Multinational facilities management firm Pareto Group has around 800 employees providing services to clients ranging from maintaining building assets and decarbonisation projects to running reception. While the business started out in Oxfordshire, customer demand has seen it expand its operations across six additional countries including Romania, Malta and Canada.
This expansion has also meant rolling out healthcare benefits to employees in different countries, a process its founder, Andew Hulbert, describes as challenging. “[We] have to be innovative and build local solutions,” he explains. “Each country has its own legislation around benefits, so there is a different set of requirements to consider every time [we] expand into a new territory.”
Perhaps because of these differing legislative systems, few health benefits are available on a global basis. For example, Pareto Group offers its UK employees private medical insurance and wellbeing benefits provided by YuLife. But, while the app is available across Europe, employees cannot access the full suite of services. “We’ve had to source services such as mental health support and virtual GP in some countries,” Hulbert explains. “It’s impossible to replicate benefits exactly. [Employers] must understand the local nuances and find something that is fit for purpose and the employee population.”
To get the right benefits fit, advice and time are critical factors, says Hulbert. “We took our time in each market, understanding what employees wanted and what was available,” he says. “We took benefits advice but we were also able to speak to our clients in those countries to find out what their experience had been. This insight is really valuable.”
But, while differences in regulation and employee expectation mean local solutions are a must, there are some areas of health benefits that are truly global, adds Hulbert. For example, he points to the step counter included on the YuLife app. This is gamified, using a league table to allow employees to see their own performance and pit themselves against their colleagues. “It doesn’t matter where someone is based, this is universally loved by employees,” he explains.
