Imagine, you’re clicking around job postings and see a bullet point list that stops your mouse dead in its tracks. You begin to scroll and can hardly believe your eyes: This company offers support for fertility treatments, a sizable 401(k) match and a generous vacation policy that requires employees to take a set number of days off per year.
In just one list, this company has told you everything you need to know about how much it values its employees. Your mouse eagerly begins scurrying across the page looking for the “apply” button.
This is the experience the seven Chicago tech companies featured here strive to create. While they differ in size and work across different industries, what they share is an ever-evolving approach to perks and benefits, one that prioritizes employee feedback and meeting the moment.
A standout perks and benefits package — one that stops job seekers in their tracks — says a lot about a company’s culture. How those perks and benefits packages come to be says even more, though.
Revantage provides talent and corporate services to the real estate companies in alternative investment management firm Blackstone’s portfolio.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
We strive to be on the cutting edge with our benefits and achieve this through a variety of methods, but most importantly by soliciting direct feedback from our employees on how we can better serve their needs. Our people and culture team issues surveys and solicits general feedback throughout the year, and we use this data to assess employee sentiment and develop action plans accordingly.
For instance, when we noticed our employees were grappling with mental health and work-life balance, we researched potential vendors and ultimately introduced Ginger and Headspace to provide them with powerful tools to increase their well-being.
We also benchmark our benefits survey results against our competitors to gain insights into new and emerging offerings. We recognize that employees’ needs evolve as their lives and the world change, and our goal is to ensure our benefits change with them.
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
We have not reduced any benefits in the past year. However, we do adjust our focus annually based on employee feedback. We are currently engaged in a thoughtful conversation around supporting holistic wellness for our employees, encompassing mental, physical and financial well-being as well as professional self-care. As part of this effort, we are in the process of identifying and vetting vendors and are excited about the potential to further expand benefits into this area. Our lives are multi-faceted, so our benefits should be as well.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
Employee feedback plays a pivotal role in shaping the benefits package we provide. We share the feedback we receive with leadership and use it to tailor our recommendations for the upcoming year. Our employees are comfortable providing honest feedback because we’ve demonstrated it will be taken seriously and can influence change.
For example, we recently received feedback that our fertility benefits needed a refresh. After reviewing what our peers were doing in this area, we recommended a fertility reimbursement program during our benefit renewal planning discussions with leadership. As a direct result of employee feedback, we now have a cutting-edge fertility reimbursement program that delivers for our employees.
As a direct result of employee feedback, we now have a cutting-edge fertility reimbursement program.”
Aeromexico, Michelin and Cox Automotive are a few of the companies that use Pricefx’s cloud-based pricing management and optimization software.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
We try to stay proactive to ensure that our benefits package remains competitive and meets the needs of our employees. We conduct regular employee feedback surveys, stay informed about industry trends and hold regular reviews and make adjustments as needed. Currently, we are exploring options to support employees in managing post-pandemic life, including encouraging them to take mental health days and longer vacation breaks.
We are exploring options to support employees in managing post-pandemic life, including encouraging them to take mental health days and longer vacation breaks.”
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
Over the last few years we have scaled down the in-office perks with employees choosing to work more in remote or hybrid settings. In return, we have been able to increase the remote working allowance for our entire global organization. We provide each employee with a tax-free IT allowance of $260 per month.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
We believe employee feedback is a vital tool for ensuring that our perks and benefits package remains aligned with the evolving needs and preferences of our workforce. It promotes engagement, retention and the overall satisfaction of our employees, contributing to a more competitive and employee-friendly workplace.
SRAM is a global manufacturer of bicycle components.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
Ensuring our perks and benefits remain responsive to the needs of our team members is a priority. We’ve designed our offerings to be flexible to enable team members to personalize their packages. We believe in empowering our team members with knowledge and are invested in developing educational resources that present benefits in a more holistic manner, emphasizing how benefits can support team members at different life stages. This approach goes beyond merely listing benefits; it helps team members understand how these offerings can be integrated into their overall well-being strategy.
We believe in empowering our team members with knowledge and are invested in developing educational resources that present benefits in a more holistic manner.”
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
We’ve increased our investments in several key areas.
Wellness: We created a month-long challenge designed to help team members rebuild healthy habits. This served as a launching point for our wellness program, which promotes a holistic and healthy lifestyle. Achieving “SRAM Fit” status comes with the perk of a lifestyle spending account, providing financial incentives for prioritizing wellness.
Mental health: We introduced a new employee assistance program that offers access to coaching and therapy resources. This program is available not only to our team members but also to eligible family members and includes free in-person therapy sessions.
