Atos Origin achieves 60% voluntary benefits take up

Since Atos Origin launched a voluntary benefits scheme on 1 April, it has seen a 60% take-up among its 6,500 UK employees.

The information technology firm also revamped its flexible benefits plan, adding an online portal and moving some of its offerings over to the voluntary benefits scheme.

The firm decided to change the way its flex scheme operated while rolling out a voluntary benefits scheme, following an employee engagement exercise in 2010, which included focus groups, targeted telephone interviews and an onsite mailbox to collect feedback.

Cheryl Allen, HR business leader for reward and recognition at Atos Origin, said: “We have had a flexible benefits scheme in place for nearly 10 years but nothing much had been changed. We had not done any feedback or analysis of whether it suited our employees.”

The focus groups found the lengthy printed brochure that traditionally went out to employees was not user-friendly or interactive, so it was replaced with an online brochure.

The voluntary benefits scheme, which is provided by You at Work, includes cash-back discounts, reloadable gift cards and privileged access sales.

Childcare vouchers and bikes for work were transfered from flex to the voluntary benefits scheme. The firm also added its long-service awards to the portal on 1 July.

The flex scheme also includes travel insurance, holiday purchase, critical illness cover, extending private healthcare for employees' families, a wine club and health screenings.

The communications programme included an employee name-the-portal competition, onsite demonstrations and a countdown to the launch. Allen added: “We did a huge communications programme to launch it and educate staff, and make sure they were aware it was based on their feedback.”