Unit 9a:Flexible benefits
Listening
Maybe you'd like to begin by explaining how Choices came about.
Well,we wanted to show that Pricewater house Coopers recognised the individuality and diversity of all its employees.
Flexible benefits was the ideal way of sending this message without massively increasing the firm's payroll costs.
Also,after the merger between the two firms,
Price Water house and Coopers&Lybrand,
we wanted a new scheme that both sets of employees could identify with.
And what advantages does Choices give employees?
Well,it sounds obvious,but the main advantage is choice
and the opportunity to change benefits as an employee's lifestyle changes.
There's also a jprive advantage on many of the benefits.
How does that work?
Well,there are tax savings when taking certain benefits rather than cash.
But the real advantage is that our size means that we can find the best providers in the market
and then negotiate bulk discouts with them.
And how did you inform employees of all this when you launched the scheme?
We had to be very pro-active to ensure employees understood everything about Choices,
from its concept to ist implementation.
We began by creating awareness with printed material,
and then ran a series of countrywide roadshows.
Roadshows?Why did youj choose roadshows?
Because they were the ideal way of offering employees a face-to -face opportunity to develop their unerstanding of Choices
and get the answers they needed.
People were already going through huge changes with the merger,
so we had to expect some challenging questions.
And how successful were the roadshows?
Well,they were attended by 8.000 out of 19.000 UK employees.
And since then,research among staff has shown very high awareness levels
and a very good understanding of why Choices was introduced.
And where did you go from there?
Well,having created awareness and interest,
we then had to encourage employee participation.
We did this by making detailed information about Choices available to all employees electronically.
Any employees needing further information could then contact he Choices call centre if they needed to.
From the feedback you've had so far,
which benefits do you think will prove most popular?
Well,we don't know yet.
But things like pensions and company cars are likely to prove popular
But typically,with flexible benefits,
most interest is shown in vearying the amount of annual leave.
And I expect it'll be the same with Choices.
You mean people taking more days off?Well,not just more.
Many employees actually reduce their annual allowance in exchange for cash.
It's just another example of the flexibility which characterises Choices-
which,as we know from post-recruitment interviews,can be a real factor when people are comparing job offers.
Yes,I can imagine.Choices must have had a real effect on recruitment.
Well,it only went live in April,so it's still too early to say exactly what effect it's going to ahve.
But with Flex,
the old benefits scheme that Price Waterhouse used to ahve before the merger,
there was a 30% increase in the number of candidates who accepted job offers.
We expect Choices to be just as effective,
and help us get the brightest and the best
both university graduates and experienced applicants.
And finally,what do you see as the main benefit for Price water house Coopers?
Well,for one thing,it should reduce staff turnover.
Replacing an employee through an agency can be a very expensive business.
But most importantly,
it'll help define the Price water house Coopers image
and send a clear signal about our values to employees and job applicants.
There's also the experience it gives us in running flexible benefits schemes.
What do you mean exactly?
Well,flexible benefits is something our consultancy service is asked to advise companies on.
So Choices provides us with invaluable experience.