A new employee benefit program could have a particularly positive impact here in Maine, where employers are struggling with both recruitment and retention, and looking for ways to diversify their workforce with inclusive policies.
“The challenge of the day is finding talent to fuel business,” said Mim Minichiello, Chief Performance and Talent Officer for Hub International Super East Region. She was at a Human Resources conference in Maine when she had a bright idea on how to help: in a panel discussion, a senior employee at a health care business struck up a simple, passing conversation with one of the janitorial staff members. It turned out that he was a medical expert in his home country, but had not learned enough English to navigate his licensing in the U.S. The employer then made changes to engage and uplift this singular employee within their company.
“It got me thinking that employees who are first-generation immigrants or have first-generation immigrants in their families have wildly different needs then I do as a third-generation immigrant,” said Minichiello. Now, since identifying that gap in benefit coverage, Hub is hoping to address those specialized needs through a new telehealth program they’ve developed with LifeGuides®.
Mentorship for mental health
Multiple studies have shown how creating holistic workplaces, where employees have space to manage their professional and personal lives, can ease recruitment and support higher retention rates.
LifeGuides® is a unique telehealth company that provides peer-to-peer mentoring around different life and workplace events. Guides could have lived experience in transitioning from military to a civilian career, navigating fertility treatments alongside a leadership role, or time management while caring for an aging parent.
“We call these types of events ‘lifequakes’ at Hub” said Sara Collins, Assistant Vice President, Employee Benefits at Hub International. “They’re huge changes in our lives and we will all experience them.” Collins worked with LifeGuides® for months to develop a new program to support employees with mental health and social stressors of immigration, emphasizing that while the need started with immigrant employees, it’s a wide net of people across categories who can benefit.
She gave an example of an U.S.-born employee being promoted to a senior position that includes managing a foreign office. This employee must move abroad for six months, which is a significant amount of time, but not a full relocation, so her family will not be able to go with her.
“Imagine how amazing it would be to have someone walk you through that exact experience,” said Collins. Their program would connect the employee with a LifeGuides® who could prepare them for local customs and holidays, suggest best transportation modes and local guide apps, and advise them on staying emotionally connected with school-age children over video or email.
Low-to-no budget benefits
In our small state, with many small businesses, employers who don’t have room in the budget to add new benefits can still make their workplace more attractive and supportive to new American employees.
Sara Collins suggests simply reading through existing policies and rethink how you use what you already pay for. Next, she highlighted the simple gift of time, saying employers see retention success across the board when they increase paid time off and vacation days. It can also be helpful to loosen definitions about what relationships qualify as close family when someone needs leave for caretaking or bereavement.
Corporate recruiter Stefanie Trice Gill was one of the Maine-based experts Hub International consulted with to develop a helpful program. Her agency, INTwork, specializes in connecting New England-based employers to candidates primarily from immigrant backgrounds. Trice Gill said that her candidates are looking for what everyone working wants: a good wage and a schedule that gives them personal time. But for someone with family in another country, those basic benefits will impact more people than themselves.
Trice Gill said successful matches often involved employers who had generous vacation policies or were more flexible with time off or remote work. This makes it possible for candidates to go home and see sick or elderly relatives who cannot travel or obtain a U.S. visa.
“So many people are sending money home too,” she added. Even if they are working a low wage job, people might be obligated to support family in another country. “Be mindful of this additional responsibility that an employee might be carrying,” said Trice Gill. “Any compensation or perks that help people provide that support will help keep them at your company.”
For Maine, where only about 4 percent of residents are foreign born, there are challenges for both employers and potential employees in job seeking and hiring. But the Maine State Chamber of Commerce anticipates new immigrants and the next two generations of their children accounting for 83 percent of growth in the overall U.S. workforce by 2050. Strategic plans to recruit and retain talent in the long run must include considerations for our multinational and multilingual future.
HUB International’s employee benefit specialists work with employers of all sizes in all industries on every aspect of employee benefits program planning and management. Contact them today to improve your hiring and retention strategies.
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