HOW IT WORKS
As part of a far-reaching re-branding and modernisation project last year, LV= (formerly the Liverpool Victoria friendly society) felt the time was right to overhaul its employee benefits scheme. Focus groups and staff surveys revealed that individuals did not clearly understand what was available to them with the old arrangement, and had no means of accessing up-to-date information throughout the year. So, in January this year a new flexible benefits scheme went live called 'Your Choice', operated by online benefits provider Vebnet. Employees can now pick out the benefits that suit their lifestyle. For example, a new mum returning to work can opt for childcare vouchers and buy more holiday to suit her family needs.
WHO BENEFITS
LV='s 2,800 employees get to choose benefits according to their personal circumstances and can make changes each year, or when a major event happens in their life, such as the birth of a child or getting married. Using a password they can log onto the Your Choice portal and view their pay and chosen benefits package, summarised in online Total Reward Statements (TRS). Feedback shows this access to information is helping individuals plan their finances and future more efficiently. The package on offer includes pension, buying and selling holidays, childcare vouchers, private medical insurance, health screening, hospital cash plan, discounted retail vouchers, personal accident insurance and critical illness cover.
WHAT IT DELIVERS
Having a robust offer like this boosts LV='s corporate image in the industry. Recently-appointed chief operating officer Richard Rowney drove the initiative forward, in the knowledge that offering the latest in flexible benefits and online access would help LV= compete in the job market and motivate staff to stay loyal to the company, while encouraging them to give their best. A great deal of effort has gone into aligning all of the internal communications - posters and booklets, and the online service for Your Choice - to the wider LV= brand look. Ease-of-use was central to the web design for the Your Choice micro site. Over 60% of employees logged in at the launch and that figure is steadily building over time.
THE HR VIEW
Karen Gabriel is HR reward partner at LV=. She feels the time was right to introduce a more comprehensive and flexible benefits package. "The organisation has been changing and growing fast, particularly with the recent acquisition of retirement company Tomorrow, increasing our workforce from 2,000 at the beginning of the year to 2,800 today," says Gabriel. "We now have sites all over the country from Huddersfield to Croydon to Exeter, so it's essential that everyone can easily access one central place." She says making the benefits relevant and building flexibility into the scheme has boosted staff engagement and contributed to improved recruitment and retention figures. "Everyone has different needs and now they can tailor benefits exactly how they want to. If someone is promoted and earns more money they can afford more benefits, so the benefits evolve with them." She adds: "We want to be an employer of choice, and attract and retain the highest-performing individuals. To do that it's essential today to provide the right rewards and salary benefits."
THE EMPLOYEE'S VIEW
Andy Richards is internal communications controller at LV=. While Richards is based in Bournemouth his immediate family lives in Shropshire, so he has enjoyed being able to buy extra annual leave days to spend time visiting them. "Being able to decide for myself what would suit my needs has been incredibly useful," he says. "My sister has just had a baby so I've been able to take time off to see her. Next time around I'm going to use the salary-sacrifice scheme to buy some retail vouchers. This means I will get around 8% off at John Lewis and Marks & Spencer and that will really help me budget and keep my household spending under control." Going onto the intranet site to check his chosen benefits and model how his salary would look if changes were made has been very helpful for this kind of lifestyle planning. "I think it's a valuable message that our employer is sending by giving us this degree of freedom and choice when it comes to benefits," says Richards.
