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As experts in employee benefits plans, it’s our job to impart knowledge. On a regular basis, we write articles and meet with our clients. We discuss the latest employee benefits trends and openly share our years of knowledge and experience on many topics. It’s because we believe that with the right information, our clients can make the best decisions for their organization and employees.

Recently, we took our ideas and knowledge into the classroom. One of our benefits consultants, Ryan Graham, volunteered to teach the Indirect Pay component of the Total Compensation class at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in British Columbia. Here’s a little bit about what we shared on the topic of indirect compensation with these next-generation business and human resource leaders.

(Side note: Feel free to be click-happy. This article is peppered with links to other relevant articles that we’ve drafted over the years.)

What is Indirect Pay?

Indirect pay includes any form of compensation outside of the employee’s salary. This can include anything from government programs, pensions, and employee benefit plans. Under a benefits plan, the offering can encompass insurances such as life, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, long-term disability. It can also comprise health and dental coverage, health care spending accounts, wellness spending accounts, critical illness policies,remote working, employee assistance programs and pay for time not worked.

Why Is Indirect Pay Effective?

Indirect pay is a strategy. It’s another way to incentives employees or attract top talent without hiking up salaries. The plan can be as straightforward as offering simple health and dental coverage, or it can include a mix of creative perks such as offering on-site massages, free healthy snacks and exotic company retreats as part of a comprehensive wellness plan. The more elaborate the offering, the more a company can stand out against competition when searching for the best talent. For employees, indirect pay can also be a sign of how much the company values their work, commitment and time. The added compensation boosts company morale, and creates a more positive working environment that keeps retention high.

How Does the Employer Benefit from Indirect Pay?

Apart from fostering a unique company culture and attracting A-list talent, a company can also benefit financially from indirect compensation plans. That’s because benefits plans are taxed differently than salaries. For example, the money spent on indirect pay plans is tax deductible for an organization.

Indirect pay plans can also be a strategic asset to help companies meet their corporate objectives. Depending on the higher-level goals, plans can be fixed, semi-fixed or flexible. For instance,Flexible Benefits Plans give employees greater choice in the offering and help organizations stay on budget.Working with a benefits plan advisor, an organization can really customize an indirect pay plan to suit their needs and workforce so that it generates the best results. Frequent reviews and evaluations of the benefits plan can ensure that it’s contributing to the overall success of the company.

Giving Back to The BC Business Community

Teaching at KPU was an opportunity to not only give back to the school Ryan once attended, but also to the business community in British Columbia. These budding students are hungry for real-world knowledge. And soon, they will enter with the workforce. If we can arm them with information and tools that help them become stronger and more effective leaders, this can only benefit their future employers or potentially, their own businesses. Ryan is looking forward to teaching the class again next year, and our entire team at BenefitDeck is eager to continue playing an active role in our community.