International law firm Reed Smith introduced a workplace individual savings account (Isa) in 2012, launching the scheme alongside its auto-enrolment roll-out as a way of boosting staff engagement with the new pension scheme.
Claire Gibbens, HR manager, says: “We had just signed up with a new provider, Hargreaves Lansdown, and [it] implemented both schemes. The Isa really came into play when we launched our flexible benefits scheme in April 2013, which was on the back of a major communications strategy, with a benefits fair attended by individual vendors proving to be a key move in driving take-up.”
Since the launch, there have been four enrolment periods at Reed Smith, and among the firm’s 550 eligible members of staff, take-up currently stands at around 13%.
“We are really pleased with the results and the feedback, and put it down to our efforts to provide financial education to our staff, particularly to new joiners and trainees, so they understand the real value of what is available,” says Gibbens.
She adds that education will also be key to the success of the Lisa when it is launched. “It is a flexible way of saving for a different group of people, but as with any area of financial wellbeing, education will be the key to a high take-up within the workplace.”