Award winners 2007
2007-06-11
Grand Prix
Sponsored by Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Winner
National Express Ltd
The judges voted National Express winner of the Grand Prix because it had "come a long way in a short space of time" in what is a tough sector. Back in 2004, the scheduled coach operator just offered employees coach travel passes, but it now provides them with a whole range of perks designed to boost employee engagement and reduce staff turnover. The "low cost, but high value" employee benefits solution contributed to the significant fall in turnover from 50% in July 2005 to 27% in November 2006. The new strategy also helped to boost levels of employee satisfaction.
The new package of benefits was devised with the aim of offering something for everyone in a workforce which includes support staff based at a large call centre, travel shops and bus stations throughout the UK, as well as 500 drivers working directly for National Express and 1,600 who are working on the network but are not direct employees. New perks included long-services awards, which ranged from a bottle of champagne after five years to a trip to Egypt after 25 years, an employee assistance programme for all staff and their families, an online discount scheme and interest-free loans for staff who were in need of extra financial support. The judges were also impressed with the use of benefits to help increase the appeal of the male-dominated organisation among women. These included boxes of goodies for new parents, increased maternity provision, flexible working and the option of buying childcare vouchers through salary sacrifice. Other perks offered through salary sacrifice included a bikes-for-work scheme, and buying and selling holiday.
Since the benefits initiative began, the company has experienced increases in turnover (from £192.4m in 2004 to £200.5m in 2006), and profit (from £18.8m in 2004 to £21.5m in 2006).
Winner
RBS Group
The judges felt that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group was the outright winner in this category. The company launched a new pension scheme to sit alongside its final salary plan and provided for the new plan within its flexible benefits package RBSelect.
The RBS Group human resources reward team worked closely with other parts of the business, including group communications, group legal and compliance and group logistics, as well as the company's offshore HR departments. This cross-functional team delivered all aspects of the design, implementation and communication of the arrangements on time and to plan. This included everything from carefully managing the impact of the launch of the new scheme in the press, to ensuring that the technical design of new plan met the company's legal requirements and employee expectations. Young staff at RBS were particularly engaged with the arrangements, with 77% of those opting into the new scheme under the age of 35 years.
Runners up
Benfield
In the space of two years, the benefits team at Benfield Group undertook several projects to move away from a one-size-fits-all package and give employees more choice. This included the launch of tax-efficient benefits, such as childcare vouchers and bikes for work, the ability to buy up to three days additional holiday and the launch of a group personal pension plan. The judges felt these efforts meant Benfield firmly deserved to be short listed for this category.
QinetiQ
The small QinetiQ reward team successfully designed, developed and implemented the reward brand QinetiQ Currency with little outside help from consultants. The company went from having salary, pension and holiday as a benefits package to a scheme which now includes bikes for work, childcare vouchers, total reward statements and a share incentive plan. The judges were impressed with the way these benefits were implemented by a team of 3.5 individuals who continued to also carry out their everyday work.
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile had worked hard as a team to improve what was already on offer and to introduce new benefits, including a concierge system and £100 for each employee to give to charity. The team also launched the company's reward roadshows. The first event, where the package was promoted over the course of a week, was a success and similar events are now planned for each quarter.
Most effective benefits strategy for organisations with fewer than 1,000 employees
Winner
Royal Automobile Club - Royal Automobile Club Flex Benefits Scheme (entered by Foster Denovo Ltd)
The reason this entrant rose to the top among an excellent range of contenders, was the crucial role that benefits played in a fundamental cultural change at this very traditional club (not to be confused with the RAC breakdown service).
Until 1 December 2006, the 450 employees received a very conventional set of core benefits including, among others, a trust-based pension scheme, income protection and death-in-service cover. Some perks such as private medical insurance and company cars were limited to certain levels of seniority.
After a review, it was decided to gradually introduce a flexible benefits scheme. In the first year just two benefits (childcare vouchers and buy/sell holidays) were added to the existing list of benefits, and the pension scheme was re-launched as a group personal pension. It was felt that adding too many benefits at once would lead to confusion. This allowed the club to focus on communicating the scheme. After a series of group presentations, all staff had a one-to-one meeting with an independent financial adviser who talked them through their benefits choices, discussed their pension needs and demonstrated how to use forecasting tools. This carefully thought out strategy, that didn't try to do too much too quickly, led to a huge increase in pension scheme take up (from 151 to 304 staff). As many as 70% of staff made a flexible benefits selection, and 84% now say their understanding of the benefits package would have a positive influence if they were considering leaving.
There are plans to use feedback from staff to decide which benefits will be added to the flexible benefits scheme in year two. The judges commented that this entry demonstrated a "radical culture change from a traditional, take-what-you-get approach to a culture of select-what-you-want, with open communication". The panel felt the strategy is comprehensive, with the employer being clear about what it is trying to do. "The benefits matched what staff want, it is a good example of what employers should do," said the panel.
Runners up
Actelion - Actelion Flex (entered by Redbourne)
One of our smallest entrants, Actelion prides itself on innovation. Its sophisticated employees (they discover, develop and market new drugs), needed something different to capture their attention. This was achieved by offering staff the use of sophisticated online modelling tools for some benefits. As a result all 30 staff had taken up at least one benefit by December 2006, while 86% were using salary sacrifice for one or more benefits.
Amadeus Services Limited (ASL) - Value Benefits (advised by You at Work)
This technology booking firm needed to recruit the best graduates, but was battling to keep them due to staff feeling under valued. Part of the solution was to communicate the existing benefits (which are good) more effectively. The offering was also enhanced so that it was aligned with that provided to staff who had transferred into Amadeus under TUPE. This was achieved through an online total reward platform that now allows staff to see that their benefits are worth between 20% to 50% of salary.
Bevan Brittan LLP - mybenefits (entered by Jelf Group Plc)
Following a demerger, this law firm set out to increase the actual and perceived value of benefits and their take up among its 550 staff, reduce in-house administration and restructure three pension schemes into one. It achieved all of the above with no increase in cost, using national insurance savings from the salary sacrifice of pensions to increase its contributions. It also launched an online benefits system.
Loyalty Management Group - Sweeter Rewards (entered by thomsons online benefits)
The judges were impressed by the well-integrated strategy used for this flexible benefits launch, including the branding Sweeter Rewards, linked to the company's well-known Nectar loyalty product. They also praised the reduction in administration, high recognition of the value of benefits (90% of the 170 staff value their benefits) and the savings that were made (with half going into increased pension contributions and the other half going to cover the cost of the scheme).
Providence Row Housing Association (PRHA) – Benefits @ PRHA
This entrant managed to turn around “shocking results” in staff recruitment to achieve a 98% success rate. It believes that its benefits package played a key role in this change. New benefits were launched that put an emphasis on health and wellbeing, and were integrated well with the housing association’s broader strategy of caring about its 130 staff by offering a good work-life balance through flexible working.
