India’s leading e-commerce marketplace Flipkart has introduced a new benefits program for its employees, which will enhance its existing health and well-being programs. Called FlexBen 2019, the program addresses recent employee requests where 20% employees asked for more flexibility in benefits and 10% asked for wellness centres and gym benefits, the company said in a statement.
Its new policy offers coverage for LGBT couples, choice of additional childcare or parent care coverage and more options for single employees. It is also inclusive of elder care, childcare and other multiple enhanced benefits covering surrogacy, mental well-being, gender reassignment surgery, among others.
Flipkart says that the initiative is a result of an engagement survey conducted with the employees, to understand their preferences, and aims to provide them the freedom to choose benefits based on their individual needs, including both insurance and non-insurance options. A company survey revealed that around 50% of Flipkart employees choose benefits and policies as an important attraction and retention driver.
“We know that our success as a company depends on the success and satisfaction of our employees. The program will offer greater flexibility and choice in selecting and funding employee benefits, allowing them to customize their benefits package based on their individual needs. The FlexBen program is universal and inclusive as it provides benefits coverage equally to all employees. For example, through this plan we offer coverage for LGBT couples, choice of additional childcare or parent care coverage and more options for single employees. Our FlexBen program is designed to give each employee the freedom of choice and is another step forward in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace,” Smriti Krishna Singh, Chief Human Resources Officer at Flipkart said.
Flipkart claims to takes employee feedback seriously and designs its policies to help them excel at workplace. “It has been ranked number 1 in LinkedIn’s 2019 ‘Top Companies’ survey. In the last four years Flipkart has topped the rankings, having been named number 1 in 2016 and 2017 previously,” Flipkart said in a statement.