Benefits used to be pretty cut and dry, but the modern workforce has realized something about themselves. They want a holistic approach that touches every part of their well-being.

“You really have to give employees a plethora and a full program of benefits,” said Diane Young, head of global benefits at Teradata. Young spoke during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Boston half-day benefits conference, interviewed by Callum Borchers, Wall Street Journal columnist on careers and work lives.

These offerings should include physical, emotional, and social needs. Not only that, but each person is unique in what they need in each of those areas. “You could have somebody that you’re hiring who’s 21 years old or who’s 63 years old. What’s important to one person is going to be very different for somebody else,” she said. 

Benefits like well-being days, flexible time off, and birthday holidays are also ways to make employees feel valued and excited about joining a company, says Young. “It’s really meeting everybody where they are in their career and their stage of life.”

Where You Work Matters

One thing the pandemic did was propel virtual and hybrid work into overdrive. The result? Much of the workforce now prefers virtual work. As such, flexible work arrangements are no longer just “nice to have”—they’re becoming a major competitive advantage.

“The best bang for the buck right now is definitely virtual work,” Young said. “If you’re giving the company and the employees the opportunity to work virtually, you can really hire the best talent. You’re not stuck to one location.” Especially for a company looking to compete worldwide, it’s a huge benefit.

While many companies are pushing employees to return to the office, those that continue to offer virtual options stand out to potential employees. “For those companies that say you can work virtually flexibly, anywhere you want, it’s going to be a huge differentiator.” Still, there can be benefits from in-person, so she suggested that companies make sure they work around that to include the benefit of mentorship.

“When you’re young in your career, it’s sometimes nice to have somebody sitting right next to you,” Young said. “You really have to have an open door if you’re working virtually.”

Minimum Global Standards 

With operations in more than three dozen countries, Teradata uses global minimum standards to ensure consistency and fairness across markets.

“A global minimum standard is basically saying, what do we stand for as a company, and what’s the minimum that we want to give to all employees?” Young said. “It is a guiding light. It helps us design benefits. It helps me say yes to benefits—and it also helps me say no.”

One example is life insurance, which can vary wildly across the globe. Young said they used to offer life insurance benefits based on the country. But it can be complicated and inconsistent with that approach. “Let’s have a level playing field,” she said.

Young highlighted the importance of balancing local regulations and competitive expectations while holding to company values: “I keep saying we’re one company—a whole employee in one company.”

Culture Is Crucial for Benefits

Even the best-designed benefits package can fail without a strong, supportive culture behind it. Teradata has an unlimited paid time off policy, but it takes nurturing for that to work. 

“We have a culture of trust at our company, and because of that, we trust our employees. We trust them to take their time and not abuse it,” Young said. One key to it working? Leadership plays a key role. “If you see everybody working 60 hours a week and nobody’s taking a vacation, it’s not going to work.” 

Culture also matters when it comes to personal, meaningful benefits like pet bereavement leave. Even with unlimited PTO, recognizing a pet’s death explicitly in policy sends a message of empathy and care—qualities increasingly important to workers. They also offer the day off for an employee’s birthday.

As Young emphasized, “It’s about designing benefits for the whole employee—and creating a place where people want to stay and grow.”

Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

(Photos by Rick Friedman for From Day One)