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February 3, 2026
myHSA: Spotlight from the Fertility and Wellness Collective
We're talking to myHSA on how Canadian companies can support employees with health and wellness benefits.
You don't need a corporate-sized budget to create an exceptional employee experience. What you do need is intentionality, creativity, and the courage to listen before spending.
That was the central message from our recent Fireside Chat with Japneet, a People & Culture Leader who spent a decade building HR foundations at SMBs, and Erin Schnor, an Executive Recruiter at Artemis, who's helped growing companies attract top talent.
Here's what we learned about competing for talent when you're working with limited resources:
Big companies have budgets. Small companies have agility — and that's an even bigger advantage.
"SMBs can compete because they're nimble and they're fast. That can translate to your benefits and perks as well." — Erin
She shared how during the pandemic, smaller tech companies were able to add mental health support and personal days within weeks. At Artemis, when employees were maxing out their therapy budgets every year, the team reallocated their wellness bonus into a flexible healthcare spending account within two weeks — something nearly impossible at a 10,000+ person company.
Build rapid feedback-to-action loops into your benefits strategy by reviewing usage every few months and empowering your team to make small pivots quickly. You'll get outsize engagement results.
One size fits all benefits are officially over.
"The best benefit strategy typically starts with listening and not spending. The one solution or one model fits all doesn't exist anymore." — Japneet
Understanding your workforce goes beyond basic demographics. With multiple generations in the workplace and employees at vastly different life stages, pulse surveys, stay interviews, and regular check-ins are essential for knowing what your people actually value.
Japneet recommends conducting benefit-specific pulse surveys at least once a year, asking quick questions like:
Compare this feedback against utilization reports from your benefits broker to get the full picture. Data doesn't always mean dashboards — use human feedback to shape where your limited dollars go. Listening is your cheapest and most strategic tool.
Some of the most effective benefits cost little to nothing to implement. Here are real examples that made a difference:
Flexible Fridays: At one of Japneet's previous organizations, they introduced Flexible Fridays giving employees autonomy to manage their time for deep work, professional development, or personal commitments. The cost? Zero dollars.
"When you offer flexibility like this, you'd be surprised with how much more employees are able to accomplish because they really do want to prove themselves and show that they can be trusted." — Japneet
Phased Return from Parental Leave: Instead of going from zero to full-time overnight, parents gradually increase their hours over several weeks. Check in with employees about a month before their planned return date to understand what they need.
"There's not a cost to it at face value, but there's a huge value when it comes to the confidence of someone who is coming back to work." — Erin
Baby Days: An extra two weeks of flexible time the birth or non-birth parent can use during the first year for illness, appointments, or just survival.
Other quick wins include:
Key Insight: Flexibility isn't just a perk — it's a strategic lever for performance and retention. For SMBs, flexibility is one of the few benefits that scales effortlessly as the business grows.
Some things have shifted from "nice to have" to "must have" — even for the smallest teams.
Benefits from Day One:
"It used to be a negotiation tool. Now it's kind of expected that they're in place, even at very small companies and that they start from day one." — Erin
For companies under 10 employees, health spending accounts or flexible benefit platforms allow employees to allocate dollars where they need them most.
Intentional Flexibility: Post-COVID, if you're asking employees to work hybrid or in-office, you need a clear "why." Don't just say you're flexible — codify it, communicate it, celebrate it.
Traditional benefits plans often fall short on modern family and reproductive health.
"I've seen a lot of individuals just looking for better support. There's so much more to it than just IVF coverage. You've got to think about adoption, surrogacy, miscarriage support, egg freezing, alternative treatments." — Japneet
Male factor infertility accounts for 30–50% of infertility cases, making this far from just a women's issue. Even without budget for fertility coverage, SMBs can offer:
Key Insight: Inclusive benefits aren't about adding costs — they're about removing blind spots.
The key to maximizing limited resources? Look at your total rewards holistically and understand utilization patterns. "Credits-based benefits" are gaining traction, allowing employees to allocate a set amount toward what matters most to them.
"Not everyone needs the same support. Where can you add that level of personalization within the organization without increasing the overall spend?" — Japneet
Partnership strategies can also help. Beyond group benefit plans, consider:
Key Insight: Small budgets can go far when you think in systems, not silos.
Even the best benefits are worthless if employees don't know about them or understand how to use them. Regular communication, onboarding education, and making benefits information easily accessible are crucial parts of any benefits strategy.
The Bottom Line: SMBs can't always match enterprise salaries or benefits dollar-for-dollar. But they can offer something equally valuable: flexibility, personalization, and the ability to quickly respond to employee needs. Small budgets. Big impact. That's the SMB advantage.
Watch the full recording here.