Most effective benefits strategy for organisations with more than 1,000 employees
Sponsored by Jelf Group Plc
Winner
National Express Ltd - Xtras
The judges were highly impressed with the "sea change" that has taken place at the scheduled coach operator over the last three years. Back in 2004, the only benefits National Express offered to staff were coach travel passes. But in a bid to reduce staff turnover and boost staff satisfaction, the transport company came up with a new HR strategy that concentrated on employee engagement of which a key strand was focused around reward and recognition. A new package of benefits was devised to offer something for everyone in a workforce that includes support staff based at a large call centre, travel shops and bus stations throughout the UK as well as 500 drivers working directly for National Express and 1,600 who are working on the network but are not direct employees.
National Express also wanted to offer benefits that would help it reposition the business, historically dominated by men, as one that can also attract women. Encouraging staff to stay with the company and help them in good times and bad, were also priorities. Some of the initiatives it introduced include an employee assistance programme for all staff and their families, an online discount scheme, an interest-free loan for people in need of extra financial support, boxes of goodies for new parents, increased maternity provision, flexible working and free coach travel for employees, and their partners and families.
Employees were also given the option to take up benefits such as childcare vouchers, bikes for work and buying and selling holiday on a salary sacrifice basis. A scheme rewarding long service was also introduced with typical gifts ranging from a bottle of champagne after five years' service to a trip to Egypt after 25 years' service. Employee turnover which stood at 50% in July 2005 has now reduced to 27% in November 2006 and the response rate to employee surveys has increased from 67% in 2004 to 74% in 2006. Employee satisfaction levels, and company turnover and profit have also improved.
Runners up
ASDA - Total Package Communication
The aim behind Asda's total reward package is to create a point of difference in order to attract staff and motivate its 160,000 employees working across 350 sites. It is proud of its labour turnover rate of 26.43% in what is a sector plagued with high staff turnover. It offers a bonus, a 10% discount after 12 weeks' service, a share ownership plan, a sharesave plan, pensions plans including life assurance, voluntary benefits, private medical cover for managers, recognition initiatives and long-service awards as well as competitive pay rates.
Bank of America - Associate Benefit Choices (entered by Towers Perrin)
The Bank of America's flexible benefits scheme, launched in 2005, resulted in over 80% of staff enrolling in the plan and selecting from over 20 options. Since the launch it has added a leisure account and extended the plan to employees of the recently-acquired MBNA and staff in Ireland and Canada. The judges were impressed with the bank's commitment to matching staff contributions to learning, health and wellbeing accounts and and thought that this was an interesting way to encourage behaviour change and self-development.
Cattles Plc - Benefits Through Innovation
The judges thought that the provider of financial services used a comprehensive and accessible set of communication materials, including total reward statements and an intranet site, to help improve employees' understanding of their benefits package which includes a pension and share scheme. The strategy has resulted in a 26% improvement in the understanding of the benefits package, an increase in the number of hits on the reward intranet site and a reduction in staff turnover from 42.7% in 2005 to 33.9% in 2006. This was all for an investment of £1.50 per employee in the cost of communication materials.
Shell International - My Benefits (advised by Gissings Advisory Services Ltd)
The oil company set out to broaden its benefits package and to differentiate it from that offered by competitors. Historically benefits had included car schemes, flexible working practices and pensions. After an assessment of employee demographics and needs, sector benchmarking and round-table discussions with employee representatives, it introduced new company-paid benefits such as private medical insurance (with the ability to extend cover), employee discount programmes and childcare vouchers. All benefits were packaged as components of a single programme.
Most successful new benefits launch
Winner
ING Direct - Pick and Mix (entered by Vebnet; advised by Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
This entry caught the attention of the judges because of its strong branding and unusual communications campaign, which included members of ING Direct's management team dressing up as ushers to deliver a bag of pick and mix sweets to every employee. The judges felt that this activity couldn't fail to catch employees' attention and also demonstrated management's buy-in and commitment to the launch of the company's flexible benefits plan. One judge was so impressed with the company's approach that she said she would copy it if the appropriate opportunity arose.
ING Direct's decision to move to flex was made as a result of feedback from staff focus groups, which indicated that employees felt their perks were difficult to access and were not relevant to everyone. The launch also included presentations hosted by the company's HR director at both of its sites and a benefits fair which gave staff the opportunity to meet their benefits providers. The fair was attended by ING Direct's compensation and benefits team which hosted a pick and mix sweet shop at the event.
ING Direct received particular praise from the judges for managing to carry all of these activities out at a relatively low cost to the business and well within its set budget.
Runners up
CODA Plc - CODA Group Personal Pension Plan (advised by Hargreaves Lansdown)
The judges were impressed with the high take-up rate achieved by CODA's group personal pension plan (GPP), which they thought was indicative of a highly-effective communications campaign. The company was prompted to revamp its pensions provision by a forthcoming demerger, which led to it replacing its three existing pension schemes with a single GPP.
Kent County Council - Mobile Salary Saver (entered by Flexphone Limited)
Kent County Council introduced a mobile phone salary sacrifice scheme for its 20,000 employees. The judges were impressed with the effectiveness of its marketing campaign in reaching such a large workforce.
Malmaison and Hotel du Vin - Flexible Benefits Scheme (advised by Davidson Asset Management)
The Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotel group was praised by the judges for its commitment to the launch and communication of its flexible benefits scheme. The move marked a significant change in benefits strategy for the hotel group, as this was the first time that benefits had been offered to non-managerial employees.
npower - npower smile (advised by People Value)
Npower's 'smile' scheme awards employees points when they switch their power supplier to npower. These points can then be redeemed against a range of products and services. The judges felt that implementing the scheme for 11,000 staff was quite an investment. Take up of the scheme surpassed the company's target figures, and was felt to be an effective way of encouraging staff to become advocates of the brand.
Royal Automobile Club - Royal Automobile Club Flex Benefits Scheme (entered by Foster Denovo Ltd)
More than 70% of the Royal Automobile Club's 450 employees enrolled in its flexible benefits scheme at launch. Additional communications at the time of the launch were used to promote its pension scheme and resulted in pension membership more than doubling. The communications campaign as a whole helped increased the number of employees who value their benefits.
Most effective employer and adviser partnership
Winner
RBS Group - RBS Retirement Savings Plan (entered by Aricot Vert; advised by Towers Perrin)
The judges were highly impressed with the way Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group, its adviser Towers Perrin and communication experts Aricot Vert worked in a three-way partnership to design and communicate what the panel described as a "very innovative" offering to employees.
With the help of Towers Perrin, RBS designed its new Retirement Savings Plan, which brought its pension provision into its flexible benefits plan RBSelect and offered employees the chance to take extra cash rather than pension contributions.
Aricot Vert worked closely with RBS and Towers Perrin to devise a booklet that the judging panel described as having been "brilliantly" executed and which formed the basis of a "strong communication campaign". The launch of the new scheme was a success, with young employees particularly engaged — 77% of those opting into the new scheme were under the age of 35 years.
Runners up
Bevan Brittan LLP - mybenefits (entered by Jelf Group Plc)
As part of Bevan Brittan's plan to become an employer of choice and reduce in-house administration it appointed the Jelf Group Plc. Working together, the company restructured three pension arrangements into one, introduced total reward statements and wellbeing days to promote voluntary and company-provided benefits among other things. As a result of the partnership, take up of the pension scheme increased from 60% to 90%.
