Singapore’s workforce is evolving and so are employee expectations. Today’s professionals want more than just a paycheck and standard perks. They’re looking for benefits that reflect their lifestyles, life stages, and personal goals. In fact, the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report 2024 found that 64% of employees consider personalised benefits a key factor in job satisfaction.

If your company is looking to stay competitive, a flexible benefits scheme is essential. Here’s how to build one that’s practical, inclusive, and genuinely valued by your people.

Table of Contents

1. Lay the Groundwork - Secure the Basics

2. Create Intuitive Categories

3. Distribute Credits and Streamline Redemption

4. Monitor, Adapt and Evolve Your Flexible Benefits Programme

Step 1. Lay the Groundwork: Secure the Basics

Before introducing flexibility, ensure your core benefits are comprehensive and clearly communicated. These include:

• CPF contributions and statutory leave

• Medical insurance that covers both inpatient and outpatient needs

• Family-friendly policies, such as childcare and eldercare support

• Flexible work arrangements, where feasible

When employees feel secure in the basics, they’re more likely to explore and appreciate additional options. Our blog post on What Employers Need to Know About Flexible Benefits in Singapore offers a great primer on this.

Step 2. Create Intuitive Categories

Tribe Benefits recommends organising perks into intuitive categories that are relevant to both the employees and the employers. Here’s how companies are doing it:

• Health & Wellbeing

  • Fitness memberships, mental health app subscriptions like Intellect

  • Ergonomic equipment reimbursements and access to telehealth consultations

  • Spa & massages

• Family & Lifestyle

  • Childcare vouchers or eldercare hotline access

  • Credits for family bonding activities like zoo memberships or staycations

• Learning & Development

  • Flexible funding for online courses on Coursera, language classes, and leadership coaching

  • Creative workshops, relevant software training, and mentorship programmes

• Financial Protection

  • Top-ups to personal insurance plans and CPF voluntary contributions

  • Debt counselling sessions and emergency savings incentives

• Everyday Perks

  • Credits for Grab rides, co-working space access, and coffee subscriptions

  • Meal delivery credits and mobile phone bill reimbursements

These categories help employees quickly identify what’s most relevant to them, reducing decision fatigue. For more on this, check out Tribe’s 5 Tips to create a successful flexible benefits programme in Singapore. 

Step 3. Distribute Credits and Streamline Redemption

The heart of a flexible benefits scheme lies in giving employees the autonomy to choose what suits them best. But autonomy must be paired with simplicity; otherwise, even the most generous scheme can feel confusing or inaccessible.

Most companies allocate a fixed annual budget per employee—commonly SGD 1,200 to SGD 2,000, depending on family status or seniority. This budget is converted into benefit credits that employees can spend across various categories.

Example:

• A mid-level single employee at a tech firm receives SGD 1,500 in credits annually while a married employee receives SGD 2,300 in credits. 

• They log into the Tribe Benefits platform and see a dashboard with five categories: Health, Family, Learning, Financial, and Lifestyle.

• Each perk shows its cost in credits, making it easy to compare and plan.

Tribe Benefits simplifies the experience with tools like:

• Tribe Marketplace: A curated catalogue of perks, from gym memberships to online courses.

• TribeCard: A prepaid card that employees can use directly at approved merchants.

• TribeGO: A claims system for submitting receipts and getting reimbursed.

• Dashboard: Real-time tracking of credit usage, remaining balance, and redemption history.

This removes the need for manual paperwork or HR intervention, making the process smooth and empowering.

Some companies allow employees to top up their credits with personal funds. For instance:

• An employee wants a premium gym membership that costs more than their allocated credits.

• They use their TribeCard to pay the difference, combining company support with personal choice.

This hybrid model increases flexibility without increasing company costs.

Step 4. Monitor, Adapt and Evolve Your Flexible Benefits Programme

While employees enjoy autonomy in identifying which flexible benefits are most relevant to them, HR teams benefit from visibility. Tribe’s platform provides analytics on:

• Most redeemed perks

• Category popularity (e.g., 40% of credits spent on wellness)

• Redemption trends by department or demographic

• Budget utilisation rates

• Benchmarking on Flex credits

This data helps HR refine the scheme over time: adding new perks, adjusting credit allocations, or launching targeted campaigns.

Your benefits programme should evolve with your people. Conduct quarterly reviews of redemption data and satisfaction surveys. If financial-wellness perks are under-used, host a lunchtime CPF top-up webinar. Launch a travel-credit promotion during the June holidays. Continuous tweaks keep offerings fresh and aligned to employee needs.

A flexible benefits framework blends essential protections with personalised choices, catering to every stage of your workforce’s journey. Ready to transform your employee experience? Book a demo with Tribe Benefits today and see how our platform can simplify administration, delight your people and elevate your employer brand.