The first phase was designed to inform employees that the scheme was coming and involved newsletters and intranet announcements, as well as tasking staff representatives, known as people ambassadors, with communicating the scheme’s launch to colleagues around the business.
The second phase was designed to communicate details of the scheme and involved posters, the organisation’s intranet site and face-to-face sessions with its flex provider, Thomsons Online Benefits.
Anouk Agussol, head of people at Holiday Extras, says: “We are a young business and very relaxed in many ways, so we wanted to make sure our communications were jargon-free and stuck to our employer brand.”
The organisation began the third phase of communications when the flex scheme was launched: all employees were emailed a quick guide to explain all the benefits on offer.
Holiday Extras now communicates with employees on a monthly basis with presentations, one-to-one meetings, posters and emails because, as well as an annual enrolment window, it operates monthly enrolment windows for certain benefits.
“I think it’s really important to communicate well and let everyone know what’s on offer,” says Agussol. “We want to be able to provide people with all these benefits, so they can make the most of working for Holiday Extras and that it impacts on their daily lives. If you don’t communicate it properly, you run the risk of people not being aware, or not being sure, of what they can have.”
