Linktree’s flexible benefits package offers employees $6000 to spend however they please
Linktree’s new comprehensive benefits package gives staff members the option to invest in personal wellness, growth, lifestyle or impact.
Aussie link-in-bio startup Linktree has introduced a new comprehensive benefits package, offering employees an annual $6000 allowance to spend on almost anything they choose.
The new Total Rewards Program for employees is focused on flexibility, giving staff members at all levels the option to invest in personal wellness, growth, lifestyle or impact.
“Flexibility is inherent to who we are,” a blog post announcing the policy, from people and culture manager Emily Moore, says.
“That goes beyond remote working and flexible schedules.
“It’s also about what we offer our people to make sure they’re set up for success. Why not let each person decide what they’d like to prioritise in their life?”
The rewards package is broken into three categories: remuneration, equity and benefits.
The first element commits to paying employees above market rates, with internal parity and benchmarks, in order to ensure the business remains competitive.
Linktree’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) also provides options and shares for employees at all levels.
The benefits element of the package is split into two parts — core and flexible — and the latter of these is where things get interesting.
Flexible benefits
The flexible benefit package offers each employee an additional $6000 allowance to spend annually, on almost whatever they choose.
Employees can choose to spend their cash on activities falling under four pillars.
The ‘wellness’ pillar covers anything to improve mental or physical wellbeing, including exercise classes or subscriptions, meditation, mental health training and even massages.
Or, they can choose to invest in ‘growth’ — personal or professional — including life coaching, financial coaching, short courses and books.
The ‘lifestyle’ pillar covers priorities outside of the workplace, including childcare, pet insurance, travel, hobbies and general household support.
Finally, employees can invest in ‘impact’. This pillar includes things like green energy, charitable donations, investment in energy-efficient appliances or reusable items, or for purchasing bike equipment, for example.
“When I’ve had benefits from previous employers, it’s been discounted gym memberships or movie tickets and that’s been it really,” Mitch King, head of talent acquisition at Linktree wrote on LinkedIn.
He highlighted that this comes on top of the core benefits, which include things like 18 weeks’ paid parental leave for all new parents, announced amid a suite of parental leave policies in June last year.
They also cover financial and wellbeing support to employees going through gender transition; domestic and family violence support; a $1000 home office allowance; and a weekly Uber Eats meal allowance.
“Not that I wasn’t grateful for the discounted movie tickets but I’ll take this instead, thankyou,” King wrote.
Increasing demand for flexibility
Amid the threat of ‘The Great Resignation’ and a shortage of tech talent, flexibility is increasingly in demand among employees.
LinkedIn’s recent Global Trends Report for ANZ found that Gen Z and millennial jobseekers were more likely to engage with a job posting on the platform if it mentioned flexibility.
Between 2019 and 2021, LinkedIn member posts mentioning ‘flexible work’ were up 203%, and company posts were up 313%.
The number of job postings mentioning flexibility were up 60%.
Company posts also see a 37% increase in engagement, on average, if they mention workplace culture.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our people,” Moore wrote in Linktree’s blog post.
The program is intended to help those people thrive both at work and in their personal lives, she added.
“We hope our new, flexible approach to benefits inspires other companies to move in this direction.”
