EXCLUSIVE: Dairy Crest has seen an increase in the take up of its voluntary benefits scheme, since it launched a new online plan last year.
More than a third (1,700 of 5,000) of its employees are now registered for the scheme. Its previous scheme, which was paper-based, attracted only about 40 employees.
The online scheme, My Rewards, provided by Personal Group, was launched in July 2012. Dairy Crest’s previous paper-based scheme was also provided by Personal Group, but the dairy firm was keen to move onto an online system.
Simon Cumpsty, head of employee relations and reward at Dairy Crest, said: “We wanted to update it, modernise it, bring it online, make it more responsive to people, rather than looking at a booklet.
“In the current economic climate, where pay rises have fallen behind inflation, every pound counts. It was not only modernising it, but the current environment has encouraged far more people to use it.”
In mid-May, the weekly spend on the site stood at than £220,000 and employees had saved nearly £18,000.
Dairy Crest has continuously communicated its new scheme, with the most recent round of communications finishing at the end of February 2013.
“Personal Group has [carried out] face-to-face presentations, showing employees the website via iPads,” said Cumpsty. “That is why it was rolled out over such a long time.
“We also communicate regularly via our intranet. There is a link on our homepage where staff can access the My Rewards site directly.”