Home Retail Group - Discover Your Voluntary Benefits (advised by Motivano)
Home Retail Group (Argos and Homebase) worked with Motivano to revamp its voluntary benefits scheme. The aim was to better target its voluntary benefits scheme, Discover your voluntary benefits,to staff. As a result of the review new relationships with suppliers were developed, particularly in the travel and leisure sectors. This helped lead to a 90% increase in employees using the scheme.
Malmaison and Hotel du Vin - Flexible Benefits Scheme (advised by Davidson Asset Management)
The close relationship between the hotel group's benefits team and its adviser Davidson Asset Management (DAM) was praised by the judging panel. When Malmaison purchased the Hotel Du Vin group it decided to improve its benefits package for employees. This resulted in staff being able to make some choices around their benefits provision and the implementation of a personal pension. DAM created a schedule of presentations to fit around busy hotel periods and also produced a benefits guide for the financial controller and HR co-ordinator in each hotel to help them answer employees' questions.
Mourant - The Mourant flexible benefits scheme (entered by Ceridian)
Working with Ceridian, Mourant implemented an online flexible benefits programme. The judges were impressed with the time saving that this brought to the HR team, with the administrative burden of delivering flexible benefits reduced from a five-week process for three people, to a one-week activity for two staff.
Vanco – v:choice (entered by thomsons online benefits)
Vanco worked with thomsons online benefits to launch a flexible benefits scheme simultaneously across eight countries including the UK, Italy, the US, Singapore and Australia, working to a tight time scale with less than five months to complete the project. Since the initial launch in 2003, the scheme has been extended to a number of additional locations, including Brazil in 2006.
Most effective healthcare strategy
Sponsored by HSF health plan
Winner London Underground - Health fairs
This category was a closely-fought battle with a number of entries adhering to the same high standards. London Underground was selected as the winner for the "brilliant" results that it achieved through its health improvement plan.
Over the course of last year, it held 26 health fairs for employees across the network in order to help it make contact with all staff, particularly those who who can be difficult to reach because they work across different locations and have varying shift patterns. The fairs were aimed at raising awareness of the need for employees to take responsibility for their own health by making suitable lifestyle adjustments, and giving them the knowledge to detect potential health problems at an early stage. In only the second year of the strategy, attendance at the fairs increased by 26%. Employees were given the opportunity to have their cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose readings checked by trained nurses. London Underground's provision also includes a nutritionist, an occupational health team physiotherapist, and an on-site occupational health team stress counsellor.
The judges were impressed at the way in which the organisation has focused its initiatives to suit its workforce demographics.
The company was also praised for the quality of its campaign's supporting communications materials, which were felt to be very user-friendly.
Overall, London Underground's comprehensive approach has had significant results, particularly in improving employee satisfaction. It also estimates that its absence rate will be reduced by 5% this year, saving the company £42,000. The absence rate is expected to reduce further in subsequent years.
Runners up
Cadbury Schweppes - mychoices Fit for Life
The judges praised this entry for its "multi-dimensional approach" to employee health and wellbeing. All employees are offered a free onsite health check, while healthy-eating options in the staff canteen and classes such as yoga and Pilates are also available onsite.
Dimension Data - Absencia (advised by Employ-Mend)
Dimension Data has successfully sustained a low absence rate of 1% after implementing an absence management system two years ago. One of the programme's functions is to ensure staff are directed to other relevant benefits where necessary such as the company's employee assistance programme and private medical insurance.
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education - Healthy Institute Strategy
Highly praised by the judges, the Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, which has the challenge of a disparate workforce spread over 12 sites, came a very close second in this category. It offers a wide variety of options designed to tackle staff wellbeing, which have been carefully tailored to suit its staff.
Pfizer - Health and You (entered by Lorica Consulting)
Pfizer's healthcare initiatives were driven by the company's global cost-reduction programme. Using a preferred provider option, it estimates that it will save nearly £2m over five years.
PricewaterhouseCoopers - zest for life at PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken an integrated approach to health management, benefits and employee wellbeing, which it believes has clear business benefits. Last year, it developed its wellbeing programme - Zest for life at PwC - which is aimed at raising employees' awareness of health issues, and includes initiatives such as healthy-eating options, and wellness days.
Shell - Shell Healthcare Plan (advised by Gissings Advisory Services Ltd)
The judges thought that this was a "really well-managed project", which offered a good choice to employees. Shell's package provides a degree of flexibility to some core healthcare benefits, enabling staff to include family members and extend the level of cover they receive if they wish.
Communications strategy of the year
Winner
Siemens - My Choice (advised by Creative Direction)
In this highly-competitive category there emerged a winner well worth emulating. Siemens did it by the book, but did it well and comprehensively. Its communications programme started long before the scheme was designed and ready to roll out - a crucial factor that averted potential disaster.
It first piloted its flexible benefits scheme. Piloting is not as common as it should be in benefits practice, but Siemen's experience is a curt reminder as to why it is so crucial. The pilot bombed with a take-up rate of just 19%. However, the company took this on the chin, worked on feedback from the pilot and went ahead with a full roll out to staff. The communications were comprehensive, using all media channels. However, it was the most powerful communication channel that was used most effectively - word of mouth.
Employee ambassadors were chosen from the initial pilot group to act as advocates of the scheme. This employee endorsement lent credibility to the scheme.
In all, staff were touched 13 times each by communication messages - at home and in the workplace. The result was a 70% participation rate (9,967 staff out of a workforce of 14,141). To top it all, the scheme saved the company £2.2m in national insurance contributions and is expected to deliver a saving of £2.7m in 2007.
Highly commended
Center Parcs - Center Parcs Group Pension Plan (entered by Hargreaves Lansdown)
This entry stood out because of the effort the firm made to communicate the plan to staff including asking financial advisers to cycle to where staff were based in the Village. The take-up rate for the group personal pension plan was 87%.
Runners up
Cadbury Schweppes - mychoices
This entry showed a good all-round approach to communications that included the use of the union in order to reach all staff, no matter what time their shifts were.
Cattles Plc - Benefits Through Innovation
Cattles spent an average of £1.50 per employee on various communications and in return gained a 26% improvement in understanding of benefits.
first direct - plus, first direct's flexible benefits package (advised by Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
This well thought through strategy tied all communications into the stated principles of first direct's reward strategy.
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education - Communicating Staff Benefits
A variety of paper-based media was used to communicate perks, including a staff diary featuring information on benefits which the judges thought was particularly clever.
O2 - Your Total Reward Website (entered by Caburn Hope)
O2 used a sophisticated CD and modelling tools to help senior management understand their own incentive plans, a strategy that was also used for the rest of the workforce.
PricewaterhouseCoopers - PwC Life
This professional campaign included the launch of PwC Life magazine that used general interest articles to provide a context for PwC benefits.
QinetiQ - QinetiQ Currency
The defence company developed the brand QinetiQ Currency to communicate four key streams of the total reward package, including flexible and core benefits.
