Amazon Canada’s commitment to unique financial wellness offerings led to a win at Benefits Canada‘s 2024 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18.
The technology company was recognized in the Financial Wellness Program category for offering its more than 48,000-person workforce free estate planning as part of its benefits package. It wanted to stress the need for a review of up-to-date end-of-life planning for its employees. In creating the benefit, it targeted affordability, convenience and the mental health of its workers.
“It’s super meaningful,” says Adam Watson-Smyth, benefits program manager at Amazon Canada. “There’s a lot of hard work that went into it. I was really surprised. . . . It’s a whole team effort.”
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After experiencing a significant growth period following the coronavirus pandemic, the company quickly realized the increasing number of workers meant there was likely an increase in unresolved deaths, he notes. “People didn’t have wills, they hadn’t listed beneficiaries so we identified that as a huge need. It’s not just about the will itself, it’s about financial well-being, it’s about not only making sure they’re OK but making sure their families are OK should anything happen to them.”
Amazon Canada prompted its employees to redeem their new benefit through an automated, digital process. They received their free will, offered by digital estate planning company Willful, through a unique redemption code in an email after completing a short form.
For employees without a corporate Amazon email address, the company prioritized alternative but engaging methods to communicate the new benefit and drive adoption. One of these alternative methods was the use of near-field communication technology with a badge attached to every Amazon human resources champion, which can be tapped with a smartphone to receive more information about the new benefit. The company also offers QR codes and NFC-enabled materials at break rooms in each Amazon fulfillment centre.
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Following the organization’s employee engagement campaign, it saw a 66 per cent open rate and a 35 per cent click-through rate for automated emails. A marketing campaign prompted more than 900 employees to click through to receive their free estate plan in just under 45 days. The company is on track to meet its goal of having more than 5,000 employees — about 10 per cent of its workforce — claim their free will in 2024.
Watson-Smyth said he wasn’t sure if the campaign would pay off, but now that it’s on pace to surpass the company’s internal goal, he noted it plans to renew the benefit heading into next year. For Amazon, the cost of offering the new benefit is only $0.60 per employee per month.
“It took some time ramping up and trying to figure out the quirks, where we could communicate better, where we could educate our employees better and now we’ve worked out those quirks and got momentum, we want to keep it going next year.”
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