Salary and benefits might be the greatest allure for new and existing employees at your company. However, you can’t hang your hat on these alone. Employee loyalty in the modern era is much more fleeting. Employers must become inventive with their perks and benefits to retain and attract the top talent for their company. As a result, many organizations have turned to employee stipends to keep workers, and the top employee stipends platforms to administer and streamline these perks.
Whether you’ve implemented an employee stipend initiative or you plan to do so soon, high-quality employee stipend platforms can save you time and limit administrative burdens.
Narrowing down the top employee stipend platforms requires careful analysis, not only of the platforms themselves, but also of your needs. When choosing a platform, consider factors such as:
Once you have a basic understanding of your needs, use this list to determine how each platform addresses your unique requirements.
If you’re searching for a simplistic stipend benefits solution, Hoppier is an excellent option. Geared specifically toward stipends, employee rewards, and employee recognition programs, this top employee stipend platform is amazingly straightforward.
Hoppier is a provider of digital gift cards, allowing users to send e-cards to recipients in over 60 countries. However, Hoppier goes beyond gift cards to offer a range of additional features, including tracking and reporting of gift card usage, limitations and restrictions on when and where employees can use the cards, and budgetary controls.
This all-in-one platform also eliminates the logistical nightmares of purchasing bulk gift cards, as well as expense reports — streamlining stipend benefits management for both onsite and remote work teams.
Hoppier also provides a bevy of other free or low-cost features, including:
Perhaps Hoppier’s most interesting feature is its elimination of waste. Any unused balance on a gift card is credited back to your account, eliminating any sunk costs and replenishing your budget for the next round of employee stipends or rewards.
Hoppier’s downside is also its strength — simplicity. You won’t find any all-inclusive HR solutions here, but then again, that’s not Hoppier’s intent. But if you want streamlined workflows for your HR team or manageable employee rewards, it’s one of the top employee stipend platforms available.
Founded in 2018, Compt is one of the top employee stipend platforms for both onsite and distributed, global teams. Integrating with popular payroll systems, benefits administration platforms, HR software, and communication tools, this tool fits seamlessly into your existing office software suite.
What separates Compt from its competitors is its fully customizable employee lifestyle spending accounts, also known as LSAs. LSAs enable team members to allocate their stipends as they see fit, whether for financial support, retirement planning, mental health counseling, gym memberships, wellness programs, R&R, or professional development reimbursement. Think of LSAs as a modernized version of a traditional stipend.
With Compt’s LSA system, employees receive an automated single stipend, personal choice, and access to an easy-to-manage platform, leading to higher overall participation.
Quick Note: LSAs and FSAs (flexible spending accounts) are often used interchangeably. However, FSAs are government-regulated, and employees can only use them for eligible expenses, such as childcare or healthcare. HSAs, or health savings accounts, are similar to FSAs in that they’re used for healthcare or in conjunction with health insurance, but the money rolls over each year, allowing employees to build nest eggs for future medical expenses.
Compt’s robust yet user-friendly platform also allows a plethora of other handy features, including:
Compt is a comprehensive and robust option, making it one of the top employee stipend platforms for small businesses or large enterprises. However, it has a few notable downsides:
Created to help companies distribute meaningful benefits that support the personal and professional well-being of their team, Benepass provides tailor-made solutions to the most difficult employee benefits problems. Through an intuitive interface, this platform offers ease of use for both administrators and end-users.
Deciding how to structure your stipends via an employee benefits platform can often feel cumbersome. You want something that fits with your vision and initiatives, but without an endless dredge of administrative options.
Benepass bridges the gap through its unique Benepass Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA). Though it’s similar to Compt’s offerings, the Benepass LSA takes a step-by-step approach to create and optimize the perfect stipends your employees need.
You can start by choosing a program, such as employee wellness/employee well-being, continuing education, nutrition, professional development, home office expenses, or even golf lessons. At their core, LSAs are an essential component of any stipend program or benefits package, enabling companies to enhance employee satisfaction, support employees’ unique needs, improve company culture, and foster employee retention.
After choosing a program, implement your policy via the Benepass platform, connect your payroll, and invite your employees to join. It’s that simple.
The Benepass LSA also uses post-tax funds instead of pre-tax, helping you and your employees navigate the convoluted tax situation surrounding stipends.
Benepass also offers a sleek mobile app that’s lauded by employees and employers alike.
Nearly all of the detrimental aspects lie on the side of the employee. Reimbursement approval delays and declined transactions are among the most frequently cited issues with Benepass. However, employers may enjoy the ability to select specific vendors for their stipends. Just make sure to clearly communicate how and where an employee can spend their money.
Specializing in flexible spending accounts, Forma is another one of the top employee stipend platforms out there. Within the Forma platform, employers can manage pre-tax and post-tax benefits and stipends in a single, unified experience.
Whether you’re funding an onboarding, professional development, or wellness stipend, Forma has you covered. LSAs are Forma’s focal point, but the company also has options to create, implement, and control HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs (health reimbursement accounts).
Within the platform, users can make revisions and changes in a few simple clicks, thanks to integrations with 40 of the most popular human resources information systems (HRIS), including ADP and Workday.
Forma also maintains a working relationship with over 12,000 financial institutions, enabling them to receive reimbursements with minimal hassle. To make lifestyle and wellness benefits more accessible and to streamline purchases, Forma has a unique marketplace. The Forma Marketplace offers a curated online shop to help benefits teams offload managing point solutions and aim their employees toward products and services that align with their initiative.
Although Forma’s AI system uses employee information to curate a list of wellness options, many users find that it falls short. The self-service portal isn’t always easy for users to navigate, causing many employees to feel like they’re wasting time.
Claims services for employee reimbursement can also be cumbersome, depending on how the employer sets up the program.
Offering personalized benefits, simplified administration, and seamless integration, ThrivePass is an all-in-one website, making it one of the top employee stipend platforms in today’s surplus of options.
We’ve already discussed LSAs ad nauseam, and ThrivePass is no different. It offers LSAs, but it has over 150 spending categories to personalize your stipends or reimbursement programs.
ThrivePass also has some additional features that might make it the preferred stipend and benefits platform for certain organizations. In addition to LSAs and other flexible accounts, this platform offers specialized suites for COBRA administration and compliance, as well as a Section 127 tuition reimbursement program.
To sustain excellent performance management, ThrivePass has automated features that remember work milestones, anniversaries, birthdays, and more. No longer do you need to sift through your calendar; ThrivePass automatically sends gifts to employees on their special day, making you look like a hero — even in the middle of a busy day. With over 100,000 gift options in the ThrivePass marketplace, you can always find that perfect gift idea for every employee.
According to users, the greatest setback for ThrivePass is its lack of a unified platform. Each service requires a login, which can be annoying and time-consuming. Interestingly, many users report that the marketplace offerings are similar in scope, despite over 100,000 options. This can lead to a lack of useful products or personalization.
The top employee stipend platforms can offer uncomplicated workflows for HR and top-notch lifestyle benefits to your employees in just a few clicks. Assess each platform’s features, check your budget, and with any luck, you’ll find the best method to disburse stipends to the team that works so hard for you.
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Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
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