New findings in Robert Half’s 2027 Canada Salary Guide show where worker expectations and employer offerings are beginning to diverge. The people you’re recruiting and the people you’re trying to keep are weighing the same question: How does your total compensation compare to what they could get elsewhere?
A total rewards strategy helps you decide what to offer beyond salary and where to focus your investment. The Salary Guide makes that easier by showing what Canadian workers say they want and what employers actually provide, so you can spot the gaps that may apply to you as well.
Attracting and retaining great talent with a total rewards strategy
What is a total rewards strategy?
A total rewards strategy covers nearly everything you offer an employee in return for their work. It typically includes salary, bonuses, benefits such as health coverage, workplace flexibility, retirement contributions, time off and an assortment of perks.
Competitive pay remains essential for attracting and retaining talent in Canada. If salaries fall below market rates, benefits alone are unlikely to close the gap. Once you have confidence in your salary structure, the question becomes what else to offer.
Which rewards do Canadian workers value most?
In the Salary Guide, the rewards most likely to motivate a move for the same salary were:
Work-life balance and flexibilityBonuses and profit-sharingHealth and wellness supportRetirement planning
Workplace flexibility takes several forms, including remote and hybrid work as well as flexibility in when people start and end their day. Crucially, many of these changes can be offered without increasing salaries or benefits spending. For example, adjusting start and finish times adds nothing to your benefits bill, though it does take planning (you still need enough people available during core business hours). If your benefits budget isn’t increasing this year, that kind of change is often the most practical thing you can offer.
Where are employers falling short?
Cost of living adjustments, which increase pay to help offset inflation, show the largest gap between what Canadian workers want and what employers provide. 50% of workers say they value them, but only 18% of employers offer them.
Other rewards show a similar pattern:
Extended health insurance: valued by 59% of workers, offered by 38% of employersHigh-cost specialty drug coverage: 50% against 33%Retirement contributions: 45% against 30%Annual raises: 41% against 30%Flexible schedules: valued by 66% and offered by 52%
Cost of living adjustments and specialty drug coverage both protect people from costs they can’t control. Many Canadian employers offer neither, so providing one of them can set your package apart for both current staff and prospective hires.
Of the employers surveyed, 38% plan to expand their employee benefits package in 2027. If your benefits budget isn’t growing, focus on protecting what you already offer. Any reward you currently provide that most employers don’t offer can help strengthen retention. It could give current staff a reason to stay and candidates a reason to accept.
How should bonuses factor into total compensation?
Most Canadian employers that pay bonuses use some mix of individual and company-wide results to set each person’s payout. Among small employers (under 100 people) the split is even: 42% reward individual performance and 42% use a blend. At midsize companies the blended model rises to 49%; at those with 1,000 or more it reaches 54%.
The choice depends on how clearly you can measure individual output. If a role produces its own numbers (a recruiter’s placements, an account manager’s billings), a bonus tied to individual results is straightforward to explain and defend. In roles where several people share a deliverable, such as a finance team closing the same month-end books, individual targets are harder to justify. A blend of individual and company results usually works better there.
How do you decide what to add to your employee benefits package?
No total rewards strategy is complete without a regular review of what you offer and how it compares to the market. Here are some practices that can help with this.
Document what you currently offer and what it costs. Review your compensation and benefits offerings, including pay bands, every benefit, who qualifies and what each side pays, and assess whether they're meeting expectations. Gather input from employees and candidates. Survey employees to learn which benefits they value most and whether there are offerings you don’t provide they would like. Stay interviews, exit interviews and candidate feedback can also provide insight into which rewards matter most and where your package may be falling short.Price one or two potential changes before deciding which to implement. Benefits are easier to add than to take away, so keep the shortlist short. For each option, ask your benefits advisor or insurer to estimate the per-employee annual cost, confirm whether it counts as a taxable benefit and determine the eligibility rules (all staff, or only after a waiting period, for example).
One word of warning: The Salary Guide also flags newer benefits to consider: stress coaching, sleep programs, paid eldercare leave, adoption assistance, IVF support and coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss medications. Some of these, particularly anything involving medical treatment, are too personal to put in a staff survey. Nobody should have to raise their hand to ask for fertility or weight-management coverage. The better approach is to work with your benefits advisor or insurer to review claims trends and market benchmarks, then add the coverage to the plan and let people use it privately.
How do you bring your total rewards strategy together?
Access the Guide
Look at the whole package rather than one benefit at a time. The Salary Guide tells you what Canadian workers want and where employers are falling short. Your own research, whether from surveys, exit interviews or recruiter feedback, tells you which of those gaps matter inside your organization.
A well-built strategy supports both attracting and retaining talent. Where both point the same way, you have found something worth spending on: a reward that is scarce in the Canadian market and valued by your current staff and the candidates you are trying to attract.
For more advice on refining your total rewards strategy, read Robert Half Canada’s guides to compensation beyond salary and employee retention strategies.
