The value of employee happiness is significant, with direct links to productivity, engagement, and retention. Prioritising employee happiness and wellbeing at Atradius has enabled us to look after our people and maintain a high retention rate across our organisation.
Reward and benefits have a direct impact on employee wellbeing; ultimately, happier employees are more likely to be motivated and engaged, and we have created an environment where our incredible talent can thrive.
With help from in-house focus groups that regularly evolve our environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), social and professional policies, at Atradius, we’re looking beyond traditional perks at how we can make daily life more rewarding, and ultimately, happier for our employees.
We know that times are particularly tough right now, so in 2022 we introduced a £1,600 cost-of-living payment, which increased to £2,000 for all employees in 2023. On top of this, we aim to continue to support employees by offering a subsidised in-house restaurant, childcare allowance, free parking, and free electric vehicle (EV) charging.
As well as the current cost-of-living concerns, we are looking longer-term at how we can support our employees for their full working lives and beyond. Financially, this means we offer highly competitive employer pension contributions (up to 15%), income protection benefit (up to 75%) in case of illness or injury, and life assurance at 10-times salary. We take a proactive approach to health and wellbeing by offering employees private medical insurance, free health screening, regular sports clubs, social groups and team activities, a free onsite gym, and access to mental health support.
Reward and benefits have a direct impact on talent engagement and retention, but, ultimately, create a positive and nurturing environment in which people can develop and be happier long-term, which benefits individual colleagues and our organisation.
Olivia Burgess is senior HR business partner at Atradius UK