'Simplifying our coverage and making it easier to understand was a key factor in how we redesigned our benefits plan'
With the topic of mental health becoming a key focus for both employees and employers, companies are searching for new ways to support their employees’ health and wellbeing.
For the University of Manitoba, this came in the form of enhanced benefit offerings for full- and part-time employees, with the most notable enhancement being an increase in mental health coverage.
Before the changes, which became available on April 1, employees had access to $500 to be shared among all paramedical practitioners. Now, full-time employees have access to $1,000 annual mental health coverage, alongside $500 for each of four paramedical categories: chiropractic, massage therapy, physiotherapy, and alternative medicine.
Read more: How to choose health coverage for employees
“We've seen the conversation around mental health only becoming stronger since the pandemic, so we wanted to support our employees and their health in that regard,” said Jamie Gerlach, director of total compensation and HR systems at the University of Manitoba.
Currently, the only mental health practitioners covered by the university are social workers and psychologists. Later this year, 14 different mental health practitioners will be added to and covered by the benefits program to give employees increased options for support, he said.
Culturally sensitive support for staff
As part of the mental health benefits enhancement, the University of Manitoba will introduce a new EFAP on May 1, which offers culturally sensitive support to staff, Gerlach said.
“Our staff can say, ‘I’m from the LGBTQ+ community’ or ‘I'm from an Indigenous community, and I would really like to speak to somebody who is either from my community or has specialized training and knowledge of what my community is all about,’” he said.
“The EFAP will also be supporting elders and knowledge keepers, so our employees from an Indigenous background will be able to connect with an elder or knowledge keeper to get support that is culturally sensitive to them.”
In addition, the university will be offering up to 14 counselling sessions per year, said Gerlach, “so it’s a real enhancement to what we previously offered.”
Boosts to drug, vision, survivor benefits
The university has also modified its drug program to fix any complexities and make it more accessible for employees. This involved removing annual deductibles and limits and adding diabetic supplies and insulin to the organisation’s drug card to simplify the plan member experience and further support employees with complex medical needs, Gerlach said.
The university has also added vision coverage, increased annual Health Care Spending Account limits by $40 and enhanced survivor benefits.
“Previously, if an employee passed away, any spouse or dependant on the plan would be covered for 30 days after the employee's death, and we just felt that wasn't a sufficient amount of time,” Gerlach said. “I put myself in that family member’s shoes, and I wouldn't be able to make decisions about coverage in 30 days. So, we extended that period out to six months to ensure that those spouses and dependants have health coverage while they're grieving and enough time to make alternate arrangements.”
Meeting the needs of the community
The university’s staff benefits committee, comprised of representatives from various employment groups, raised concerns about benefit offerings, prompting the school to look at those, Gerlach said.
This went hand in hand with employee surveys conducted as part of the university’s new strategic plan. The surveys highlighted wellbeing as a key topic for employees, which the university wanted to address in both its strategic plan and its enhanced benefit offerings, said Naomi Andrew, vice president of administration at the University of Manitoba.
Andrew highlights a need for understanding the needs of employees and their families, some of which may be unique to the community such as support for those with Indigenous backgrounds.
“I think these enhancements to the plan really reflect the university's commitment to the whole health and wellbeing of our campus community and their families,” Andrew said. “This was a yearlong process, but I think the first step was really understanding and addressing the needs of the community.”
As a result, the university has already received “extremely positive” feedback from faculty and staff, who have written to HR to express their appreciation for the university’s efforts, particularly with regards to the increased support for mental health, she said.
“I received an email from one of my unit heads, and she said the whole office just erupted when the email went out,” she said.
Benefits aid attraction and retention
Enhancing benefit offerings not only allow the University of Manitoba to support employees but to be competitive in the market and attract and retain the “best and brightest” talent for the institution, Andrew said.
Enhanced benefits, especially for mental health, reaffirm the university’s commitment to employee health and wellbeing, which ultimately contribute to employment and productivity as well, Gerlach said.
“We are a top employer, we want to continue to hold that position, and offering a strong benefit package that puts the wellness of our employees at the centre is really key to that.”
Ultimately, having the feedback from multiple stakeholders, as the university worked through the expansion process, contributed to the rollout’s success and struck the right balance in enhancing benefits in a way that would be valuable to employees and to the university’s value proposition, he said.