RBS Group - RBS Retirement Savings Plan (entered by Aricot Vert; advised by Towers Perrin)
A clever use of a shoe (as in trainers, wellies, high heels etc) theme, helped to simplify the message about moving the pension scheme into a flexible benefits scheme. The judges thought this was an excellent entry, but felt that the pitfalls of opting out of a final salary pension could have been highlighted more clearly.
Most effective pensions strategy
Winner
Proquest Information and Learning - Helping employees achieve their retirement ambitions (entered by Secondsight)
The judges were impressed by the degree of help given to Proquest Information & Learning's 130 UK employees under the organisation's new pensions strategy which has been designed to enable more staff to achieve their retirement ambitions by providing them with financial education on an individual basis. Proquest, an online publisher of information and education solutions, claims that 82% of staff are now on target to reach their own financial goals, a significant increase from the 25% that were prior to implementation of the new strategy.
As part of the changes, Proquest switched providers to Friends Provident so staff could access, view and make amendments to their pension online whenever they wish. It also committed to matching contributions of up to 8.75% of salary for all employees. Commission generated by the new scheme was used to pay for staff communication around pensions. Staff were able to attend group presentations covering subjects such as investment risk profiles and tax relief around pensions. They were also given the opportunity to attend individual meetings with an adviser to work out a retirement plan. In these individual sessions, software was used to analyse the pension schemes that staff were members of and to estimate how much they needed to save to achieve their retirement ambitions. Where staff were unable to make the appropriate level of contributions straight away, they were invited to take part in Second Chance, a concept that effectively enables individuals to commit to saving a proportion of their future pay rises towards meeting these rates. This helped Proquest achieve its aim of getting employees to take greater ownership of their retirement planning. Of those staff who were not on target to meet their financial retirement goals and who were unable to make the necessary contributions immediately, 63% opted for Second Chance.
The average employee contribution is now 8.5% and is expected to rise to 10% in the next three years. Under the previous scheme, the majority of staff were in the same fund, however, under the new scheme contributions were spread across 20 funds. Following the changes, 76% of employees said they placed a greater value on the pension, 60% said the pension would play a greater part in a decision to stay at Proquest and 97% said their knowledge had improved.
Runners up
Aberdeen Asset Management Plc - The Aberdeen Asset Management GPP (entered by Foster Denovo Ltd)
The group switched from an unbundled money purchase scheme to a group personal pension (GPP) plan to avoid the need for trustees. The judges praised the way employees' funds from the old scheme were moved into the GPP without incurring costs. Members now have online access to their scheme and a choice of more than 100 funds. They also receive employer contributions of 20% of salary. The take-up rate has risen from 82% to 100%.
Benfield - Benfield Group Personal Pension Plan
The judges were impressed with the way in which Benfield handled the transition of existing funds from a trust scheme to a GPP plan, in the process reducing the potential cost of such a move from £800,000 to £50,000 and avoiding any impact on members' pensions. Members of the new scheme now have 24/7 access to a website with all their pension details and to a personalised pension calculator.
CODA Plc - CODA Group Personal Pension Plan (advised by Hargreaves Lansdown)
The launch of a new GPP enabled CODA to reduce the administrative burden associated with three defined contribution schemes, two of which were closed to new members, and the risks associated with trust-based DC schemes. The move also helped prepare for a demerger of CodaSciSys. Employees now have access to their pension details online and can also make contributions via salary sacrifice.
EDF Energy - EDF Energy Pension Scheme (entered by Talking People Limited)
The judges felt that EDF Energy was brave to buck the trend by closing all existing pension arrangements, including a money purchase plan, and to introduce a new final salary scheme in 2004. On-going communication of the scheme includes face-to-face seminars, booklets, posters and the intranet.
RBS Group - RBS Retirement Savings Plan (entered by Aricot Vert; advised by Towers Perrin)
Employees were offered complete control over how they save for the future with this innovative scheme. They were given the chance to opt out of their current final salary plan, which was closed to new members, and to choose to put some or all of their employer's pension contribution into a new retirement savings plan, use it for other benefits such as childcare and insurance, take all or part of it as cash, or invest it in a private pensions or saving plan.
Most effective use of group risk and long-term absence strategy
Sponsored by AEGON Scottish Equitable
Winner
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education - Strategy for keeping people at work and accelerating returns to work
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education was voted the clear winner of this category, with the judges being impressed with its "pro-active and dynamic" approach, part of which was "very radical for a public sector organisation".
The institute was praised for its comprehensive policy, which is aimed at "encouraging attendance at work, supporting staff to remain at work instead of going off sick and of accelerated returns to work".
A core team consisting of the organisation's registrar, personnel/payroll manager, health and safety manager, physiotherapist and occupational health nurse meet on a weekly basis to monitor absence and check on existing cases in which they have intervened.
The team is supported by a wide range of measures aimed at helping staff to return to work as soon as possible. These include regular contact between absent employees and their line manager, free counselling and free physiotherapy, which takes place either onsite or at an employee's home depending on their mobility. The institute is also prepared to temporarily reduce the workload and hours of staff who have returned to work after a long period of absence until they are fit to carry out their full role.
The organisation also has a number of preventative measures in place to help cut the number of long-term absences. Among the services on offer are: reduced working hours and workload, working from home, free physiotherapy at work, relaxation classes, aromatherapy, Indian head massages, and employer-funded private x-rays and appointments with consultants.
As a result, Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education has a proven record of helping staff return to work more quickly than they were expected to do so, in some cases, up to three months sooner than planned.
Runners up
Birmingham Focus on Blindness - Employee Benefits Package (entered by BHSF Limited)
Eye charity Birmingham Focus on Blindness operates an absence management system in a bid to "reduce staff absence and solve some long-term absence problems". Overall, the organisation estimates that its healthcare package has enabled it to reduce absenteeism costs by up to 30%. This was thought to be significant because of the small size of the organisation.
PricewaterhouseCoopers - zest for life at PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers focuses on encouraging staff to take preventative measures around their health and wellbeing in order to help reduce the potential number of long-term absences. Its strategy includes a 'Fit for life survival' course focussing on what employees can do to obtain a healthier lifestyle and a network of health champions to support its initiatives.
Most effective motivation or incentive strategy
Winner
BSkyB - Team Sky - Annual Awards
The judges loved this entry because of its strong, clear link to corporate values. It is very hard to personalise values, but BSkyB achieved it in a fun and amusing way that managed to link executive strategy with ordinary employees.
As with many winning concepts, it was relatively simple. The company decided to create Team Sky which is made up of four cartoon characters based on BSkyB's values: Professor Tuned In, Ms Irrepressible, Mr Inviting and Dr Fun. Over a four week period, employees could nominate colleagues they felt represented these values. A major challenge was reaching the highly-diverse workforce of 15,000 people, from installation engineers and call centre staff to production people. Many have no internet access or do not work in offices. This was overcome via a comprehensive communication strategy that used the intranet, mail shots, text messages, posters, billboards, lifesize cardboard cuts outs and t-shirts for employee champions.
