There are approximately 8.7 million expatriate workers in the UAE today (opens a new window), representing around 80% of the workforce, but what was once a temporary home is fast becoming a permanent destination for many.
As a result, finding employees has never been easier but hiring the best is as challenging as ever, as is meeting the expectations of a new generation of expatriate workers.
Today, the quality of a company’s employee benefits programme is just as, if not more, important than salary to many. According to the Harvard Business Review (opens a new window), 88% of employees would consider taking a lower paid job if it offered better benefits, and the expectation is that these benefits should go far beyond the provision of healthcare, into the broad realm of employee wellbeing.
Employee wellbeing can mean many things to many people and covers a wide range of needs, but the key themes are flexibility and support. And what are employees looking for? It depends on their individual needs but there are some clear trends.
The experience of the pandemic showed employees can be just as productive working remotely as they are in the office so the ability to create their own work-life balance has become a major focus for many, with flexibility in working hours and location the most in-demand features.
The physical health and safety of employees have long been a priority for most businesses, but talking about and dealing with mental health is rapidly losing its stigma in society and people expect their employers to provide the appropriate support when they need it, just as they would for a physical ailment.
And these expectations are stretching into almost every aspect of life including financial wellness, the inclusiveness of the company culture and the business’ environmental credentials. In short, employee expectations are high and any company hoping to satisfy them, will have to invest.
Those that make the right level of investment will become more attractive to the best talent, talent that is likely to stay longer, with greater engagement levels and able to reach higher levels of productivity.
While this may seem largely theoretical, many companies have been making it work for some time. Johnson & Johnson, the global pharmaceutical company, estimates that its strategic employee wellness programme saved the company USD250 million in healthcare costs (opens a new window) over a ten-year period.
In 2011, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas (opens a new window) created a workers’ compensation and injury care unit, staffed by a physician and nurse case manager, and within six years, had reduced lost workdays by 80%, saving $1.5m annually in the process. The operational and financial advantages of a meaningful and strategically aligned employee benefits programme are clear, but setting it up and finding the right partners takes some planning and management:
Assess employee needs by conducting surveys and analysing HR data to identify any needs trends.
Consider broadening the scope of the programme to include everything from support for mental and physical health to financial wellbeing and work-life balance policies. Nothing should be off the cards in the early stages.
Undertake a broad search of the market to find the right partners and tools to deliver a programme designed for the specific needs of your company. One size does not fit all.
Ensure leadership at all levels have bought into the benefits of a strategic employee wellbeing programme, ensure it is communicated effectively to the wider population and is easy for everyone to access.
Once live, track the programme’s performance, collect feedback and make adjustments. An effective wellbeing programme evolves and responds to the changing needs of a changing population.
Having a strong employee benefits programme that includes a strategic wellbeing plan does more than satisfy demand – if managed properly, it becomes a strategic pillar of the organisation’s approach to HR, and for a growing number of employees, a key reason for joining or leaving.
