MBWL Global Benefits Forecast: What employee benefits issues are multinational organisations prioritising in 2024?

MBWL International, a leading independent consulting firm for global pensions and employee benefits advice, today released the results of its 2024 Global Benefits Forecast, which explores the top employee benefits issues that multinational organisations are prioritising for their workforce.

This year’s survey focuses on the topics of ESG, talent and growth, and employee experience. According to survey results, healthcare (61%) and flexible/hybrid working (43%) are deemed the most valuable benefits for multinational companies’ employee value propositions.

Other key findings include:

• Global benefits management and governance has become less effective and more challenging
• AI is already influencing global benefits strategy and delivery, and is expected to play a much greater role in future
• Global minimum standards are being applied across more benefit plans – flexible working and EAP are most popular
• ESG and DE&I continue to be important considerations for benefits strategies
• Cost and employee communication continue to be significant challenges

Isabel Coles, Head of International Consulting at MBWL International, says, “Global benefits leaders are facing an ever-changing set of challenges, and we see their priorities are evolving accordingly. With the right strategies and governance, we believe there is great opportunity for these leaders to add tremendous value to their organisations and employees worldwide.”

“We continue to see significant economic and political uncertainty around the world,” says John-Paul Augeri, Managing Director and Global EB Consulting Leader at Milliman. “Employee benefits remain critical to the employee value proposition worldwide, and increasingly challenging to get right. It is incredibly important for multinationals to review their approach to global benefits management and strategy, to optimize return on investment and maximize their limited time and resources.”

Amit Bhayani, Senior Consultant at MBWL International, comments, “We recommend global benefits leaders stay attuned to today’s global and local benefits trends – including the influence of AI across benefit design, delivery, and utilisation, global minimum standards, and increased focus on providing flexible benefits/choice to employees.”

The survey received responses from 147 multinationals with employees in over 100 countries, representing 17 different industries. The full survey results are available here.