Three things you need to do to nail your global benefits rollout

Our Great Expectations research found that 79% of international employees are demanding more choice in benefits compared to 63% in single-region companies, and 84% of employees in India and Singapore have fresh expectations of their employer since the pandemic. When you consider these statistics, getting the rollout right becomes even more critical. However, one of the things you can never be prepared for is curve balls. To give you a heads-up, here are three things we think it’s worth being on the lookout for:

1. Avoid pitfalls by doing your local research

Knowing the ins and outs of the region you’re rolling out to is crucial if you are to deliver the right benefits and experience to your people. A good example of this is the APAC countries where allowances as part of a benefits offering have been popular for some time. Not only can they be easily rolled out to other regions, but employers can manage the criteria for claims and vary them by area, so they are relevant to their own local employees.  

Another great example is providing US employees health insurance – this is non-negotiable, but it’s not so important in Western Europe where there are free healthcare systems in place. Similarly, in Singapore and China, employees love their tech and find navigating complex systems a breeze. Other countries, however, need things to be simple and user-friendly or they simply won’t engage. The same applies to the legal requirements that need to be considered as well as the cultural norms expected by employees and even how are asked about the types of benefits they want: “Make sure platforms are adapted to all locations whilst maintaining the same level of experience for all employees, whether they are in China, Miami or Edinburgh,” advises Julia Clement, Head of Reward, at Skyscanner. 

2. Be flexible!

Most HR projects miss the deadlines for implementation and a third of them are not just over budget, but significantly over budget. Worse still, 42% of them are rated as not fully successful after two years (Josh Bersin: A Wild New World of HR Technology HR In The Flow of Work). Therefore, making sure the platform is addressing your big problems and allocating a flexible budget to ensure you avoid hiccups is a must-do.

Situations can change rapidly, and HR needs to be ready for anything. “Remember this is a continual process – there will often be curve balls so having that strong foundation in place will serve you well. It’s not about solving the world in a day, deploying everything at once. Businesses are open to change so flexibility is key,” advises James Hardwick, Global Delivery Director. 

3. Check, check, then check again

There are lots of things that can be done in advance of the live date – and this helps to avoid surprises along the way. Things you definitely need to consider are:  

• Are your onboarding teams ready to move?  
• Do you have those country-specific challenges sorted or a plan in place in case you need to make last-minute tweaks?
• Is your messaging on point and are you optimising all the benefits of the platform?  

We would always advise taking a linear approach – with a flexible mindset to account for any wobbles along the way that way you’re ready to give your people the benefits experience they want: relevant, personalised, targeted and country-specific. If you know you have checked these boxes you are probably good to go. 

For advice, tips and best practice for getting your own benefits platform rollout ready, download our latest report: Global Benefits Tech: Getting it right first time