New MBWL International survey shows global organisations are prioritising healthy living, wellbeing and ESG

MBWL International, the leading independent alternative to the big three consulting firms for global pensions and employee benefits advice, today released the results of a new survey exploring the priorities for global organisations’ benefits strategies in 2022.

The survey revealed that environmental, social and governance (ESG) is increasingly relevant to global benefits strategies. Promoting healthy lives and wellbeing was the top ESG-related benefits priority among 117 multinational companies headquartered in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, representing over 6 million employees globally. 74% of respondents cited healthcare benefits as the most important benefits for their employees. In addition, 62% believe that healthcare benefits are the most important for their organisation’s employee value proposition (EVP).

“It was not surprising that initiatives supporting employee wellbeing are top of mind for organisations considering we have been living through a pandemic for the last two years,” says Isabel Coles, Head of International Consulting at MBWL International. “However, developing truly global approaches to meet employee and business needs remains challenging.”

John-Paul Augeri, Managing Director and Global EB Consulting Leader at Milliman, says, “While the recent focus on healthcare benefits may be driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, close scrutiny is needed globally moving forward since significant medical cost inflation is expected around the world in the coming years.”

Mark Whatley, Asia Employee Benefits Leader for Milliman, adds, “Whilst there has been a growing focus on the employee voice during the pandemic, organisations need to explore more proactive ways to listen to their employees’ views on benefits worldwide.”

Other key findings include:

• Two-thirds of respondents cited equity across job levels as the most important Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) factor.
• 74% of respondents cited cost as the most important aspect organisations consider when designing and reviewing benefits. Talent attraction and retention was a close second at 63% of respondents.
• While healthcare benefits are currently the most important benefit for organisations’ EVP, flexible working and employee wellbeing are expected to become the most important benefits in three years’ time.

The full survey results are available here.