Nominees were shortlisted with input from nominees' line managers and colleagues, and from this winners were identified. There was full involvement from the chief executive officer, to demonstrate his commitment to the scheme. Top winners were personally notified by the CEO and all nominees received a letter and plaque from him. Winners won prizes such as an all-expenses paid trip to New York which included experiences that only BSkyB could organise (such as visiting a film studio). Winners were promoted as role models and their trips were reported on internally.
Staff clearly engaged with this scheme as there were 1,100 entries (up from 611 in 2005), and the staff survey score went from 73 to 77 points for value recognition. The judges felt this entry showed how BSkyB "do the core stuff really well, not just whizzy new stuff". One judge said: "It is not just flashy, it is honest. They managed to make people change their behaviours, while engaging them - it made the values real rather than esoteric."
Runners up
Fenland District Council - Fenland Stars - Staff Awards Scheme
This council recognised that if it was to improve its service standards, it had to increase staff motivation. Among its initiatives was the introduction of an Annual Awards Scheme, that is the culmination of five awards: 'employee of the month', 'team of the moment', 'manager of the moment', 'meeting the challenge' and 'going the extra mile'. The judges liked the fact that the reasons staff won each of these awards were published internally for all to see (and learn from). The council's service standards in priority services have moved from bottom to upper quartile, while nearly 80% of staff now find their working environment pleasant and agreeable (up from 61% previously).
KPMG - Menu of Recognition
The accounting firm launched a Menu of Recognition in order to remind line managers of the importance of recognising people - a simple act that so many managers forget to do regularly. This simple online menu reminds managers to say 'Thank you'. It also gives then the discretion to spend up to £50 on gifts for individuals. Thirdly, managers can opt to give someone time off if they have been putting in long hours. And finally, there is a formal Encore! recognition programme which is reported on internally.
npower - npower smile (advised by People Value)
Npower had a corporate vision of 'Turning customers into fans'. The first step was to ensure that its own employees were fans. It achieved this by assigning every employee with a 'smile' account. When activated, this was credited with 15,000 points (worth £150) which could be redeemed against a range of products. As a result, 60% of staff signed up (an increase of 200% against a target of 55%), and 400 suggestions were received from staff on ways to improve customer service.
Providence Row Housing Association (PRHA)
This entry is a fine example of how the sensible use of flexible working can lead to increased staff motivation. This organisation treats its staff as mature adults who it can trust to make judgements over their jobs and their hours of work. This had led to reduced absenteeism and high levels of employee engagement. Many line managers would do well to learn that there are business benefits to be gained by having staff who come to work because they want to, not just because they have to.
Most effective all-employee share scheme strategy
Winner
QinetiQ - QinetiQ Currency
The judges felt that the flotation of the defence technology and security company on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 provided a perfect opportunity to launch employee share schemes. They were particularly impressed with the high profile involvement of the chief executive who hosted 45 presentations on these schemes to staff across the UK during a one-month period.
The design and communication of the three share plans were organised by a dedicated team encompassing representatives from QinetiQ, Herbert Smith and Lloyds TSB Registrars. A priority offer was made to 8,765 UK employees of which 4,646 employees participated purchasing over 7.1m shares. Free shares were also offered to 8,765 UK employees through a share incentive plan (Sip). Of the eligible population, 98.19% opted for the 250 shares which were worth around £500 on flotation. Free shares to the same value were also awarded to 2,500 employees in the US and Belgium. In addition, partnership shares were offered through a Sip to 8,962 UK employees, resulting in a 30% take-up rate.
QinetiQ used specific colour branding across the employee communication materials to help differentiate the messages conveyed about the schemes. A dedicated share plans website, an email helpline service and the QinetiQ iQ magazine and intranet were used to help communicate the schemes to staff in addition to paper documentation.
Runners up
Computershare - Computershare SIP
Since Computershare first launched a share scheme for staff in 2001, both the number of employees at the company and the countries in which it operates have doubled to 10,000 and 20 respectively. Participation in the plan now stands at over 50% of eligible employees. Staff are able to check the share price online and view the impact of any changes on the value of their investment.
Drax Group Plc - Sharesave and SIP (entered by Yorkshire Building Society)
The launch of a sharesave and a share incentive plan (Sip) at Drax has resulted in 100% of the 621-strong workforce owning shares in the power company. All employees joined the Sip, while over 90% signed up to the sharesave scheme. Drax hopes that the schemes will help boost moral and workforce relations.
easyJet Airline Company Limited - easyJet shares 4 me (entered by Capita Share Plan Services)
Last year's winner of this category, easyJet, put in another strong performance. Following the launch of both a sharesave and a share incentive plan, the low-cost airline launched a Free Shares plan in 2006 as part of its ongoing commitment to encouraging staff to become easyJet shareholders. The award was based on two weeks' salary and free shares were also offered to staff in Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland. Over 70% of staff are now participating in at least one of the share schemes.
Prudential Plc - Sharesave (UK & International) and SIP (entered by Yorkshire Building Society)
Since Prudential introduced sharesave in 1983, it has extended the plan to include employees in other businesses as they have been acquired, most recently M&G in 1999 and Egg in 2006. It also introduced a share incentive plan (Sip) in 2004. On average over the years, almost 30% of employees have participated in the sharesave scheme, with highs of 60% and lows of 12%. In its debut year take up of the Sip was 19%.
Most effective use of a flexible benefits plan
Sponsored by Hewitt Associates
Winner
Bank of America - Associate Benefit Choices (entered by Towers Perrin)
This was a closely-fought category, but Bank of America was voted the winner because of the innovative additions it has made to its flexible benefits scheme, the use of the scheme to harmonise benefits in the UK when it acquired MBNA, and the roll out of the scheme to Ireland and Canada.
The judges thought that the bank demonstrated commitment to the scheme, which maximised tax-efficiencies to the full, by being prepared to extend its reach and to add new options, which included a leisure account. This account is designed to cover a range of leisure-related activities, including gym membership and days out for the family, with the bank effectively subsidising the benefits by matching contributions to the account. It builds on the success of a learning account and a health account, which were included in the scheme at launch in 2005. The bank matches associate contributions with the aim of encouraging employees to improve their health and wellbeing or their personal development. Benefits offered range from driving lessons to learning a new sport.
The judges believed that these accounts were an effective way for the employer to encourage behaviour change and self-improvement. They also felt that it was refreshing for an employer to recognise that staff had a life outside of work. In 2006, more than 90% of UK MBNA staff enrolled in the scheme, around 75% of the bank's UK staff re-enrolled, 86% of Irish MBNA and bank staff enrolled and 89% of Canadian MBNA and bank staff enrolled. The bank now plans to roll out the scheme to further countries.
Runners up
Benfield - Lifestyle
The judges were impressed with the extensions made to the independent risk and insurance intermediary's flexible benefits plan at first renewal. New options included a cycle-to-work scheme and two weeks unpaid leave. Car allowances were also included as additional salary to be used for benefits selections made under the scheme. Of its 850 staff, 72% made changes to their selected benefits in year two.
