A central part of this is its Mortgage Fund, into which staff can contribute as much as 20% of their salary each month for three years, with the firm then adding a further 33% of the total. For staff who also put in their bonus, the employer contribution is even higher, at 50%.
Guy Hayward, chief executive of Goodman Masson, says: “If [an employee] deposited £300 a month and [their] bonus into the fund, then with our top-up it would give a value after three years of more than £40,000, so clearly a sufficient deposit for [their] first property. ”
Thirty-four employees currently use the scheme and three people have already bought a property.
The organisation operates a similar system to help employees pay off student debt, to which the business contributes 50% of the amount paid in after three years.
Hayward believes that its efforts to better engage staff, which have also included designing chill-out zones and various recreational facilities, are already having an impact. “In the year to date, 69% of people that we’ve hired have come to us direct,” he says. “Four years ago it was 25%. Those businesses that are more creative will attract the best talent.”
Guy Hayward will be speaking on ‘How to boost employee engagement with tailor-made benefits’ at Employee Benefits Live on 22 September.
