Three weeks after Israel Gutierrez joined Axios in 2022 as vice president of talent acquisition, his brother passed away suddenly. Along with the emotional toll, the funeral costs were outrageous. Fortunately, Axios had implemented an Axios Family Fund in response to Covid, investing $100,000 for employees in need. As a new hire still navigating the workforce, Gutierrez was reluctant to apply. His boss said, “Just do it.” Finally, he applied for assistance and was awe-struck by the supportive company culture. “It was so inspiring,” he said. Axios made accessing funds easy, fast, and confidential with only three people in the loop, and ultimately, he was able to help his family.

At the June From Day One Conference in Austin, a panel of professionals moderated by Austin Business Journal’s Sahar Chmais discussed how supporting the whole individual at work is about so much more than offering a generous benefits package. Panelists kicked off the session by sharing how they personally felt supported.

Joanna Daly, the VP of total rewards at IBM shared that she values the way the company “holds each other accountable to take our time off, and respects that time off.”

Carmen Whitney, the chief people officer at Yelp, had a tough year balancing showing up as a leader while navigating a divorce and moving to a new city. Yelp includes a benefit “where employees can meet one-on-one with licensed coaches and therapists which was game-changing for me,” said Whitney.

Arthur Lane, head of marketing for Stork Club acknowledged that while having “direct lines of open communication from the lowest employee up to the CEO” and weekly meetings asking “what’s working, what’s not, and should we keep doing it?” might not work for larger companies, he finds it refreshing.

Gutierrez of Axios highlighted the multitude of programming that acknowledges how they take risks, like retroactive sessions. “We don’t just talk about it, it's baked into our actions and processes, not just in performance reviews, which I find empowering,” he said.

Addressing Individual Employee Needs

Benefits can no longer be one size fits all offerings. “You can't assume where people are coming from, or that they're going to experience the programs you're offering in the same way,” Daly said. “The first thing we consider is, is there enough choice in our benefit offerings? Does it have flexibility?” Looking at the data around benefits utilization and looking at vendor inquiries, like requests for more help with fertility or menopause, has provided valuable insight.

IBM also listens to employee requests directly via their Slack channel, engages with employee resource groups, and hires vendors who are part of the communities they serve like LGBTQ+ groups. For example, “I may think I have a great mental health offering. But if there aren’t providers of color, and our employees of color want to see people who understand their experiences, then I don't actually have a great mental health offering,” Daly said.

To address the needs of their mostly Gen Z workforce, Yelp offers a work-from-home stipend as well as travel benefits for reproductive health and gender-affirming care to help employees impacted by state regulations, says Whitney. She also emphasizes the importance of flexibility, especially in a post-Covid workplace. “Employees are thriving [because of their ability to work when and where is best for them.] When we had our offices open, on any given day, globally, we had less than 1% utilization of those offices,” said Whitney.

Wellness programs are key according to Lane. He noted that “15-20% of workers were involuntarily separated from their company due to a direct correlation to the person not having good well-being, connectedness, or engagement with the employer.”

To foster more connection among a highly distributed workforce, Axios created an education group centered on allyship for psychological safety as part of their DIA initiative. Allyship helps all employees from the top down to engage in difficult conversations without bias and improve relationships and processes.

Layoffs, Digital Transformation, and AI

AI is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Allowing space for honest conversations about digital transformation and layoffs and bringing context to the discussion is vital according to Joanna from IBM. You have to reframe the situation citing how we’re always finding innovative ways to make everything more efficient and easier.

Managers and HR leaders can help assure employees that “automation will allow you to do something else that is more valuable to the organization and probably more fulfilling and interesting for you,” Daly said. Employers can energize staff by implementing clear policies and learning programs for internal mobility and creating a culture where that mobility is celebrated. For HR leaders, “the least risky hire you'll make is the hire that you already know about from within your own teams,” said Daly. Gutierrez reminded us of the–love it or hate it–Microsoft “clippy” and added, “In the last debrief between a recruiter and a hiring manager, it's two human beings who are going to talk about hiring another human being. There is no robot involved in that decision so that gives me hope for the safety of recruiters.”

Let’s Talk Money–the Ultimate Benefit

The best benefits package in the world can’t replace being paid fairly, but how can workers approach this difficult conversation successfully? Daly of IBM said, “My advice is to learn, prepare, and rehearse with someone who's been a manager. Come in with a fact-based discussion based on your experience in the market, not an emotional one. Don't go in when you're feeling really upset about your pay.”

Companies can help employees have this conversation through full transparency. That means sharing, “How do you do benchmarking? Which companies do you benchmark against? How do you develop the pay range? What does the pay range mean? How do managers actually make the pay decision with all this information? IBM has a full education module our employees can access to understand exactly how we do this.” Gutierrez agreed, adding that there are compensation transparency laws now so accurate company data exists and is easily accessible when you want to advocate for yourself.

The Silver Lining of Covid

While adapting to Covid took a toll on our well-being it also forced some hard conversations about the status quo of corporate life. Businesses can no longer expect to thrive without employees who are thriving. In this new paradigm, we’ve seen that organizations offering flexibility with higher empathy who translate that into programs, processes, and benefits have employees who are more productive, engaged, and committed to their work. It’s a true win-win.

Gail Gonzales is a writer, brand strategist, and designer based in Austin, Texas. Her boutique agency, Evolve Your Brand, helps business owners who care about the positive evolution of people or the planet amplify their message.