Gissings Advisory Services Ltd - i benefit
A thorough review of the flexible benefits plan was undertaken along with a benchmarking exercise of competitors before the method of the funding for the scheme was changed. In addition, new providers were selected and unpopular benefits were removed and new ones added. The scheme was also re-branded i benefit and given a fresh look on the company intranet.
Societe Generale - Choices (entered by Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Societe Generale undertook extensive staff consultation before replacing it's A La Carte plan with Choices, which not only offered more options but could be accessed by employees at home or at work. New options included the ability to buy or sell up to five days holiday, join a wine club and take advantage of tax-efficient home computer and bikes-for-work deals. The new scheme proved popular with 90% of staff enrolling online.
Standard Life Plc - Flexible Benefits (advised by Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Highly praised by the judges, Standard Life's new flexible benefits scheme narrowly missed out on winning the category. Timed to coincide with the company's flotation on the London Stock Exchange, the launch of the scheme resulted in a take-up rate of 70%. The scheme offered 17 benefits, 11 of which were new to the company. Three of these were particularly innovative, including salary sacrifice around an on-site subsidised canteen and an annual season ticket for bus travel in Edinburgh, as well as a holiday bank benefit whereby staff can deposit holiday to be used in future years.
Most effective use of intranet/internet sites
Winner
McDonald's Restaurants Ltd - ourlounge.co.uk
McDonald's intranet scored highly with the judges because it is not a standard corporate website and manages to combine the gossipy nature of a chat room with useful information about everyday life and tips on skills advancement and personal development.
McDonald's management, many of whom started out on the shop floor, wanted to find a way of boosting job satisfaction and, through it, customer service while at the same time helping staff to prepare for further steps on the career ladder.
The site's content falls into two categories. The development section includes an online learning function that enables staff to study remotely for GCSE level qualifications in English and maths, flexibly, conveniently and privately. While the lifestyle function includes content that ranges from book and film reviews to tips on passing your driving test.
Runners up
ACL UK Ltd – ACL Benefits Plus (entered by AWD Chase de Vere Consulting Ltd)
ACL UK designed Benefits Plus to implement an interactive online holiday, attendance and overtime solution and to communicate the employee benefits package clearly to its 110 employees, two-thirds of which are male and predominantly office based. The modular site includes personalised total reward statements and information on core benefits. It also provides access to a range of voluntary benefits, a holiday request system, and absence management and overtime recording systems.
O2 – Your Total Reward Website (entered by Caburn Hope)
The mobile phone company, with a UK workforce of over 12,000, set out to deliver a web-based total reward site to help increase awareness of its benefits offering and employee understanding of the personal value of the reward package. The site, which uses modelling tools and high-quality graphics, provides access to personalised content at home or at work. The launch was communicated via personalised welcome packs that included an interactive CD-based tutorial, plasma screens in O2 office foyers, roadshows and reminder emails. In the first month 33% of employees logged in, with 25% doing so from home.
QinetiQ – QinetiQ Currency – SIP (entered by Lloyds TSB Registrars)
When QinetiQ launched various employee share schemes last year at the same time as floating on the London Stock Exchange, it used the company intranet to convey general information to staff as well key dates and answers to queries and concerns that had been raised by them. To aid the clear communication of the schemes, the website was constructed so that only the details of various plans were made available to users at the most appropriate time during the launch phase. This resulted in staff being provided with information on a need-to-know basis and avoided confusion over key dates and plan rules.
Most effective application of tax-efficient benefits
Winner
Bank of America - Associate Benefit Choices (entered by Towers Perrin)
The judges were amazed at just how effectively Bank of America used salary sacrifice benefits in order to integrate benefits packages when it merged with MBNA. Not only did the bank maximise tax-efficient benefits in a new flexible benefits scheme; it also demonstrated how these benefits can be used to smooth the way for the integration of benefits - not an easy achievement during what must have been a difficult time for staff.
As stated, Bank of America's overarching strategy was about harmonising benefits, and the proof of its success are in the high take-up rates it achieved when many staff would have had other issues on their minds. Over 90% of UK MBNA staff enrolled; 75% of UK bank staff re-enrolled; 86% of Irish MBNA and bank staff enrolled; and 89% of Canadian MBNA and bank staff enrolled.
To ensure associates gain the maximum advantage from the flexible benefits programme, all UK benefits were provided on a salary sacrifice basis. This ensured employees saved income tax on all the available tax-free benefits - including the pensions scheme, bicycles, mobile phones, health screening, group income protection, life assurance, selling holidays and childcare vouchers. Employees also saved tax and national insurance contributions on their give-as-you-earn contributions.
The judges were particularly impressed with the use of health, learning and leisure accounts, as part of the overall package, which allowed staff to save - tax free - towards their own health needs, development or towards leisure activities for themselves and their immediate family. In all cases there was a matching element from the bank. The amount put into each of these accounts attracts income tax and national insurance on withdrawal.
For many employers to date, the use of tax-efficient benefits has been about saving money for staff and themselves, and being able to fund other projects. This entry demonstrated that used carefully, it can form the backbone of a larger business strategy.
Runners up
CODA Plc - CODA Group Personal Pension Plan (advised by Hargreaves Lansdown)
This entry demonstrates the savings and benefits to be gained by using salary sacrifice for a group personal pension scheme. CODA was able to increase its employer contribution at no extra cost. Before introducing the salary sacrifice scheme the employer's contribution was 6.75%, but it now ranges from 7% to 8.5% depending on how much employees elect to contribute (from 3.25% to over 15%). Almost all staff (97%) elected to use salary sacrifice and 79% pay more than the 3.25% minimum in pension contributions.
Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing - Tax Efficient Benefits (advised by You at Work)
This housing association supported its green agenda through the use of tax-efficient travel benefits. This includes a new green travel allowance scheme as well as a cycle-to-work-scheme that incorporated bicycle loans through salary sacrifice.
QinetiQ - QinetiQ Currency
The defence firm launched a well-structured range of benefits schemes (including flexible and voluntary benefits, and a share incentive plan) in order to maximise the use of tax-efficient benefits. While doing this, it also integrated all the changes needed to comply with new pensions simplification and age legislation rules. As a result, QinetiQ made a national insurance (NI) saving of 51% of costs (including implementation costs), and was expected to make an NI saving of 151% of costs for 2006/07.
Standard Life Plc - Flexible Benefits (advised by Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Besides the 'usual' tax-efficient benefits, Standard Life included other benefits that are commonly used by staff and that attract tax savings in its flexible benefits scheme. These include use of the onsite canteen (selected by 3,000 staff, employees spend an average of £400 a year); annual season tickets (selected by 950 staff, usual cost £396 each); and a holiday bank where staff can 'bank' up to 40 days to combine with annual leave.
Most effective use of financial education in the workplace
Sponsored by JPMorgan INVEST
Winner
The Capita Group Plc - Financial Education Programme (entered by Capita Share Plan Services)
The judges were impressed with The Capita Group's "cradle to the grave" approach to the financial education of 26,000 staff based at over 230 sites. The professional and support services organisation rewards its employees with a range of benefits including employee share plans.
