Managing global employee benefits

Abstract

Multinational companies operate in a diverse and dynamic environment in terms of geographies, operating units, customers and their employees around the world. Although companies often spend a material portion of total compensation costs to provide benefits to their employees, they struggle at the corporate level to know what benefits they offer to reflect local market practices, how much they cost and what types of risks they pose to the enterprise. They also struggle with why, to what extent, and how corporate leaders and functions should get involved in local benefits-related decisions. Data from the 2012 Corporate Governance of Global Employee Benefits study of 140 North American-and European-based multinationals conducted by Aon Hewitt and the American Benefits Institute suggests that the business and benefits issues faced by multinational companies vary significantly for mature and emerging economies. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.