Modern Employment Practices: What Today's Employees Expect

Meeting the expectations of employees and the job market

Salary matters, of course, but it's far from the whole story. Work-life balance, opportunities to develop, autonomy, wellbeing and workplace culture all weigh heavily for today's employees. Being a modern employer is about building those expectations into your policies and into how it feels to work for you day to day. This article explores what modern employment really looks like, why it deserves your attention and how to shape it in practice, including through flexible employment benefits.

Chapters: 

• What does it mean to be a modern employer?
• Why modern employment practices matter
• What employees expect from a modern employer
• Bringing modern employment practices to life
• The role of flexible employment benefits
• Creating a workplace where people grow and perform
• Modern employment practices with BCS
• Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about modern employment practices

What does it mean to be a modern employer?

Being a modern employer is about consciously responding to the shifting needs, expectations and values of the people who work for you. A competitive salary and a standard package of benefits are only the starting point. How you support people, involve them and give them space to develop counts every bit as much.

Work stopped being a simple exchange of hours for money a long time ago. Employees want to know what an organisation stands for, how much room they'll have to grow, how much they're trusted and how seriously their wellbeing is taken. A modern employer pulls all of this into one consistent employee experience.

A modern employer:

• offers flexibility in where, when and how people work
• invests in developing their skills
• gives people the autonomy to shape their work within clear boundaries
• pays real attention to mental and physical wellbeing
• builds a culture where people feel seen and heard
• communicates openly about expectations, opportunities and where the organisation is heading

Modern employers understand how much the employee experience matters, covering everything people encounter in their dealings with your organisation, whether they already work for you or might one day. The promises you make as an employer have to match what people find in practice. Get that right, and employees feel seen, supported and genuinely connected.

Why modern employment practices matter

Employee expectations are changing, and plenty of organisations are finding it harder to attract and keep the people they need. Engagement and job satisfaction are under strain at the same time. Being a modern employer offers a way to respond to all this properly, with a joined-up approach to culture, leadership, development and employment benefits rather than a handful of isolated perks.

What matters most to employees

The Randstad Employer Brand Research 2026 draws on more than 166,000 respondents across 34 markets. It found that pay and benefits, work-life balance, job security, working atmosphere and progression opportunities top the list when people choose where to work. An appealing employer offers strength across all of these, not just in one area.

Engagement and job satisfaction are under pressure

Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 puts the share of genuinely engaged employees at just 20% worldwide, and only 14% in the Netherlands. Gallup reckons that low engagement drains the global economy of roughly 10 billion dollars in lost productivity a year. Figures like that show just how much day-to-day working life really counts.

Research from Newcom points to a slight dip in job satisfaction across the Netherlands. The Employer Net Promoter Score (eNPS) sits at -8, meaning employees are more likely to warn others off their employer than to recommend it. Gen Z employees are the least positive of all.

Retention needs attention

The Aon Employee Sentiment Study 2025 shows that 60% of the employees surveyed are either looking to move or expect to start job-hunting within twelve months. Retention, in other words, deserves attention well before anyone hands in their notice. The employee experience has to line up with what people need at every stage of the employee journey.

What employees expect from a modern employer

Salary and job security remain important, but they're no longer the only things people care about. Everyone strikes a slightly different balance, and what suits someone shifts as their role, their stage of life and their personal situation change. That calls for clear frameworks and enough flexibility to accommodate the individual.

More freedom of choice

One person would rather have extra leave, while another values a lease bike, a training budget or topping up their pension. According to research by Aon, 61% of Dutch employees would happily swap existing allowances for a wider choice of benefits. The value lies not in piling on options, but in offering relevant choices that match what different people actually need.

Software tip! Software for flexible employment conditions gives employees the freedom to choose, with HR still in control of budgets, rules and administration.

Wellbeing matters

Being a modern employer is as much about the conditions people work in as the terms they work under. Mental and physical health, a healthy work-life balance, a setting where employees feel safe to ask questions, admit mistakes and flag problems. When wellbeing runs through your policies and your leadership, people are more likely to stay healthy, motivated and productive for years to come.

When one size doesn't fit

Needs vary by generation, but also by role, life stage and personal circumstances. Some people value flexibility and the chance to develop, others place more weight on stability, recognition or financial security. Rather than assuming what someone wants based on their age, combine your policies with real conversations, feedback and employee data.

