Anyone who’s lucky enough to enjoy benefits at their job knows how annoying the recovery of funds process can be.
That’s why one Toronto startup wants to let people control their own benefits through an app.
According to The Toronto Star a company run by Michael Serbinis (creator of Kobo) called League, wants to offer employees a choice of what they get with their benefits. That, and make the whole cash recovery part less of a (primitive) pain.
Currently, after visits to the dentist, chiropractor, or massage therapist, you often have to fill out a form and send receipts by mail for review and approval. It can then take up to a few weeks to get your money back, and it’s sometimes a cheque (remember those?) that you have to deposit.
Now, League – which was launched last summer – wants to revamp the process and replace it with a more mobile, digital, and personalized experience. At a time when a growing number of progressive companies are offering employees perks like yoga, meditation, and gym memberships in addition to their existing traditional benefit plans, the original idea was to offer companies an organizational tool to more effectively manage their wellness programs. Eliminating the paperwork and the cost of administrative staff, the app allows employees to sign up for sessions themselves using their phones, with their company being billed automatically. But it also takes it a step further, letting the employees control the benefits for themselves.
Image: League App
Though they may be available, some employees simply don’t have a need for certain benefits included in their packages. For example, the millennials and Baby Boomers likely take advantage of their benefit options in different ways. With that in mind, Serbinis added a “wallet” option, which allows businesses to provide employees with a set amount of credit that they can spend on the services of their choice.
As for League, they take a cut of the cut of the companies’ benefits spending “in the single to low double digits,” according to The Star. Currently, about 100 businesses are using the service, and the company plans to increase its U.S. presence this year. The next step for League is a move into group benefits.
League has secured funding from OMERS Ventures and BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis’s Infinite Potential Technologies, and the company will be looking to do a Series A round of funding to support the expansion, according to The Star.
Today, there’s fierce competition in our cities to attract and retain young, forward-thinking employees, and companies are increasingly seeing value in offering incentives like generous perks and diversified benefit packages. When everything else is now digital, it only makes sense that benefit plans get an overdue revamp as well. After all, if there’s one thing millennials love, it’s to have options available at our fingertips.
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