Its financial education programme, which was triggered by a request made through the staff suggestion scheme, is varied. Capita offers a whole range of workshops on topics such as understanding financial jargon, understanding investment risk, the working of share plans, planning for retirement, tax planning, making a will and the role of independent financial advisers. A website is available for staff providing them with further support and information.
Staff also receive information on the sharesave scheme, which is offered annually, and the share incentive plan (offered on a rolling basis), via direct mail to homes, email to work addresses, online access to financial modelling and transaction data, posters, a helpline, group presentations and one-to-one meetings with a member of the independent financial advice team. When a sharesave scheme recently matured, Capita set up an individual savings account (ISA) to provide staff with the option of a tax-free wrapper to add to the other courses of action available to them such as selling or retaining shares. Staff were provided with full details of this new option in information packs, which also included information on transferring maturing shares into a pension.
Capita is also working with the Financial Services Authority on a pilot project called Family Money File which is aimed at people about to embark on family life. It provides them with information on the cost of bringing up a child, and benefits provided by the state and Capita.
Runners up
Capgemini UK - Financial Education
Capgemini provided staff with financial education in the form of voluntary educational mortgage seminars covering the state of the housing market, interest rates and economic forecasts. Bespoke seminars were also created for graduates, covering repayment of student loans, saving for the future and tips on how to get on the housing ladder. Seminars were also organised for those staff looking to plan and save for their future. A new intranet site supporting the seminar programme has also been launched.
Proquest Information and Learning - Helping employees achieve their retirement ambitions (entered by Secondsight)
The online publisher of information and education solutions set out to improve employees' understanding of pensions so that they would be better equipped to take greater ownership of their retirement planning. Proquest claims that as a result of a strategy, which included presentations, individual meetings, pensions modelling tools and a scheme enabling staff to commit to save a percentage of future wage rises, 82% of staff are now on target to achieve their own financial goals, compared to 25% previously.
Vodafone Group Plc - Vodafone Group Plc Global Share Plans
The judges were impressed with the complex task Vodafone had undertaken last year of educating employees with shares about its decision to return £9bn to shareholders as a consequence of the sale of Vodafone K.K. (Japan) and its targeting of a lower credit rating. Due to the complexities surrounding a return of capital exercise it was imperative that employees understood the principles behind it and the implications of any decisions they made regarding their personal shareholding.
Most effective use of a payroll giving strategy
Sponsored by Workplace Giving UK
Winner
px Limited - Give As You Earn (GAYE)
The judges were impressed by the energy company's commitment to charitable giving, both through its payroll giving scheme and the support of broader employee endeavours.
Px Limited launched a payroll giving scheme in 2002 in conjunction with the Charitable Aid Foundation (CAF). To enhance the scheme and maximise employee contributions, px matches all contributions up to a maximum of £2,500 a year per employee. The company also covers the costs of administering the scheme.
Over the past four years the scheme has grown with 57 staff contributing a total of £18,289 to the scheme annually. The scheme is promoted via emails on National Giving Week, to all new staff, at all annual benefits renewal meetings for staff, on the HR intranet, and on an ad-hoc basis.
The element that marked this entry out as a winner, was px's broader strategy of charitable giving. Px encourages staff who are undertaking sponsorship for an event to promote it through the company, usually via email. All monies raised are then put through payroll and again px matches the amount.
Px also holds charity raffles on an ad-hoc basis and has supported the 'Wear it pink' campaign for breast cancer, an annual asthma campaign and the WWF Extinct campaign, as well as running a charitable fund for local causes.
Runner up
Arcadia Group Ltd - Give As You Earn
This excellent entry proved the power of promotion in increasing charitable giving. In 2005, the retailer linked up with the Professional Fundraising Organisation (PFO) to promote the [payroll giving] scheme to staff face-to-face. The results were remarkable. While 70 staff were taking part in the scheme before the campaign, this figure had increased to around 2,100 by December 2006, well above the target of 1,300 staff, 5% of the workforce. Staff give to 550 charities through the scheme. The aim was to raise £100,000 for UK registered charities in the 18 months since September 2005; by December 2006 a figure of £155,000 had already been reached.
Most effective use of a voluntary benefits plan
Sponsored by employee advantages
Winner
Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education - GRABS: The Grimsby Institute Rewards and Benefits Scheme for Staff
For a voluntary benefits package to be effective it needs to meet the needs of staff and integrate itself into the broader aims of an organisation. Too many employers find themselves offering a patchwork of product discounts or an off-the-shelf scheme with a comprehensive array of benefits, but go no further to make them relevant to staff.
Grimsby did things differently, which is why this employer has been marked out as a winner. As is so often the case, it had a very small budget, but it made the scheme work for staff by using initiative and getting different departments involved.
The scheme, called GRABS (Grimsby Institute Rewards and Benefits Scheme for Staff) has been developed over five years, with most of the work being done in 2005/06. The bulk of the package is made up of voluntary benefits, and these are promoted alongside contractual and employer-paid benefits.
It is designed to support broader strategies. For example, an on-site physiotherapy service supports the organisation's health and wellbeing strategy. Other elements of the package are: in-house services, retail and financial services, and insurance and life assurance. The package has variety in order to appeal to the highly-diverse workforce of 1,250 people.
The judges felt this entry showed that a lot can be achieved with a small budget. They were particularly impressed with how the HR and corporate finance departments worked together to secure good discounts.
The judging panel felt that the communication was comprehensive and that the team at Grimsby had shown initiative by "using every channel open to them". This organisation was able to capitalise on the fact that it was based in a single location making it easier to negotiate discounts with local High Street retailers that staff use.
Runners up
Boots the Chemists - myoffers
Boots replaced its previously unpopular voluntary benefits scheme, Boots Connection, with a new offering called myOffers. A key element of this scheme is that it is bespoke and has a limited number of benefits so that staff are not overloaded with choice. The company decided to steer away from a generic booklet crammed with offerings. This strategy has paid off with providers reporting a significant increase of take up among staff.
DSG international Plc - DSGi Benefits
The success of this scheme lies in its communication. It achieved a 37% take-up rate, which is good for an employer, with a large number of staff, many of whom are part timers and are spread across many stores. Working closely with its advisers, DSG made the package come alive for staff through roadshows, in which some providers participated. This was backed by a wide range of other communication initiatives such as a website, and use of the staff magazine.
McDonald's Restaurants Ltd - Employee Discount Card
The restaurant chain's Employee Discount Card has been around since 1998, but due to changes made in reaction to staff feedback and an increase in the number of products on offer to 70, its popularity has risen. Year-on-year hits on the intranet site increased four-fold. This entry proves the importance of building up an offering and constantly listening to what staff want.
Reuters (advised by You at Work)
This company maximised the fact that its staff are internet-savvy. For a voluntary benefits scheme to be successful it needs to be well communicated. In this case this was achieved through the use of the company intranet. Most staff have the company intranet open all day on their computers, so the benefits team use this 'noticeboard' to post messages about benefits - utilising the news-style staff are used to. By the end of 2006, 80% of staff had logged-in, far exceeding expectations.