Time off: We enhanced our vacation policies to provide more paid time off and added Juneteenth as a company holiday. We increased our support for parents by expanding parental leave policies and providing additional resources for parents.
We have not reduced or discontinued any benefits. Instead, we are focused on optimizing our existing offerings.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
Real-time feedback from our team members is invaluable. Whether it’s through engaging with their local HR partner, one-on-one discussions or our global engagement survey, we actively seek feedback and input. Our global feedback survey is designed to delve into the employee experience, capturing feedback from team members on leadership, their work team, job satisfaction and our workplaces. It provides a great overview of our organization’s health and helps us understand local needs and build relevant roadmaps to sustain our strengths and make improvements where needed.
DFIN is a leading global risk and compliance solutions company. It provides domain expertise, software and data analytics for every stage of its clients’ business and investment lifecycles. Markets fluctuate, regulations evolve, technology advances, and through it all, DFIN delivers confidence with the right solutions in moments that matter.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
Over the past several years we’ve continued to make investments in our benefit offerings, evolved our policies and launched programs and initiatives to support individuals in the moments that matter. This is reflected in our “my total wellbeing” strategy, which is designed around employees’ money, time, health and careers.
This year we unveiled an unlimited paid time off philosophy in which salaried employees can take as much time as needed for vacation or personal issues not covered by other sick or disability policies. On World Mental Health Day, we encouraged teams to engage in an activity together, complete learning courses focused on mental health and access the resources we offer through our partners.
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
The well-being of employees is DFIN’s highest priority. In response to the global pandemic, we transitioned non-essential employees to work-from-home status and adopted heightened standards to keep essential employees safe. We have maintained the flexible model while intentionally creating opportunities for employees to connect with one another in person at lunches, team meetings and other collaborations hosted in the office.
Unique benefits and perks we provide include the following. A biweekly 401(k) match of 50 cents for every dollar up to 6 percent of eligible earnings with potential for an additional discretionary company contribution. An enhanced short-term disability policy provides 100 percent of an employee’s salary — up from 60 percent — if they cannot work. An employee stock purchase program, an exciting new benefit that will allow U.S.-based employees to purchase DFIN stock at a 10 percent discount through payroll contributions. DFIN also cultivates a “pay for performance” culture in which when the company does well, the rewards are shared with employees.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
Ongoing pulse surveys and town halls keep us informed on what’s top of mind for our employees. Unlimited paid time off, a flexible workplace model, an employee stock purchase plan and 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid paternity leave are a few of the offerings we’ve implemented as a result of actively listening to our employees.
On an ongoing basis, we promote relevant vendor relationships and resources to provide support with weight loss, mental health and financial health and align communications with timely topics in our employees’ lives, like back to school. We continuously re-evaluate our offerings across our well-being pillars to ensure we provide benefits that are relevant, competitive and address constantly changing employee needs.
Three years ago, we instituted a DEI Council to keep DEI at the forefront of our culture and help support our inaugural employee resource group, Women’s Impact Network, and our heritage series, which celebrates nationally observed days and months dedicated to honoring diverse groups of people. This series spotlights employees’ individual experiences and perspectives to broaden cultural awareness and foster community.
The DEI Council sponsored World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Month with resources, activities and webinars focused on mental well-being. In addition, they sponsored a fireside chat with our women board of directors on work-life balance, mentorship and career advice and hosted a watch party during Women’s History Month.
An employee stock purchase plan and 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid paternity leave are a few of the offerings we’ve implemented as a result of actively listening to our employees.”
Companies use dscout’s cloud-based video research platform to better understand consumer preferences.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment
Every year we engage in a comprehensive assessment of our benefits involving a thorough review of our current benefits, employee feedback and trends in the market. From there, we highlight the gaps and opportunities to better meet our employees’ needs. We have a few guiding principles to help us in this, the most important of which is ensuring our teammates and their families have access to high-quality healthcare and that our benefits meet and support the diverse needs of all dscouters.
For example, this year we enhanced our medical plan to ensure employees had access to the best services for things like gender-affirming healthcare and increased support for those needing fertility treatment. Our decision to enhance these benefits was driven by our commitment to providing more inclusive and family-friendly benefits.
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
We’ve not pulled back, only doubled up. Our team yearned for in-person connection and collaboration, and because of that we doubled up on benefits in this area. Notably, we now offer “work from work Wednesdays” every other week. We invite people to come together and utilize the office for collaboration with the sweet perk of lunch provided by dscout!
