All articles by Tynan Barton – Page 48
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Analysis
Winter driving tips to keep employees safe
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers have a duty of care to ensure employees are safe when driving for business.Training, such as seminars or online risk assessments, can help staff understand the risks of winter driving in darkness or bad weather.Employers should remind staff about the legalities of drinking ...
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AnalysisHow do bespoke and off-the-shelf default investment strategies compare?
If you read nothing else, read this…Off-the-shelf default investment strategies are more common in contract-based defined contribution schemes.Off-the-shelf plans have less governance responsibilities for employers.Bespoke strategies give employers more flexibility in their investment management.The structure of a default strategy is determined by various factors, such as whether a pension scheme ...
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AnalysisHow to identify motivation cold spots
If you read nothing else, read this…Organisational change can create unrest in a workforce.Line managers can play an important role in identifying any engagement and motivation issues.Recognition schemes with clear objectives can help to re-engage and re-motivate staff.Management changes, office relocations and restructuring exercises have been common occurrences during the ...
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Case Studies
ATS Euromaster re-engages staff through change programme
Five years ago, the organisation was making a financial loss, so newly-appointed group HR director Irene Stark was tasked with helping the business return to profit. “We decided that the best way to do this, and to make sure that any sort of change was sustainable, was to do it ...
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Case Studies
Browne Jacobson takes proactive approach to employee wellbeing
The law firm’s 700-plus employees have access to a range of initiatives that have a dual aim of preventing long-term absence and optimising employees’ workplace health.The employer’s sport and social club, for example, has been running subsidised lunchtime pilates classes for nearly six months, and were so popular that a ...
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AnalysisHow to address preventable causes of employee absence
If you read nothing else, read this…Absence related to musculoskeletal and mental health issues is usually preventable.Line managers are key in preventing absence as long as they are educated about how to do so.Workstation assessments and health screening can help to identify employees’ health risks.Sick days cost UK business nearly ...
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AnalysisThe motivational impact of sports and social clubs
If you read nothing else, read this…Sports and social clubs help build employee engagement and motivation.Clubs can help employers support employees’ emotional and physical wellbeing.Clubs are typically created and run by employees, but often funded by employers.Clubs are typically initiated and run by employees, but they are owned and ...
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Case Studies
John Lewis Partnership offers staff sports and social activities
And so a sailing club was set up to enable the average employee to sail a boat.The sailing club still operates today and is the most popular club offered by the retailer. The partnership owns its own yachts and pays for their upkeep, an investment the organisation has made as ...
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Case Studies
North Yorkshire County Council boosts green credentials
The scheme, provided by Tusker, allows staff to take up a car through a salary sacrifice arrangement, enabling them to save on tax and national insurance.John Robinson, benefits and reward consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, says: “We introduced it as a green car scheme, partly due to the fact ...
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Case Studies
Axa supports staff with travel benefits
The organisation also offers staff a cash allowance towards the cost of a car for those that need it for work, as well on those at a particular employee grade in the organisation.As well as the car scheme, Axa offers staff a range of travel-related benefits, including bikes-for-work through its ...
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AnalysisKey components of a 2013 travel policy
If you read nothing else, read this…Low-emission cars are increasingly popular in employers’ schemes.Journey planning can help employees use the most cost-efficient routes for their journeys.Fewer employers offer new recruits a fuel benefit.Green agendaLow-emission cars are an increasingly common feature of employers’ travel policies as they strive to reduce their ...
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AnalysisShould flex communications be tailored to different generations?
If you read nothing else, read this …Employers should be aware of variations in attitudes and behaviours when tailoring flexible benefits communications to different employee groups.A comprehensive benefits strategy should use a variety of communication methods.Face-to-face remains a highly effective form of communication.Employers have their work cut out in deciding ...
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Case Studies
Hitachi Data Systems takes broad approach to flex communications
It uses a variety of methods to communicate with employees about their flex choices about four weeks ahead of the enrolment window.The strategy involves Hitachi putting posters up around its offices to tell employees the flex system is due to open soon. Then, on the day the flex window opens, ...
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Article
Pall Europe took strong focus on auto-enrolment communications
Communication is key prior to an employer’s auto-enrolment staging date, according to Vicki Tracey, senior benefits specialist at Pall Europe.Speaking at Employee Benefits Live on 25 September at London’s Olympia, Tracey explained that the manufacturing company, which staged on 1 September 2013, found that with a largely segmented workforce comprising ...
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Article
RSA adds green cars to flex scheme
RSA Insurance Group has introduced a green car benefit and anytime election windows to its flexible benefits scheme.Addressing delegates at EB Live on 25 September at London’s Olympia, Ed Airey, UK reward manager at RSA, explained that employees’ involvement in the benefits scheme was key to the organisation. Therefore, its ...
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Case StudiesGroupon offers staff rewarding benefits deal
“We didn’t have a robust benefits offering [when the UK business launched] because it wasn’t a priority for our workforce in the start-up phase,” says Hailey Wojcik, HR director for northern Europe. “As we’ve started to grow into a global business and we’ve started to refine processes and procedures, our ...
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AnalysisHow to measure the impact of financial education programmes
If you read nothing else, read this:Ongoing development modules can help employers track the effectiveness of a financial education programme.Financial education can help to combat staff absenteeism and boost productivity.An employer must support a financial education programme to ensure its success.In its Rethink Retirement survey, published in December 2012, financial ...
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Case Studies
Novae Group boosts staff engagement
In 2011, the organisation changed from a trust-based pension to a group personal pension and arranged for all members of the scheme to have one-to-one financial education meetings.John Renz, director of HR, says: “First of all, we wanted to explain the nature of those changes, but also essentially to put ...
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Case StudiesFinmeccanica offers staff award-winning pension investment choices
In 2007, it introduced a new trust-based defined contribution (DC) scheme, FuturePlanner, for its UK staff who were joining a pension scheme for the first time.It also runs two defined benefit (DB) schemes, which are now closed to new members but open to future accrual, and wanted to bring in ...
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AnalysisDo healthcare strategies have to be long-term?
If you read nothing else, read this:Short-term initiatives can help to lay the foundations for a long-term change in employee health and wellbeing.Behaviours, such as healthy eating or exercise, must be repeated regularly if they are to become a habit.Regular communication about healthy initiatives at work can help to create ...