Revealed: Top benefits trends of 2018

Abraham Lincoln once said: "Don't worry when you are not recognized but strive to be worthy of recognition"

BY Emily Douglas 22 May 2018

It’s no use implementing a one-size-fits-all approach to perks; people won’t want your benefits if they’re given irrespective of personalization.

We spoke to Cecile Alper-Leroux, VP, Human Capital Management Innovation at Ultimate Software, who gave us her take on benefits packages.

Hyper-personalization
“There are a number of major trends impacting benefits right now,” prefaced Alper-Leroux. “The trend toward hyper-personalization has flowed into the workplace in a number of ways – and without a doubt perks have been impacted by it.

“In today’s age, everything needs to be personalized; from having a personal shopper pick out your clothes, to designing your own Nike shoes. When we relate that back to benefits, we need to ensure we offer our employees more than the standard set of benefits. We need to recognize that employees want to tailor the benefits and perks they receive from their employers.

Remote working
Canadians love working remotely, something which Alper-Leroux believes companies need to start recognizing.

“There’s a huge push for remote working options to be offered by employers,” she told us. “75% of managers say they trust their employees, but a third of them say they want to be able to see their staff doing the work1 – so leaders really aren’t as comfortable with letting employees work away from the office.

“There’s a huge desire from Canadians to be able to work flexibly and remotely, to avoid commuting and spend more time with their families.”

Alper-Leroux told us that 47% of the gig workers in Canada are doing so because they choose to.2 “People like having the freedom to really create their own career. Giving your employees more voice and choice of what they do and where they do it is critical to them having a great experience.”