Of course, employees are welcome at the office any time, and this is just an opportunity to come in knowing that other teammates will be there. For those who aren’t based in Chicago, we coordinate remote hub-based lunches.
Mental health support has always been a top priority for us, and since the pandemic we’ve realized that a traditional EAP would not suffice. This year, we invested in Modern Health, a mental wellness platform that offers employees more personalized care and support.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
Employee feedback is a driving force that ensures our benefits package is relevant, and it helps us understand what matters most to the team. As an example, we’ve had a growing number of team members become parents and realized a one-size-fits-all policy didn’t adequately cater to the ways our employees defined their family.
This year, we refined our program with increased flexibility, allowing parents to tailor the timing of their leave according to their circumstances. We also worked to ensure our sales teammates don’t lose out on commissions when on leave.
Another factor in adding benefits is the utilization rate. If a particular benefit has high utilization, we’ll continue to offer and perhaps expand on it in the future. If a benefit isn’t being used, we’ll consider if it’s worth sunsetting or replacing with something more impactful. Employees might not always remember all of the benefits we offer, so we send reminders when we see low utilization.
Employee feedback is a driving force that ensures our benefits package is relevant, and it helps us understand what matters most to the team.”
New Era ADR’s digital mediation and arbitration platform is designed to resolve legal disputes faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
Ensuring our perks and benefits remain aligned with our employees’ ever-changing needs is a top priority at New Era ADR. In response to the pandemic’s profound impact on mental health, we’ve substantially expanded our benefits program. It now encompasses comprehensive coverage, including medical, dental, vision, health and dependent FSAs, robust mental health support as well as flexible PTO. We’ve also implemented a user-friendly wellness platform and an informative benefits app to empower employees to better understand and utilize their benefits.
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
As a fully remote company, we’ve pulled back on in-person meetings and focused more on flexibility and mental health and doubled down on flexibility within work arrangements. We recognize the value of remote work and we’ve embraced it as a long-term strategy, allowing employees to work from anywhere in the U.S.
We’ve also added more company holidays — 22 to be exact — and made sure that our employees are taking advantage of their flexible PTO. We’ve expanded our mental health benefits and resources to address the unique challenges posed by remote work and the pandemic. This includes access to on-demand counseling services, mental health apps and additional support for managing stress and well-being.
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
Feedback is paramount in crafting a perks and benefits package that is relevant and aligns with employees’ evolving needs. We regularly solicit input through open dialogue and written responses, ensuring we understand our employees’ concerns, preferences and pain points. New Era ADR prides itself on adapting and evolving benefits to meet the moment, empowering stakeholders to make informed, data-driven recommendations.
Identifying trends and finding creative solutions to tackle ever-changing challenges helps our efforts to attract and retain top talent and reinforces our commitment to employee well-being and job satisfaction. For instance, in the past year employees expressed heightened concerns about mental health. In response, we bolstered mental health benefits and introduced flexible work arrangements to ease stress and cultivate better boundaries around work and life.
Employees expressed heightened concerns about mental health. In response, we bolstered mental health benefits and introduced flexible work arrangements.”
Allwyn North America operates the Illinois state lottery and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
How do you make sure that you evolve your perks and benefits package to meet what employees need in the moment?
As a people and culture team we attend webinars, yearly perks conferences, and engage with other people teams to learn what’s in the market and what employees value. We have gained great insights from a one-hour lunchtime webinar with immediate actionable takeaways. We continue to stay up to date with what is important to employees and adjust accordingly.
During Covid-19, we introduced a new wellness reimbursement program and enrolled all team members in LinkedIn Learning. Being flexible and able to adjust with the needs of the team has been key.
What benefits have you pulled back on over the last year or so? What have you doubled up on?
We have invested in live virtual and in-person developmental workshops. Along with team workshops, we introduced a manager training program, a series of five workshops that strengthen leadership skills. We have increased 401(k) contribution matches from 4 percent to 6 percent, increased cost of living adjustments, increased our wellness reimbursement program and increased employee contributions into student loan repayment and 529 college savings accounts. We also introduced benefits to help support new parents, including 24/7 access to lactation consultants. Our team has also adopted flexible and hybrid work.
We have increased 401(k) contribution matches from 4 percent to 6 percent.”
What role does employee feedback play in making sure you’re putting together a relevant perks and benefits package that meets employees’ needs?
We love and value employee feedback. We get the bulk of our data from our annual benefits survey, which really lets us know what people value most. In addition, our team members don’t hesitate to share ideas and suggestions throughout the year. Every year brings new challenges and opportunities for improvement, and ensuring employee satisfaction remains one of our team’s top priorities.
