To stay competitive, business leaders task HR with devising fresh and innovative approaches to benefits, moving beyond conventional offerings. While this initiative appears to be mutually beneficial for both businesses and employees, a potential pitfall arises from a lack of awareness regarding the most pressing issues affecting employees. This oversight can result in a detrimental mismatch between employee needs and the benefits provided. While HR leaders may feel inclined to start the process of researching and onboarding new wellness benefits by focusing on national trends and popular benefit lists, this may result in overlooked populations being left out of the discussion.

For example, divorce is still considered by many to be a taboo topic in the workplace, yet 70% of the U.S. workforce is affected by it, and life after a divorce is when employees and parents need the most support from their organization. Few organizations even know how many single, divorced, step or co-parents they have in their ranks. Financial, lifestyle, and non-traditional wellness benefits are quickly becoming popular ways to attract and retain top talent and can ultimately benefit both the employer and employee in the long run. Here are some of the ways leading employers can stay ahead of the curve, demonstrating a genuine understanding of and commitment to the wellbeing of their employees.

Recognize the groups in your workplace that are frequently overlooked

While conventional health care benefits remain essential for everyone, these packages have increasingly diversified to address the fiscal and physical requirements of various employee groups. In a similar fashion, HR leaders have changed tactics when it comes to rewards programs, expanding the boundaries and looking at benefits that can help with the mental, fiscal, and social health of employees. To determine the non-traditional benefits that can have an impact on your organization, it's essential to examine the composition of your workforce. But how?

First, ask yourself, when it comes to employee segments who are we forgetting? Are there segments of employees that are valuable to your organization but often ignored? Simply asking how many employees are single and divorced parents could go a long way to demonstrating your support for them. Culture surveys are a great way to understand what non-obvious factors may be affecting your employees at work. Although every business leader may wish to envision employees maintaining 100% focus at work, the reality is that personal life often encroaches on professional responsibilities. Asking employees where they can feel best supported can help uncover some common threads that additional benefits can help support. It might be surprising to learn that a considerable number of employees are grappling with responsibilities such as caring for a family member, financial stressors, or mental health challenges due to challenging personal situations. As employees feel increasingly supported at a personal level, you'll see improvement in loyalty, decreased turnover, and less absenteeism.

Offer benefits that employees can use daily

Traditional health care benefits remain a vital component of employee benefit packages; however, these benefits are not typically utilized on a daily basis by most employees. Even for those with dependents, whether they be a child or adult under their care, health care benefits are just one component of a comprehensive health package. While offering something such as a personal finance course may seem like a small benefit, the ability for the benefit to impact your most valuable employees could deliver immediate benefits to the organization. Even if a benefit won't be used by everyone, offering an affordable benefit to your most desirable employee segments can dramatically improve productivity and reduce absenteeism and turnover. In addition, offering solutions that employees can use every day to directly impact their lives can immediately improve their wellbeing.