Summary
Experts discuss the importance of inclusive benefits and how organizations can leverage them to enhance employee engagement, attract top talent, and drive business success.
Inclusive workplaces require more than just surface-level diversity efforts. Employee benefit programs can play a significant role in promoting true inclusion. On May 18, 2023, Diversity Works invited Ann Marie Phillips, Head of Total Rewards at Marsh McLennan, and Mary Tinebra, Commercialization Officer at FertilityIQ, to discuss the importance of inclusive benefits and how organizations can leverage them to enhance employee engagement, attract top talent, and drive business success. Below are some insights from our Live Event about the transformative power of inclusive benefit strategies.
Designing Benefits for Inclusion:
To create inclusive benefits, Mary and Ann Marie suggest aligning them with an organization’s DEI efforts and strategic goals. This involves analyzing demographics, identifying coverage gaps, and creating a roadmap for implementation. Employers can build a strong foundation for inclusivity by aligning benefits with unique objectives.
Leveraging Employee Input:
ERGs and virtual focus groups are valuable for gaining employee insights. Listening to employee voices and using insights and data analysis for benefit design decisions fosters ownership and belonging among the workforce.
Addressing Different Generations’ Needs:
Understanding the unique needs of each generation, such as financial assistance for education for Gen Z and support for retirement transitions for older employees, can improve employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Calculating ROI Broadly:
Measuring the ROI of benefits should consider non-financial factors like engagement scores and sentiment. By tracking both, companies can optimize their inclusive benefits programs.
Comprehensive Support for Diverse Families:
Mary and Ann Marie talk about how companies are expanding parental benefits to include healthcare coverage, leave programs, flexible work options, and support for elder and pet care. They believe this caring approach should extend to all employees, regardless of family structure, to create a supportive and empowering work environment.
This session was full of useful tips and illustrative anecdotes. To help you implement the session’s insights, Diversity Works created a Benefit Design Worksheet. You can view the full event on our YouTube channel here. To revisit some of our earlier topics click here.
Register for our June event, From Good to Great: Empowering Companies through DEI Performance Benchmarking here. And if you haven’t done so already, please join our LinkedIn group for the DEI Leader Network. This will help you stay informed of future events and serve as a useful resource as you grow your DEI practice.

About Diversity Works
Diversity Works helps organizations understand and leverage the power of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion.