WINNER
Tesco, Benefit Reports: Communicating our overall pay and benefits package
This entrant sent personalised total reward statements to its 277,000 staff to ensure they understood the value of their pay and benefi ts in a tough economic climate. The statements, sent to employees’ home addresses, came with a personal letter from the UK chief executive offi cer thanking them for their contribution.
A pie chart illustrated the total value of pay and the rest of the benefits package, and information was given about the supermarket chain’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, showing employees how much pension saving they had built up and what it would equate to at pensionable age.
The statements also included information about Tesco’s share schemes: a free shares plan, a sharesave plan, executive share schemes, and a plan that enables staff to buy Tesco shares before tax. An example share price showed the potential value of employees’ share holdings. Other benefits outlined included its annual discount card and staff offers.
The 2011 statements directed staff to Tesco’s benefits website, which gives further details about its perks. To give staff easy access to the website, the retailer also used smartphone quick-response (QR) codes.
Steps are taken to ensure staff know when to expect their statements, which are promoted in the staff newspaper, via email, and in updates given by managers in store, head office and depots. Personnel managers are also fully briefed on the content of the reports, so they can champion the benefits package and support employees at a local level.
Rachel Howarth, personnel director, UK and Ireland, at Tesco, said: “We help our employees really understand the full value of the benefits package. It is much more than basic pay. It is about how you help people understand the true value. That is what creates loyalty from employees.”
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RUNNERS UP
BMW (UK), entered by Vebnet
This entrant used total reward statements to help staff better understand its benefits package and communicate its promises for pay and benefits, as well as its business values. The statements give employees a single view of their package and clarify formerly undervalued benefits, such as the company car scheme and final salary pension.
John Lewis Partnership, PartnerReward 2011, entered by Edenred
Total reward statements are used to help staff understand the value of a competitive benefits package, thereby aiding motivation and retention. Quick-response (QR) technology helped to create interactive paper statements giving details on items such as basic pay, overtime and bonus.
Prudential UK and Europe, Prudential Online Total Reward Statements
This entrant moved from paper to online statements after relaunching its flexible benefits package. The statements appear on the flex portal, so staff were encouraged to use them when making benefit choices. The statements are split into: base pay, bonus, additional rewards, car benefit, flex fund, shares, pension, and long-term incentive plan.
Sainsbury’s
The retailer introduced total reward statements after discovering staff did not always understand the value of total reward. Personalised statements were provided to every permanent employee after data from the firm’s multiple HR and benefits systems was consolidated in a specially developed database. Paper statements were used because 99% of recipients have limited internet access.
Zurich Insurance, Your Reward and Wellbeing
This entrant adapted its total reward statements to better demonstrate its commitment to staff wellbeing. Statements grouped benefits into eight categories. For example, ‘You and your family’ highlighted relevant flexible benefits, an advice service, policies on taking time off during difficult times, plus information on maternity and adoption benefits.
Read more about the Employee Benefits Awards 2012