Hertfordshire Council to launch benefits portal

Exclusive: Hertfordshire County Council is to move its benefits offering onto an online portal on 9 September 2013.

The move is part of a re-branding exercise designed to make its benefits package more accessible to all employees.

The Herts Rewards scheme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, will initially be available through the portal to 10,000 employees who are not based in the council’s schools.

Employees can access the website at work, at home, on a PC, tablet and/or on a smartphone.

The scheme will be rolled-out to 25,000 school-based employees in September 2014.

Emily Austin (pictured), HR, pay and reward manager at Hertfordshire County Council, said that the portal is designed to make the organisation’s benefits accessible to all employees, including those based in hard-to-reach locations.

She said: “For example, we have school crossing patrols, who aren’t sitting in front of a PC in the day.

“But we wanted them to have a place where they can access their benefits.”

The scheme also offers a telephone helpline for employees who do not have access to a computer.

The council will also use the new brand to promote its employee benefits, including a employee assistance programme (EAP), a financial support scheme, salary sacrifice arrangements and lifestyle discounts. 

Communication

The organisation has ran a teaser campaign ahead of Herts Rewards’ launch, informing eligible employees about the scheme through its intranet sits, a poster campaign and departmental newsletters.

From 9 September, the organisation will hold roadshows across all of its main sites.

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Austin said: “We’ve got a year’s communication plan set out in advance of how we will communicate the scheme.

“We will often tag it onto events, like Christmas, Easter and Valentines Day, where people might be buying something and reminding them that this is a site where they can go and save money.”