. spot for many years, in part due to the richness of the benefit compared to most single country offerings, and the requirement for businesses in a number of countries to provide private health insurance for their employees. 

A starting point for many businesses looking to offer a broader international employee benefits offering due to its relatively low cost and the opportunity to avoid numerous local schemes with differing currencies, renewal dates, contact points and paperwork.

This is a must have for a lot of businesses before they send an expatriate on assignment and is a more specific requirement for certain industries like Oil & Gas, Maritime and Aviation. 

These have become increasingly popular in recent years, partly due to them now being rolled into most Company International Health Insurance products, and partly due to the increasing recognition that employers need to look after the mental health of their workforce. This is particularly true for expatriate workers who carry their own duty of care and have specific requirements, especially if they are relocating with family. The implementation of an iEAP can increase the success rate of expatriate placements. 

This is another benefit which has seen an increase in recent years as mainstream international insurers have added this to their product range. Employers again see the benefits of centralising and harmonising their offering and are able to offer this product in countries which don’t have a similar product available domestically. This is a benefit which also gives are large degree of protection for the employer, by paying a percentage of their salary should they not be able to work, as well as peace of mind for the employee.

Placing all of your budget in one area can leave your benefit provision lacking, unless you are just looking for protection in one area by design.  An insurance heavy approach (International Health Insurance, International Business Life Insurance etc.), whilst excellent to provide, can leave staff feeling disengaged, as these types of benefits are only realised when staff are unwell or the worst happens. Alternatively if you go heavy on a fun / wellness only approach, it is proven to make staff feel more engaged as the benefits can be utilised more frequently, however, they aren’t much use if someone needs physiotherapy or an urgent diagnostic scan, and doesn’t provide much protection for your business. Taking a more blended approach in this area can really deliver the best of both worlds.

Different countries have different standards and requirements when it comes to employee benefits. For example, you have not any choice but to invest in a cost heavy health insurance plan if you have staff in the US, but very few other staff benefits are mandated. The culture around employee benefits can vary greatly between countries and getting the balance right between global harmonisation and maintaining local expectations is important.

For expatriates, or key personnel in overseas offices, in particular you also need to consider the costs of replacing these staff vs giving them a package of benefits attractive enough to keep them motivated. Failed expatriate assignments can be very costly as we elaborate further down the page.

Once you have decided upon your strategy and selection, it’s important to ensure people know what they have and how to use it.  If you are using an independent intermediary to assist you with sourcing, devising and implementing your benefits provision, do ask them to assist in how best to communicate the finished article to employees.  Any good intermediary/benefit consultancy will be happy to develop bespoke literature and spend time to help you promote the benefits and answer employee questions. Many businesses make the mistake of investing in benefits but not promoting them fully and so don’t get the employee engagement that they should.

International businesses can often have siloed benefits strategies for each country as they either are not aware of the opportunity to have an international strategy, or are concerned about following local requirements or customs. For other organisations it can often still be the case that the insurance mechanisms such as International Medical Insurance and International Group Income Protection are managed by a Finance department, whereas wellness provision such as International Employee Assistance Programmes and Pre assignment Screening are managed by HR.  Compartmentalising benefits across different areas of the business often inhibits a joined-up approach and reduces the opportunity to drive cost efficiencies and streamlining of administration. If your business is working with multiple service providers via different internal stakeholders, it’s likely you will pay more overall and find it increasingly difficult to achieve your overall objective.

Even if you are spending a small percentage of gross payroll on benefits, or have them implemented solely to meet your obligations, continuous review should be a priority.  What are we getting from our current benefit provision? Is it still valued by staff? Have requirements or regulation changed? Do our partners/providers align with our company culture? Are we paying too much? Is it being effective?  These are all questions that should be asked on at least an annual basis to avoid stagnation, maintain relevance and to ensure businesses get the best possible return on their investment.