Computacenter launches share plan and health perks

Computacenter has revamped its benefits package by introducing a performance share plan and improved healthcare benefits as a result of its workforce getting older.

Gerard Moore, head of reward at Computacenter, said that it also had to keep up with other IT firms such as Microsoft, which are known for lavish perk plans.

In April, it replaced its share option plan with a performance based share scheme.

He said this would mean that, provided the company hits certain targets, staff would receive the shares outright rather than the option to purchase them.

"Options are not attractive because share prices are not going up and never really will. The IT business has been doing appallingly for the last four years. If you look at share prices over the last four or five years in the IT sector you’ll find lots of companies that are worth a tenth of what they were five years ago."

Computacenter has recently moved away from selling computers into IT consultancy business.

"A few years ago the organisation basically consisted of salesmen and engineers who tend to be young and not interested in benefits. When you move into managed services, you get older people, some from more traditional companies, who value employee benefits," he said.

This forced it to update its private medical insurance scheme. "The big difference is that the [old scheme] was age related. The disadvantage was that when you were young and didn’t need it you could afford it, and when you were older and did need it you couldn’t afford it." As a result of the change, premiums are now set at a flat rate for all workers.