FLEXIBLE BENEFITS
Informa introduces online flexible benefits
Publishing company Informa has implemented a flexible benefits scheme for its 1,200 UK staff.
Informa (now merged with Taylor & Francis) opted for 4th Contact’ s online flexible benefits system to provide clarity and choice for employees, standardise benefits after mergers and acquisitions, enable the HR team to reduce administration and to save costs.
Employee take-up rate is as high as 90% after a comprehensive marketing programme.
Pressures for change
Keith Brownlie, Informa's group HR director, said: "We had a classic iceberg principle here our employees knew their salary -- the tip of the iceberg -- but they didn't know about their pension, life cover and all those other things that people take for granted. They were submerged and it was frustrating for the business and the employees that they couldn’ t see their benefits package clearly."
Informa has grown significantly through mergers and acquisitions, inevitably creating an environment where employees have a hugely diverse range of benefits and pay schemes.
The company was also keen to take the administrative drudgery and cost out of the benefits role. Brownlie explains: "Our benefits were being looked after by different people, so if an employee had any queries, they’ d inevitably have to ask a number of different HR people to get the answers they needed. It didn’ t make sense."
What's on the menu
The online flexible benefits scheme provides employees with choices of pension, life cover, critical illness, private medical insurance, medical screening, dental insurance, travel insurance, gym membership, childcare vouchers and buying extra annual holiday.
"Benefits cost the company a lot of money," says Brownlie. "Now they are online, we can go to the market, get better deals and purchase in bulk so we get economies of scale. All in all, we’ ve experienced major financial savings on the back of implementing the flexible benefits programme."
Want to know more?
Informa supplies "must have" business information to niches within six major international markets. The information is delivered in a wide range of formats, both traditional and electronic. To find out more visit www.informa.com
4th Contact is a provider of technology solutions for the management and communication of employee benefits in the UK. See 4th Contact’ s new web site at www.4thcontact.co.uk
Posted 21 June 2004