Considerations for a global HR benefits strategy

Congratulations! You’re expanding your team internationally and may even be considering outsourcing employees . How do you make remote employees feel like they are a part of your larger team? Co-working tools such as Dropbox, Asana and Slack make working from anywhere a cinch. But what really makes employees feel valued by their company? Outside of salary, it’s often their employee benefits package.

Many employers think they should mirror the U.S. benefits scheme. We often hear, “We want our global workers to enjoy the same employee benefits package as our U.S. team.” This is a fair sentiment, but let’s take a moment to unpack what this really means. Does your new software developer in France care about the excellent health insurance plans you offer to the U.S. team? Should you offer that stellar sales manager candidate in Brazil a company vehicle?

Expansion to other countries will require you to take account of the local culture when developing a successful benefits package. As you start planning your global HR benefits strategy, consider the following:

Employer-paid health insurance with a range of coverage options is a valuable perk for a U.S. employee. But for your new team member in France, it’s not as enticing. The French government not only provides a robust public health care scheme, but also requires employers to provide supplemental coverage to fill the few gaps not covered under the public scheme. The private, supplemental benefits programs are typically a fraction of the cost of a U.S. equivalent and are used for ancillary coverage such as non-prescription medication and specialist practices.

The fully paid health coverage worth thousands of dollars annually to your U.S. employees has far less value to your new French employee. What your new employee will want is assurance that their new foreign employer is complying with France employment regulations , like statutory supplemental health benefits plan and pension contributions, not to mention the 35-hour-per-week working limit.

Understanding the differences in statutory and supplemental benefits strategy across international borders is key to creating global benefits programs for your new international hires , but it shouldn’t be the only consideration. It’s also important to factor in cultural or social implications of the benefits you offer.

For example, your American sales managers may love having a company car to drive to and from meetings. But in Brazil, a company vehicle is often seen as a burden to employees. In comparison, a more common and desired benefit might be meal allowances or food vouchers. A new hire in Brazil may feel slighted if this benefit is forgone in favor of U.S.- centered benefits.

Does your organization offer a 401(k) match? If you offer a 4% match in the U.S., would you need to provide this to your global workforce? In France, for example, you are required to contribute to a private pension fund in addition to the statutory government pension contributions.

Did you know that Brazil labor laws entitle workers to a minimum of 30 days of paid vacation annually in addition to a “holiday pay”—which is an additional 33% of their average earnings paid at the start of their vacation? This could mean big payouts to a Brazil employee taking full advantage of the unlimited vacation policy that your U.S. employees enjoy.

Replicating U.S. benefits packages for international employees can be a daunting—and it’s often unnecessary. In international hiring, it is all about balance. How can you take relevant components of your benefits scheme and apply them to France while also being aware of what is customary locally? Have you ensured that everything you’re offering in Brazil is legal?

Your goal is to make your global workforce feel valued. You can do that by tailoring a benefits plan to the individual situation and taking into account local requirements and customs. Seeking local expertise from a global employer of record that has experience working alongside U.S. human resources teams is always highly recommended when taking on those first international hires.