As a means of moving beyond lip service commitments to DEI, some leading employers are restructuring their health care and benefits programs with DEI in mind. By Andrew Hale

Many employers continue to suffer from a serious “Say/Do” gap on DEI issues – they talk a big talk, but fail to translate their verbal commitments into action. One of the biggest areas where talk has failed to translate over into meaningful change has to do with healthcare and benefits programming. All too often, new initiatives designed to benefit “everyone” fail to account for the specific needs of visible minorities, historically underrepresented communities, the differently abled, gender non-conforming communities, or those experiencing mental health challenges.

However, there are glimmers of light on the horizon. A few leading employers are making intentional and meaningful changes to the benefits they offer and how those benefits are deployed. Here, three employers who have brought their DEI strategy to life with innovative health benefit strategies and programs will be discussed, with the aim of inspiring further actions across the business community.

Noodles & Company

Noodles & Company is a fast-casual dining group that expanded into Canada in mid-2015. Known for its pasta and pasta-adjacent dishes, the company is gaining a reputation for supporting traditionally overlooked and underrepresented populations at work. They are especially notable for including all team members in their benefits systems, rather than having separate tiers for salaried vs. hourly or “frontline” wage staff.

The process began in the years leading up to 2018, though 2018 was the year the company rolled out its first benefits plan with a comprehensive DEI focus. Executives in the DEI space and within the total rewards planning part of the company noted a marked lack of support tools as they attempted to design their initial programming, particularly for non-traditional populations. In the end, the 2018 version of the benefits plan included multi-language support tools, expanded maternity and adoption credits, additional veterans benefits, and gender identity support.

In 2020, Noodles & Company expanded the DEI elements of their plan based on what they’d learned from staff in the initial rollout. This version of their benefits package included free in-person and virtual mental health counseling for team members, expanded dental care and tuition benefits, six weeks of paid paternity leave, a backup dependent care program, and surrogacy coverage up to $10,000. The company anticipates that the overall benefits system will need continual tweaking and upgrading as staff needs evolve.

Concentrix

Concentrix, a global technology firm with a large presence in Ontario, uses its DEI-aligned benefits programming to create a competitive advantage in hiring and employee engagement. Some 59 percent of team members report that they’d recommend the firm to a colleague, while giving the firm top five percent marks in diversity support relative to its peers (which include major names like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google).

One particular area of strength for Concentrix is its intentional creation of a LGBTQIA inclusive culture at the firm. The firm has expanded all of its benefits to be sure to include same sex partners. In this way, it pairs meaningful support for couples with ongoing listening circles and affinity groups within the employee base.

Concentrix has also made a special effort to accommodate and attract workers with disabilities, using benefits and inclusion as recruitment tools. First, the company examined each part of its application and recruitment processes, to ensure that there were no barriers for the differently abled. Next, the company built out mentoring and coaching initiatives, as well as upskilling and reskilling programs, to ensure no team member was being left behind even if their status changed or condition evolved. Finally, the firm is backing its ongoing holistic support of workers with disabilities by joining the Valuable 500 and making full inclusivity a part of the business leadership agenda.

Bright + Early

Bright + Early, an HR consultancy group and publisher in Toronto, spends a good deal of its day-to-day advising other small to mid-sized firms on HR strategies, including benefits program design. However, the firm realized that within their own walls, there was room for improvement in how the benefits suite accommodated and lived up to diversity ideals.

Beginning in 2019, the firm began offering three additional paid “spiritual days” off to employees annually. This paid time off was in addition to legally mandated and scheduled public holidays. It aimed to allow staff the flexibility to choose when and how to celebrate their own personal religious or cultural holidays even as the dominant Christian holidays were enshrined in public law.

The firm has been extremely pleased with how well the initiative has paid off. While Ontario’s Human Rights Code mandates that employers allow staff time off for religious holy days, team members operating outside of Christian-centric holidays experienced a disparate impact in terms of how they needed to allocate their paid vacation. The additional paid time off – available to everyone, regardless of belief system – has contributed to high engagement levels and is regularly mentioned by job applicants as a positive sign that Bright + Early is a flexible employer who truly welcomes workers from diverse backgrounds.

Concluding Thoughts

As companies continue to work on the gap between the diversity they say they support and the in-the-trenches details of their daily operations, health and benefits programs are an excellent space for backing talk with action. By extending benefits to all levels of the organization, even temporary and hourly staff, intentionally building communities and access for traditionally disadvantaged populations, and adding belief accommodation to time off plans, firms can show that they really do take diversity seriously. Hopefully, as more firms try these tactics with good results, even more innovation will take place in the DEI and health benefits spaces.