Listening to the Employee Voice to Shape Smarter Benefits

When employees at Pernod Ricard needed to find mental health care for their children after the pandemic, the company heard about it quickly. Parents stressed over long waits for therapy appointments and limited options for younger dependents—and this stress followed them into the workplace.Within months, the company rolled out a digital solution that allowed families to access therapy from home, says Diana Estrada, director of compensation and benefits for Pernod Ricard, North America. The move illustrates a growing challenge for employers: gathering employee feedback is easy, but turning that information into meaningful workplace benefits requires a much more deliberate process.Discussing how organizations can translate employee input into real benefits decisions was the theme of a panel discussion at From Day One’s NYC half-day benefits conference. Moderated by Tania Rahman of Fast Company, panelists explored how HR leaders and benefits experts gather feedback, analyze data, and communicate decisions back to employees.Listening Beyond SurveysEmployee feedback often begins with surveys, but many workplace needs go unspoken. “Some people have trouble being direct about their needs because they feel ashamed or like they’re being needy,” said Jenny MacKay, partner, SVP, employee benefits consulting at Alera Group. Leaders therefore need to look beyond formal responses and pay attention to subtle signals from employees.“You have your extroverts who will tell you exactly how they’re feeling,” MacKay said. “But you’ve also got a quieter population. Unless you’re visible and present with employees, you may not know what they need.”Building trust across the workforce makes those conversations easier. When employees know HR leaders personally, they are more likely to share concerns, whether about healthcare, finances, or work-life balance.Panelists spoke about "Listening to the Employee Voice to Shape Smarter Benefits"For organizations with highly vocal workforces, the challenge can be less about encouraging feedback and more about managing the volume of it. “At my company, employees are very vocal,” said Estrada of Pernod Ricard. “They use all the channels available, surveys, business partners, leadership conversations, to share their feedback.”Estrada’s team analyzes multiple data streams, including HR case-management systems and employee surveys, before evaluating potential benefits changes with outside advisors. “We take all that data and determine what’s going to have the biggest impact and what’s feasible financially,” she said.Understanding What Employees Actually WantThe phrase “better benefits” can mean very different things depending on the workforce. For global organizations, the diversity of employee roles and life stages makes benefit design especially complex.“It depends on the population you’re talking about,” said Eduardo Mennocchi, director of compensation, benefits & HR operations, at LVMH Fashion Group. Retail staff working in stores, he says, often have different priorities than corporate employees. Life stage matters just as much as job type. “For some people it’s all about medical coverage,” Mennocchi noted. “For others, it’s flexibility.” In many cases, employees aren’t asking for higher pay or more expensive benefits. Instead, they want policies that allow greater control over their time, such as more flexible scheduling for paid time off. “That flexibility sometimes doesn’t cost the company anything,” he said.Searching Beyond Surveys for InsightEmployee feedback is just one piece of the puzzle when designing benefits. Organizations must also analyze behavioral data to understand how workers are actually using the benefits available to them.“We don’t just look at employee surveys,” said Noora Garnett, VP of global benefits at Hasbro. “We also look at claims information and employee behavior.”For example, an increase in hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts can signal financial stress among employees. A spike in maternity-related claims could highlight the need for stronger family support. “If we see those patterns,” Garnett said, “we know we need to adjust our programs.”Financial data can also reveal insights employees might not openly discuss. “Money is incredibly private,” said Jeff Miller, VP at the financial well-being platform nudge, whose work focuses on employee financial health. Because of that privacy, organizations often need to analyze trends rather than rely on direct disclosures.“If you look at the data deeply, like 401(k) loans or financial-health scores, you can start to understand what employees are dealing with,” Miller said. Those insights can help employers tailor communications and benefits to the groups that need them most.Balancing Employee Needs and Budget RealityEven when companies understand what employees want, cost constraints can complicate the decision.MacKay encourages employers to look at the existing data before sending out new surveys. Workforce demographics and healthcare claims information can reveal issues that even employees themselves may not recognize yet.“You can see the demographics of your workforce and what’s happening in your claims data,” she said. “That helps you build a budget before you go to employees and ask what they want.”This approach helps organizations avoid a common mistake: asking for feedback on benefits that the company ultimately cannot afford to provide.Follow-through, MacKay emphasizes, is crucial for building and maintaining trust. “If you run a survey, you need to be prepared to implement what you said you would,” she said.Economic downturns or changing priorities can sometimes force companies to reduce or delay benefits. In those moments, transparency is critical. Mennocchi says organizations must identify which benefits are essential before making cuts. “There are some benefits that are non-negotiable,” he said. “And if you’re in a tough situation, your priority should be keeping your staff.” If trade-offs are unavoidable, honest communication helps employees understand the reasoning behind the decision.Garnett echoed that view, noting that openness can sustain trust even during difficult changes. “You have to be transparent and vulnerable with your people,” she said. “Explain the due diligence that was done and why this is the only way forward.”Well-Being as a Performance DriverBeyond cost and logistics, panelists emphasized that benefits play a crucial role in employee performance.Garnett described well-being programs as the engine that supports pay-for-performance strategies. “If you don’t support employee well-being, how can you expect them to perform well?” she said.Well-being programs have come to extend beyond physical health to include financial, mental, and social support. At Hasbro, employees participate in community volunteering and charitable initiatives that strengthen social connections within the company. Garnett noted that those programs help employees stay motivated, even during challenging periods.Closing the Feedback LoopThe panelists agreed that the most important step in the feedback process happens after data is collected. Employees want to know what became of their input.Estrada says HR leaders work closely with employee resource groups to communicate decisions—whether a suggestion results in a new benefit or not. “It’s not about making sure everyone agrees,” she said. “It’s about making sure they understand the why.”When organizations clearly connect benefits decisions to employee feedback, workers are more likely to participate in future conversations. “Make a big deal about it,” MacKay advised. “Tell employees: we heard you, and we acted.”Without that closing step, even the most detailed surveys risk becoming just another form employees fill out, without expecting anything to change.Grace Turney is a St. Louis-based writer, artist, and former librarian. See more of her work at graceturney17.wixsite.com/mysite.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)