What employers should know about wellbeing benefits for employees

Helen Jackson, Australian Retirement Trust:

COVID-19 “accelerated concepts that were already out there, and put it on steroids (for employers),” Ms Jackson said.

“(We) just really needed to start to connect in a different way with our people. Having the empathy, having the caring, having flexing where appropriate ... just recognising the amount of stress that is on everyone.”

Ms Jackson also cited the recent floods in Queensland and New South Wales as an example of how employers, and the benefits they offered to employees, quickly changed.

“It’s about reacting quickly to needs,” she said.

Australian Retirement Trust almost immediately offered employees special leave during the devastating Queensland floods during January 2022.

David Mollison, NRMA:

“Where we’ve seen a massive shift in is in psychological wellbeing. That’s something we’re on a journey to understand – how we can be impactful and caring in that way,” Mr Mollison said.

He said NRMA’s focus became, “more than just your wellbeing when you interact with us from a work perspective … there’s a real opportunity to care for people end-to-end, not just when they’re on the job.”

Examples of change included NRMA updating its Employee Assistance Program (EAP), with the assistance of their provider, in recognition of the increase in domestic violence in the community during COVID.

James Orr, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank:

“COVID has obviously made work, health and safety, (which was) probably not something a bank had thought about other than the obvious security issues, something that’s now obviously front of mind … making sure we have a safe workplace in lots of different environments, and that people’s physical and mental wellbeing is important.

“But the other side of that, obviously, is financial wellbeing and making sure that finances aren’t a stressor to our people.”

James Orr, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank:

"It’s quite central and we often talk about our purpose as a people and culture function is to support our people so they can support our customers."

Mr Orr said the unique structure of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, where half of its 500 branches are owned through franchise arrangements, was vital to its identity and wellbeing of the people who work there.

"We have about 1,500 people employed by these individual community banks. It’s very central to who we are, to our history, and our value proposition,” he said.

“Our people are obviously key parts of the communities they live within, and we have always taken a very considered view about how we help our people have good and happy lives and contribute to their community more broadly … and not just to their work life."

David Mollison, NRMA:

Mr Mollison said helping people was a key tenet of the organisation’s roadside assistance business, which celebrated its 100th birthday last year, that flowed through the DNA of the whole organisation.

"In a time of need, when they’ve broken down on the side of the road, they get the help. We’re people helping people … that extends to how we look after our people because it’s a core component in how we deliver our service."

Helen Jackson, Australian Retirement Trust:

Ms Jackson said the wellbeing of employees, as well as cultural aspirations, was a key component of the recent merger between QSuper and Sunsuper to form Australian Retirement Trust.

"We had our culture ethos designed with our people through an online interactive tool where people could make suggestions and vote on ideas about the culture they’d like to see (at the merged organisation)", she said.

“That was really our due north,” she said. “It’s being taken extremely seriously by the Board … the executive and the leadership team to do it appropriately.”

Australian Retirement Trust's customer centricity led to the organisation moving to a set of cultural aspirations, which included, ‘striving to serve’, ‘stepping out and stepping forward’, ‘stronger together’, and ‘spirited and caring’, she said.

David Mollison, NRMA:

“Wellbeing and engagement were around discounts or discounts to services … I don’t think that cuts it anymore. It doesn’t really connect people to what’s important or how we are supporting their wellbeing.

“The world has changed, especially considering many employees are now working from home. There’s this real sense from people of ‘I am feeling busier, I am feeling burnt out, I’m doing more and more work’.”

He suggested a need for organisations to start conversations with employees around, ‘what do we start to turn off?’ “There seems to be a mindset of taking more and more on, but not actually stopping anything … of asking is this still adding value,” he said.

James Orr, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank:

“Candidates are going through things with a fine-tooth comb now … more so than they would have in the past. Things like work from home, approach to flexible working … it’s an interesting conundrum in recruiting people right now. Most people want the certainty that it’s two days a week in the office, or no days, or five days, whereas we take the approach of what works for you and your team.”

He said Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was now “a lot more focused on two things: one is psychological safety both for health and safety teams, but also in terms of risk culture to ensure that people feel comfortable to raise issues”.

He said development also played into employee wellbeing.

“We know people are anxious about their future and what their jobs might look like in the future. We’ve invested heavily in things like LinkedIn learning and different self-directed opportunities for people, which we are finding really resonates with them now and in thinking about what they may be doing in 10 years’ time.”

Helen Jackson, Australian Retirement Trust:

Ms Jackson said strategic issues around conflicting human needs were playing out for employers.

“One is the need (of employees) for autonomy … people want to work when they can, where they can, how they can, but also our second human need for connection and for socialisation. As employers how do we give that flexibility and balance?”

She said it was important for employers to find out what was important to employees. “The world has changed, and we have had to review old ways. Probing, testing, learning from others,” she said.

James Orr, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank:

While a focus on employee physical and mental wellbeing increased during COVID-19, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank also focused on improving the financial wellbeing of employees, Mr Orr said.

“We have a range of financial services products and benefits in place … we want to make sure we have very compelling offers to our staff.

“We (also) want them to bank with us … to better their lives,” he said.

David Mollison, NRMA:

“We’re there to serve the members, and by extension our customers, and, so, there’s strong support from the Board down to make sure that we do the right thing by our employees.

“A classic example of how we’ve done that is the mandated superannuation increases. We’ve made the decision as an organisation that we will pay for that in addition to, rather than employees having to absorb it into their base pay. Because that’s a way that we make sure that people are not disadvantaged … because we do feel that superannuation is a great benefit for people, and we want to make sure that they’re ready for retirement.”