Benefits Connection

Asperity launches YouTube channel hosting advice and strategy

Integrated VB provider, Asperity Employee Benefits, has launched a YouTube channel which will host interviews with senior HR practitioners and provide tips and best practice advice.

Ladbrokes to pilot Total Reward Statements.

Gaming company Ladbrokes plc is launching Total Reward Statements to a pilot sample of 100 employees.  

The Statements, which are being piloted in October, are being implemented to increase
employee awareness of their benefit package and to give greater visibility to the reward spend. 

Ladbrokes also intend for the scheme to have positive effects on both employee recruitment and
retention, whilst also supporting their competitive edge in the market.

The statements, which are being issued offline, are designed with a sports theme. 

Sara Davies, HR Director - Reward at Ladbrokes comments: “The work we are doing with
Benefex is in perfect alignment with our overall reward strategy.  We are confident that Total
Reward Statements will help us attract and retain performance orientated employees and
maximise employee engagement”

Following the pilot, Total Reward Statements will be issued to 1,000 of Ladbrokes Head Office
and field based employees.

Ladbrokes Total Reward Statements are designed and implemented in partnership with Benefex.

BOC launches Benefits Of Choice voluntary benefits programme.

A new online voluntary benefits scheme for BOC’s 3,700 employees has proved to be a great
success, with more than 1,000 staff logging on to the portal in its first seven days. BOC launched
Benefits Of Choice as the first part of its new Reward and Benefits Strategy. The scheme uses
Benefex’s rewardplus+ online portal and gives staff access to discounts, offers and cashback
from thousands of retailers. 

The scheme allows employees to access the benefits both online or via a printed brochure. Desk
drops, posters, emails and life-size ‘cheques’ detailing the savings were used to publicise the
scheme.  

Lindsay Fitzpatrick, Head of Reward at BOC, comments: “Voluntary benefits enable employees to
make significant monthly and annual savings on a range of products and services, We believe
this scheme is a positive and high value addition to their benefit-offering – and especially in the
current economic climate.  Benefits Of Choice is one further element in our programme to ensure
that BOC remains a highly valued employer of choice. That in turn helps us to recruit and retain
the most talented individuals within our organisation.”

All elements of BOC’s Benefits Of Choice have been designed, implemented and administered in
association with Benefex.

www.benefex.co.uk

Inchcape switches provider for an integrated VB solution.

Inchcape plc, the leading car retailer, has switched its UK employee benefits provider to Asperity Employee Benefits to broaden its benefit offering and increase employee engagement.

The new voluntary benefits programme, launched at the beginning of December 2008 to Inchcape’s 5000 employees across the country with a membership card sent to all staff. The programme, called Inchcape-EAS (Employee Advantages Scheme)  is based on Asperity’s Reward Gateway online benefit platform and offers a fully integrated package of discounts and salary sacrifice elements. Employees have access to an extensive range of discounts plus the ability to earn Cashback at over 1500 retailers. The scheme includes offers online, accessed by phone and available in-store. From February, the programme will also include a fully integrated Childcare voucher salary sacrifice scheme, allowing staff to save tax and national insurance when paying for registered childcare.

Inchcape employees will also have access to Asperity’s dedicated telephone helpdesk, which provides support and advice on benefits 12 hours per day, six days per week.

Peter Gardner, Head of Colleague Support Services & Training at Inchcape UK, said: “We were looking for a scheme that would excite employees, as well as a provider that supports both the employer and employees using the scheme. Asperity’s integrated voluntary benefits model was very attractive as it offers an easy-to-use, all-in-one website, enabling a more streamlined approach.”

Glenn Elliott, Managing Director at Asperity, added: “We are delighted to be working with another major retail client like Inchcape. Over the past year we’ve worked hard building the integrated voluntary benefits platform which can deliver many of the benefits of a Flex system for a fraction of the cost. We’re delighted that Inchcape have chosen us to relaunch their scheme and early signs are showing a significant increase in levels of engagement with the advantages scheme.”

More from the provider Asperity Employee Benefits on their website.

Fife Council switches VB provider to boost employee engagement

Fife Council have switched their voluntary benefits provider in order to boost employee engagement and offer discounts at a wider range of retailers.

The improved VB scheme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, launched in February to the Council’s 23,000 employees. Based on Asperity’s Reward Gateway platform, employees have access to a wide range of shopping discounts and offers online, over the phone and in-store, Cashback offers and discounted retail vouchers. The programme allows employees to obtain discounts on grocery shopping at ASDA, Somerfield, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose which was seen as important to offer to staff in the current economic climate. The programme is being communicated to staff through a series of benefits newsletters distributed internally to every employee and Asperity have arranged a launch competition where staff can win an Apple iPod, Samsung Digital Camera and a digital photo frame.

Fife Council employees can log on to a customised website from home as well as work to maximise accessibility.

As part of the scheme takeover, Asperity were tasked with boosting the uptake of existing local offers already negotiated directly by the Council and available to all employees. Over 130 local retailers are now promoted by the discount scheme and employees can access the offers in-store by simply showing their staff ID card.

Ruth Brown, HR Adviser Reward & Establishment at Fife Council, commented: “We believe it’s important to support local businesses so we have teamed up with local suppliers to give employees discounts on a broad range of products and services throughout Fife.  Asperity have been really flexible and accommodating with the design of the programme to promote all elements of our employee benefits scheme, and we are pleased with how smooth the transfer has been.”

Lauren Naze, Account Manager from Asperity, added: “It’s great to work with Fife and we’ve been able to employ our considerable experience in working with local authorities to meet the challenges of reaching a diverse workforce. We continue to develop a package of communication techniques designed to tackle this and have found this approach to be very successful.”

More information at www.asperity.co.uk