How to set up a good benefits plan for the home office model

Your company may have been born adopting the home office work model or have undergone a forced transformation due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19. Whatever your reasons, the fact is that telecommuting is here to stay and you need to know how to adapt your corporate benefits plan to this reality. 

According to a survey conducted by the information technology company Citrix, by the end of 2020, about 90% of organisations offered their employees some kind of remote working modality. Of these, 42% have implemented the model in the last five years. 

Adapting to this reality is necessary both on the part of the employee and of the company. Throughout this article you will understand more specifically about the necessary changes in the teams' benefits plan. See:

The needs of home office workers

The first step to offering excellent benefits to those who work in your company is actually understanding what is different for those who work from home compared to those who do their tasks allocated in the office. 

Those who go to work, for example, need to have transport vouchers to get around and also meal vouchers so that they can eat near the establishment. 

For those who are at home, it is not necessary to disburse an amount for travel and, in this case, the meal voucher could be replaced by a food voucher equivalent, according to the employee's needs. 

But it doesn't stop there. VT and VR are not the only benefits we need to pay attention to. The home office assistance, for example, should also be part of the plan. After all, those who work allocated do not need to spend with energy and internet to do the service, unlike those who are at home. An allowance for this purpose, therefore, is more than necessary. 

In addition, it is also worth mentioning the possibility of a rental system for electronic and ergonomic equipment, as well as benefits aimed at well-being, such as those for gyms or therapy.

Setting up your company's benefits plan

We have cited just some of the components that can (and should) be in the benefits plan that your company offers to employees. There are a myriad of possibilities, but the more benefits you offer, the more bureaucracy HR and finance have to go through. 

After all, hiring several benefits companies, with varying cards and multiple fees, is certainly not advantageous for the organisation as a whole. That's exactly where the idea of offering flexible benefits to employees came from. 

With a flexible benefits system you can concentrate all the value that would be directed to the employee, whether for VR, VT, per diem, home office assistance, gym, health, education, among others, in one place. 

It is much more practical and less costly for companies and, if it makes sense for your benefits strategy, the employee can decide how to spend that amount, always taking into account their own needs. 

To find out more about flexible benefits keep following Alymente's blog!