'We wanted to acknowledge the fact that family makeups are very different today and support our colleagues accordingly,' says HR lead at TD
More than two years ago, TD announced it was expanding its family-building benefits. In the U.S. and Canada, that meant offering up to $20,000 in coverage for reproductive treatments, surrogacy and donor costs and adoption costs. These costs extend to IVF, legal services, embryo storage, adoption fees and court costs, and travel and living expenses for parents going through the adoption process.
Since enhancing these offerings, TD has seen an increase in the utilization of the fertility benefits amongst employees, alongside an appreciation for the company’s support.
And they’ve helped draw attention to the organization, says Susy Michor, vice president of global recognition, retirement, benefits and well-being, human resources at TD, “in terms of being an organization that has a very strong employee value proposition, a very strong culture of care and ensuring that we're inclusive and want to support the diverse needs of our colleagues.”
Importance of offering family-building benefits
According to Winny Shen, associate professor of organization studies at York University, there is a general trend in which employers are increasingly talking about family-building benefits.
“Family-building benefits sit at the intersection of health care benefits and family-friendly or wellbeing benefits. I think that these benefits signal that the employer is practically supportive of their employees and building a family — however they choose to do that,” she said.
Offering these benefits can help retain employees, particularly as processes like IVF, IUI and adoption are expensive. By providing coverage, employees are less likely to be under financial pressure and look elsewhere for a company that offers coverage or provides a higher salary to accommodate these costs, Shen said.
Organizationally, TD has a very strong culture in terms of supporting employees and meeting their needs, Michor said.
“With that, we've been committed to ensuring we're offering inclusive benefits coverage that enriches our colleagues and their lives, both at work and at home,” she said. “We want to make sure that our offering is reflective of the diversity of our colleagues and their families, so it was important for us to really look at our family benefits offering to ensure it was inclusive.”
Benefits support safe, inclusive workplace
These offerings go hand in hand with creating a safe, inclusive workplace where employees can be open and honest about their needs, Michor said.
“Creating a safe space and reducing the stigma around the utilization of these benefits and situations that require their utilization is very, very critical and quite foundational,” she said.
In helping to create this safe space, Michor emphasizes proactively communicating these offerings with employees, while ensuring that the company listens to employees’ needs and gives them a voice.
“Our total awards package is not just about salary or incentives; it’s looking at the total offering in terms of our benefits, our time away from work programs and ensuring that our colleagues have choice and flexibility in terms of what is available to them so that they can bring their whole selves to work and feel as though they're being supported from a total wellbeing perspective,” she said.
In her research with women who have experienced fertility challenges while working, one of the potential benefits she has seen is a newfound sense of loyalty or commitment to an organization.
“Especially in the current marketplace, people realize that not employers offer these benefits and an employer's willingness to offer this is appreciated. However, I think it's more than just covering certain costs; this needs to be accompanied by a workplace environment where people feel empowered to use these policies. When both of these elements are in place, employees can become more committed and feel enhanced sense of loyalty to their organization,” Shen said.
Supporting families through flexible policies
Offering coverage for family building can be expensive for employers. So, for those that don’t have the capacity to offer monetary assistance, they can still create policies that are inclusive and support employees who may be going through these procedures, Shen said.
“The reality is these procedures are often bumped up against the realities of working when it comes to things like clinic hours. So, many women ultimately end up needing to disclose their situations because of the difficulties in managing that while working and needing some flexibility in work hours so they can attend their appointments or out of a desire to not negatively impact their work,” Shen said.
However, while employees may have access to family building benefits, sometimes the policies that support them are not always empowering or don’t match specific circumstances, she said. As a result, employers should craft policies in ways that empower employees and encourage them to take advantage of the benefit being offered.
“This is ultimately a medical and health-related decision, so allowing people to feel like they have the decision-making power here is really important, especially because employees may choose to build their families in different ways depending on their circumstances,” Shen said.
These policies should also be inclusive and flexible, offering, for example, flexibility in hours and working location and even bereavement leave for lost pregnancies. Having these policies can help retain employees, while creating a workplace that is supportive and accepting, she said.
“I think financial coverage is a key piece but is by no means the only piece that employees are looking for as they choose to build their families. Making it clear that all employees are supported by different policies is an important first step in helping them feel seen.”
