The Role of Benefits in Total Rewards

Benefits are a core part of total rewards: the full set of financial and nonfinancial returns an employee receives from work. In this lesson, Professor Peter Lambert explains how benefits support compensation strategy, employee wellbeing, retention, recruiting, and organizational culture.

The lesson focuses on the strategic role of benefits rather than the technical rules of any one plan. Learners will distinguish direct pay from benefits, understand why employers invest in benefits, and learn how to evaluate benefits through cost, value, risk, equity, and communication.