Welcome back to another episode of the HR insights: podcast! In this episode, our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott , chats to International Benefits Strategy Leader Maggie Lester at Merck Group , to discuss the evolution of employee benefits and how they mould the brand and culture of the organisation. Maggie shares insights spanning her 20 years of international experience, highlighting the shift from pensions to more inclusive benefits. She notes the impact that cultural differences have on benefit structures, discussing the implementation of fertility, menopause, carers’ leave and trans health benefits. Who is our guest? Maggie Lester is a remuneration specialist with over 20 years’ international experience working for both consultancies and multinationals, in the UK, France, Switzerland, Japan and Hong Kong. She currently heads up employee benefits for Merck Group KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, covering over 60,000 employees across 65 jurisdictions. Previous roles include Meta, HSBC (Asia Pacific) and Reuters. Maggie has always been passionate about designing and delivering innovative solutions that deliver both employee value and fiscal benefits for organisations. She believes that DE&I is a business case, and that a company’s benefits define their position. She holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol in the UK, and an MBA for Executives from INSEAD. Key timestamps 00:40: Introducing Maggie Lester 06:02: How benefits have evolved 12:05: Benefits linked to brand and culture 17:00: Time off/ quality of life 20:40: DEI as part of the benefits package 26:27: Fertility benefits 30:02: Has the shift in DEI impacted the benefits space 35:30: Global vs local benefits 40:00: Newest trends within benefits 46:32: Advice for renewing your benefit structure 48:24: Wellness benefits This episode is sponsored by our partners at Cappfinity. Cappfinity believes in a world where skills and potential create opportunity for all. They are global leaders in measuring and developing potential in Talent Acquisition & Talent Management with a focus on skills and strengths. Through the Cappfinity Skills Suite® they provide skills-based Talent Acquisition and Management solutions across all levels and industries. Their Talent Acquisition solutions range from pre-skilling to seamless onboarding - all the while delivering immersive, brand aligned and insightful experiences to their clients and their candidates. Interested in their services? Please reach out to
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