Bringing modern employment practices to life

Being a modern employer is an ongoing investment in the relationship between employer and employee, never a one-off project. The choices you make show up everywhere: in your policies, your leadership, your communication, your employment benefits and the way people work together every day.

Build a clear Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) captures what people get from working for you in return for their effort, knowledge and commitment. A well-crafted EVP shows people why they'd want to join your organisation, and why they'd want to stay. The best ones draw on the organisation's ambitions as well as employee feedback from conversations and research.

An effective EVP is recognisable, distinctive and believable. The image you present to candidates has to match what employees actually experience day to day. A mismatch between the two leaves employer branding feeling hollow, and that costs your people's trust.

Make leadership more human

Managers have a huge influence on how employees experience their work. Modern leaders set direction, listen properly, give regular feedback and make room for autonomy and growth. Moving away from control towards clear boundaries and real trust is central to that. Put your energy into developing your managers, then, not just into HR policy.

Be open and transparent in how you communicate

Employees want to know where the organisation is heading, what's expected of them and how they can make a difference. Open, honest communication gives them clarity and builds their trust. In hybrid or spread-out teams, a social intranet brings information, knowledge sharing and interaction together in one central place.

Invest in the onboarding process

What happens in the early weeks leaves a lasting impression on how a new employee experiences the organisation. A well-designed onboarding process helps new colleagues understand the culture, the expectations and the way things are done, so they settle in quickly.

Worth reading! Is someone returning to your organisation? Read our blog Reboarding: Why a Successful Return Is Just as Important. 

The role of flexible employment benefits

Flexible employment benefits are one of the most concrete ways to show what modern employment really means. Within a framework you set in advance, employees can shape part of their employment benefits around their own needs and stage of life. Employees enjoy real freedom of choice, and the organisation keeps a clear overview of policy and budget.

Depending on your policy and the budgets available, people might opt for:

• extra leave or a cash payout from a personal budget
• a lease bike or a mobility budget
• a gym membership or a working-from-home allowance
• additional pension contributions or a training budget
• a wellbeing scheme or a sustainability budget

Want to explore what's possible? Request a product demo and see how it works.

What one employee values, another may hardly use. Flexible employment benefits work best when the choices genuinely fit people's lives. Employees gain more control over their own conditions, and the organisation keeps steering policy, budget and what's realistically achievable.

Done well, flexible employment benefits make you a more appealing employer and meet individual needs far better. Some allowances and provisions qualify for tax-free treatment under the work-related costs scheme (WKR), though only when they meet the tax conditions. A proper setup, regular checks and clear communication are essential here.

Creating a workplace where people grow and perform

Being a modern employer isn't the product of a single measure. Everyday choices in leadership, communication, development and employment benefits are what shape it. The steps that follow turn ambition into an employee experience people genuinely notice.

Listen to employees regularly

Regular conversations and honest feedback, gathered through interviews, pulse surveys or wider employee research, reveal what's going well, where problems are surfacing and how needs are changing. Following up visibly on what you hear matters just as much, since listening without action does more harm to trust than never asking.

Decide what you want to offer

A clear vision of the kind of employer you want to be, translated into real choices, gives your organisation direction. A strong employer story lives in behaviour, processes and employment benefits, not just in job adverts or on your careers page. Employees can tell every day whether the organisation delivers on its promises.

Make flexibility and development tangible

Within clear boundaries, people appreciate the freedom to make choices that suit their situation. Flexible employment benefits alongside genuine opportunities to learn and develop signal that both today's needs and tomorrow's growth are taken seriously.

The role of managers

Managers put policy into practice each day. Clear expectations, coaching and regular conversations all feed into a positive employee experience, and they open up space for employees to ask questions, share ideas and take on responsibility.

Modern employment practices with BCS

Modern employment is a people business, supported by processes that make the experience work. BCS provides modular software that supports every stage of the employee journey. Every solution works independently, and they combine easily too, so you take only what suits your needs and your current HR setup.

With the flexible benefits software from BCS you are able to offer your employees a wide variety of flexible benefits within an easy-to-use platform. HR retains a clear view of budgets, processes and the tax rules. The solution is modular and connects with HR and payroll systems from BCS and other providers.

With the software:

• employees enjoy freedom of choice within boundaries you set in advance
• budgets, schemes and the available tax margin remain easy to monitor
• employees gain a clear view of exactly what their benefits are worth, all in one overview
• digitising processes and data exchange cuts down on manual admin
  
  

Ready to learn more about our software? Book a personal demo to explore what's possible for your organisation!