As employers work to better integrate their approach to DEI into their business, it’s critically important to analyze their various health, wealth, and wellbeing programs. They should look at them through an equity and inclusion lens and determine whether their offerings serve the diverse needs of their employees. Employers often think they need to add programs to meet the needs of more employees. However, it’s not always about addition. Often, it’s about ensuring employees understand and know how to access the programs they already have.
Most employees need – and want – the same support as all their colleagues: physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. It is equity of access and personalization of needs with an eye towards cultural nuance that are the key here.
Company leaders can—and should—chart this path. Before a company adds another new program, it should understand how well its employees are able to access existing programs, particularly those geared toward achieving more equity between different segments of its workforce. Understanding barriers and creating access is often the first missing piece in achieving better outcomes for all employees.