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Robert Walters revamps benefits, amid rise in non-monetary rewards

After making its new benefits program all about choice, Robert Walters has seen takeup among its workforce rise to 96%. Meanwhile more broadly, there's now "a lot of creativity" in the non-monetary benefits space, says Brisbane director Jane Lowney.

The new scheme is part of an EVP revamp that started in early 2021, Lowney says. A business-wide survey gathered data to see what was and wasn't working, ahead of deeper consultation with employee focus groups to identify priority areas by cohort.

A common theme in the feedback was that some benefits were irrelevant, depending on an employee's interests and life stage. The HR team then started to map out different journeys, and how employees' priorities might change. After pricing different ideas to see what was and wasn't achievable, it circulated draft suggestions with the groups before a soft launch in March last year.

"If we get too prescriptive, it goes against the ability to utilise," she tells Shortlist. Now, "people feel like they have a lot more ownership and control of how they utilise it, and that's appreciated"...