Treloar Trust - HSF Health Cash Plan (advised by HSF health plan)
Sometimes less really is more. This charity made a conscious effort to include health-focused benefits as part of a wider healthcare strategy. Therefore the offerings under this scheme included a healthcare cash plan, discounted health club membership, no smoking support groups and flu vaccinations. As part of its healthcare strategy Treloar Trust also brings in an occupational health nurse once a week and retains a counselling service.
Most effective company car strategy
Winner
BG Group - BG Group Company Car Scheme (advised by Lloyds TSB Autolease)
The judges awarded this entry the winning position because it proved that a company can do the right thing while running a fleet effectively. The BG Group put a strong emphasis on health and safety as well as environmental issues when it re-tendered its fleet in 2005, and in the process saved money.
BG Group implemented numerous changes including the following: mandatory driver training for all employees including partners; mandatory driver training for all international assignees plus accompanying family; free summer/winter checks; upper restriction on CO2 to 260g/km (grade A-D) to be reduced over time; moved contracts from 1, 2, or 3 years to a single 30-month contract; and removed fuel cards from the benefits package.
These plus many more changes led to an 18% reduction in company car-related incidents; a 3% reduction in average CO2 [emissions] on fleet since implementation; and a £189k reduction in the cost of running the fleet. In addition, 560 people (including 20% of spouses) have undertaken a defensive driving course since September 2006. There was also a reduction in the amount of administration that had to be carried out by HR and employees.
The judges liked the way this entry demonstrated so many different ways that employers can improve their fleets, while giving out a good environmental message to staff.
Runners up
MITIE Property Services - Employee Car Ownership Scheme (entered by Provecta Car Plan Ltd)
Despite benefiting from an excellent discount due to using a single car manufacturer, Mitie wanted to improve the range of choice for its drivers. It managed to do this by opting for an employee car ownership scheme, and at the same time cut costs by £20 per driver. It was also able to make a £1,000 (net of tax and national insurance) saving over the lifecycle of each car.
Unilever - AlphaDrive (entered by Alphabet (GB) Limited)
Unilever introduced a new employee car ownership plan for essential use drivers, giving them more choice and achieving a 10% saving. Where it had previously experienced an increase in essential drivers opting for cash (up to a high of 60% of essential use drivers), there has now been a return to the company car scheme. By December 2006, half of drivers that had come up for renewal had replaced their car with only one refusing to join the new scheme.
Chair: Amanda Wilkinson, editor, Employee Benefits magazine
Amanda was made editor of Employee Benefits magazine in November 2005. Before joining the magazine, she worked at Marketing Week as deputy editor and prior to that as a reporter on the Hackney Gazette in London.
Debi O’Donovan, editorial director of Employee Benefits
As the guardian of the leading benefits media brand Employee Benefits, Debi is responsible for content across employeebenefits.co.uk, two major exhibitions and conferences, the Employee Benefits Awards, and the Employee Benefits Summit.
Debbie Lovewell, deputy editor, Employee Benefits magazine
Debbie joined Employee Benefits magazine in 2003 as a staff writer. After a stint as the magazine’s features editor and then assistant editor, she was promoted to deputy editor last year.
Stephen Bevan, director of research, The Work Foundation
Stephen is responsible for the delivery of both applied and frontier research on the world of work. He oversees a programme of over 20 research studies each year. His areas of expertise include employee engagement, retention and wellbeing, work organisation and job design.
Duncan Brown, director of Human Resource Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Duncan recently joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a director of Human Resources Services, focusing on reward issues. He was formerly assistant director general at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development where he led its research and government policy work.
Debra Corey, director of compensation & benefits for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Honeywell
Debra and her team are responsible for developing and implementing strategic compensation & benefit solutions for this global company in 37 countries throughout EMEA. She has broad international experience, having worked for global retailers such as Gap, A.S. Watson and Office Depot, as well as in positions in banking and consulting.
Penny Green, president, Pensions Management Institute (PMI)
Penny is president of the Pensions Management Institute and sits on the Institute's Council. She was a member of the London region PMI group, holding the posts of treasurer and membership secretary. She is currently chief executive of the Saul Trustee Company, the non-academic staff pension scheme for the University of London.
Karen Harkness, director of compensation and benefits, ITV
Karen has worked in reward for over ten years. For the last six of these she’s been at ITV where she is director of compensation and benefits. During this time she has managed benefits harmonisation, management incentive design post-merger and the introduction of new all-employee incentive schemes, alongside day-to-day activities overseeing ITV’s reward strategy, salary reviews and benefits. Before joining ITV, Karen worked in consultancy and at Prudential and the Confederation of British Industry covering a range of HR and reward issues.
Richard Higginson, head of reward, Towry Law
Richard has designed reward programmes for tea farms and pharmaceutical factories in Africa, electricity companies in the Caribbean and tobacco farms in South America. Until recently director of international benefits at GlaxoSmithKline, he now heads reward at wealth managers Towry Law. Richard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has earned a reputation for challenging HR's approach to reward.
Helen Humphries, HR consultant in HR strategy and employee relations at Nottingham City Council Council
Helen’s career spans almost 30 years across both central and local government. Originally specialising in management development, she has since moved on to tackle equality and diversity, employee relation issues, recruitment and retention, and policy development. She has led on employee benefits and recognition at the council for almost two years.
Alastair Kendrick, tax partner, Bourne Business Consulting
Alastair is a recognised expert in company car taxation and all areas of employment tax. He has spent 18 years in the accountancy profession working for a number of accountancy firms.
Tim Roberts, managing director, Talking People
Tim has a wealth of knowledge in all areas of employee communication and especially in reward and benefit change programmes through his work with clients such as AstraZeneca, Barclays Group, Diageo and WH Smith Group. More recently, he has developed an interest in HR service transformation and outsourcing and is now involved in a wide variety of projects in this area.
Nicholas Stretch, partner, CMS Cameron McKenna
Nicholas heads the employee incentives team at CMS Cameron McKenna. He advises a wide range of companies - from multinational organisations to small start-ups - on their share plans, with the larger companies increasingly demanding that significant all-employee participation is achieved.
Nigel Trotman, business relationship manager, Whitbread
Nigel is business relationship manager at Whitbread, the UK’s leading leisure business. Having started his working life as a librarian, he is now responsible for strategic management of a range of cross-business service contracts, one of which is the company’s fleet of over 600 vehicles, mostly cars. The Whitbread car strategy was voted most effective company car strategy at the Employee Benefits Awards 2006.
Richard Walsh, head of health, Association of British Insurers (ABI)
Richard, who took up his current role as head of health at the ABI in June 2001, is responsible for issues relating to health insurance including private medical insurance (PMI), term life, critical illness, income protection and long-term care. He also oversees ABI policy on genetics, terrorism and HIV and is tasked with increasing the role of PMI and protection products in supporting societal needs.
Chris Wilson, benefits director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Oracle
Chris has recently moved from compensation and benefits director for the UK to benefits director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Oracle. He has a particular interest in flexible benefits; new ways of working, including flexible working patterns; new forms of employment contract; and the use of technology to support HR.
- Publisher:
- Employee Benefits
- Date:
- 2007-06-11
