FLEXIBLE BENEFITS
National Grid Wireless refreshes flex
National Grid Wireless, a provider of large-scale broadcast and mobile telecommunications infrastructure, is renewing its flexible benefits scheme this month, after a successful first year.
The flexible benefits programme, which is administered through Vebnet’s FIX&FLEX system, was originally developed to deliver an “aspirational” benefits package to a diverse 700-strong workforce, brought together after a series of mergers and acquisitions.
Bruce Sayers, the company’s reward and policy manager, explains: “Crown Castle, as we used to be known, was acquired by National Grid two years ago. After that, our organisation was merged with Gridcom, an existing National Grid operation, to form National Grid Wireless. We now have 700 employees, who have come from very different working environments. Some are from a traditional corporate culture; others from more entrepreneurial companies and others from cultures that would fit between these. We introduced flexible benefits to meet the needs of this diverse workforce.”
Recent employee surveys have recorded a significant shift in employee opinion, with high employee awareness and staff say they are positive about the benefits package.
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New benefits added
National Grid Wireless is adding new benefits in this renewal to help encourage more employees to take advantage of the scheme. These include a healthcare cash plan, retail vouchers, holiday vouchers and annual travel insurance.
The company also launched total reward statements with Vebnet last summer to help communicate the value of its overall pay and benefits package.
But Sayers warns that while flexible benefits are good for harmonising benefits after mergers and acquisitions, it is only part of a harmonisation process. “You initially need to understand the current terms and conditions for every employee and decide how you wish to address the differences. Only then can you think about where flexible benefits will fit in your future offering,” he says.
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National Grid Wireless is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid and is the “leading independent provider of infrastructure to the mobile telecommunications operators in the UK”.
Vebnet specialises in the development, deployment and support of internet-based technology for flexible benefits and total reward statements. For more information contact at its London (tel: 020 7073 2710) or Edinburgh (tel: 0131 270 5500) offices. You can find Vebnet on the web at www.vebnet.com