The good news about having a lower wage bill is that HR can get innovative with the company’s benefits offering. All it takes is catering these perks according to the employee’s fancy.
OCBC Bank is one such advocate for the flexible benefits scheme, which was introduced to employees in 2004. Its head of HR planning and employee communications Jacinta Low says the plan has been proven to keep employees happy, as 2008’s employee engagement levels scored a 29% improvement since 2002.
All full-time employees who have worked at least 24 months will receive a sum of Flex-dollars every year. However, exact amount would be “based on the rank and age of the employee”, says Low.
The flexible benefits structure consists of two types of “spending dollars” – FLEX$ and MEDI$ – for employees to utilise. One flex-dollar is equivalent to S$1 and employees can use it to purchase optional benefits or claim pre-approved flex reimbursements.
Optional benefits, which include health and life insurance and hospitalisation upgrades, are add-ons to the staff’s allocated core benefits. Pre-approved flex reimbursements are healthcare expenses for employees and their immediate family members. Low says the whole family can then spend these cash on recreation clubs’ memberships, childcare, vacations, optical expenses and even computer peripherals or software.
MEDI$ are strictly for the employee’s medical outpatient GP and specialist expenses and once employees used up the fixed amount given, they would have to co-pay 15% of any medical expenses incurred after.
What happens if employees fail to use up the full sum? Low says, “Any unused FLEX$ will be carried forward to the next plan year for an additional 12 months, after which it will be forfeited automatically.” As for leftover MEDI$, it would be converted to FLEX$ for next year’s usage.
