International benefits: Five employer learnings
Five employer learnings to attract and retain globally mobile employees
Explore how employers are designing, delivering, and financing insured health and risk benefit programmes for a diverse, international workforce.
Global assignments have bounced back post-pandemic and remain crucial for multinational organisations, particularly those looking to expand overseas.
Our new global Mercer Marsh Benefits survey provides a unique insight into how employers are structuring their international benefits, and an opportunity to compare your organisation’s benefits strategy and future plans against your peers.
We’ve reviewed the top emerging trends in the international insured benefits space, including coverage for international remote workers, inclusive benefits, cost containment measures, and more.
Here are the five key takeaways for businesses:
Over a quarter of employees say they struggle to understand what benefits are available from their employer, making it the biggest concern for workers. A further 16% struggle to navigate local social security and expat coverages.
Both issues could be solved with better communication strategies, yet just 11% of businesses say communicating benefits to employees is a challenge. This suggests a significant blind spot amongst employers.
We'd urge multinational employers to look at optimising their engagement and communication approach with relevant resources available both internally and via vendors. Making communication an integral part of strategy is key, with integration into yearly reviews and active management of the benefits programme.
of employers expect their number of international remote workers to increase or maintain in the near future
of employers do not have a defined benefit strategy to support international remote workers
Employers must keep up with changing employee needs and ensure that their benefit programmes are both relevant and aligned to their talent management strategies.
Our Health on Demand study considers the power employers have to close healthcare gaps so that all employees thrive. It is encouraging to see that employers are moving towards benefits strategies that support and foster a more diverse talent pool, with 56% citing diversity, equity and inclusion needs as a primary objective of their international medical plan.
Mobility benefits are more inclusive and proactive than ever and we see an increasing number of employers supplementing domestic cover to provide benefits in areas such as gender dysphoria, fertility and birth control cover as part of their international solutions.
Recent geo-political uncertainties, together with an increased claims trend post-COVID (particularly from cancer, mental well-being, respiratory and physiotherapy costs), have led to employers increasingly moving from passive to active plan management. Employees, often travelling with family, are also prioritising their health needs and, given heightened global risks, are reluctant to accept overseas assignments without robust medical benefits in place.
Unsurprisingly, the predominant objective for employers when providing international medical benefits is a duty of care with 90% of respondents citing this. A further 71% of employers agreed that an objective is to prepare for natural risks.
We encourage and support employers increasingly focused on using the tools made available by their providers to help address these challenges, whilst reviewing their benefit package to ensure they are prepared for all eventualities.
