rom important to fundamental. The importance of flexible benefits in people's compensation plans, within companies, has evolved increasingly over the years. Whereas, a few years ago, flexible compensation was seen as a complement only accessible to a few, time has made it a fundamental principle in many companies. This transformation was the topic of conversation in Coverflex's first webinar, “Compensation: back to basics”, about the growing importance of flexible benefits in attracting and retaining talent. João Franqueira, Head of People at Coverflex, Marta Santos, Human Resources Director at Grupo Arriva, and Rui Soares, Corporate Human Resources Director at DESFO Holding, talked about the management of flexible benefits in companies and the crucial trends in what comes to compensation in the current context.
The entire conversation can be reviewed here.
The importance of flexible benefits has evolved at an accelerated pace recently. If, a few years ago, the existence of benefits was either null or very low (health insurance was among the first benefits to be considered by companies), this reality was, at the same time, undervalued by people, points out Rui Soares. Today, flexible benefits are, more than important, fundamental in employee compensation, “a must have and not a nice to have”, he adds, making it clear that it is necessary to listen to employees. "Employees can tell us what they want better than anyone, which leads to a higher retention of people."
If flexible benefits are a necessary presence in the remuneration of employees, the importance of communicating them properly to each one of them becomes “fundamental”. “If we want to convey the message that the benefits are tailored to each person, communication must also be tailored to each person”, says Marta Santos, who agrees with Rui Soares regarding the need to make this communication efficient from day 1: when making the value proposition to the candidates, it is key to mention the offer of flexible benefits “if we want to have better people”, defends Rui.
“If we want to convey the message that the benefits are tailored to each person, communication must also be tailored to each person”, says Marta Santos, who agrees with Rui Soares regarding the need to make this communication efficient from day 1: when making the value proposition to the candidates, it is key to mention the offer of flexible benefits “if we want to have better people”, defends Rui.
To keep up with the need for an increasingly personalised offer, technology has been playing a fundamental role. “When we have something that simplifies the pain of the human resources manager, it's a very big advantage”, says João Franqueira, who as Head of People at Coverflex is also an employee in the tech startup, therefore having access to flexible benefits. “I feel like I'm not like my peers. Being able to decide and having the autonomy and the ability to say “I can choose” is fundamental”, he confesses.
“When we have something that simplifies the pain of the human resources manager, it's a very big advantage”, says João Franqueira, who as Head of People at Coverflex is also an employee in the tech startup, therefore having access to flexible benefits. “I feel like I'm not like my peers. Being able to decide and having the autonomy and the ability to say “I can choose” is fundamental”, he confesses.
Key takeaways:
- Benefits flexibility is an evolutionary matter and the path is set: each person is unique in their reality and personal context. Different generations tend to want different things, to have different expectations and requirements, and flexible benefits allow each person to be given what they want.
- It is fundamental for the attraction and retention of talent that there is an employees’ empowerment; that they have the opportunity to unlock their potential and own their pay.
- The disclosure of flexible benefits depends on the sector to which the companies and employees belong.
- People's salaries in Portugal are often not enough: flexible benefits also allow employees to maximise their salaries, giving them the well-being and security of being able to reach the end of the month with enough money for everything.
- Within the huge diversity of benefits, there is a growing demand for savings and health solutions.
- Coverflex offers a solution that simplifies the administrative burden of human resources managers, in order to make it easier and painless for their employees to access a flexible benefits plan.
- The pandemic has led companies to rethink their way of organising and managing people, and people to look at companies with an ever-increasing level of demand.
