The multinational electric utility company has 12,000 UK employees across 25 sites. They are a broad and diverse population to cater to when it comes to wellbeing and benefits initiatives.
EDF already had reward and benefits technology in place through ‘myBenefits’ on the Benefex OneHub platform, but they wanted to make advancements in three key areas.
It wanted to change the reward and recognition strategy by shifting the focus of customers and employees to an electric future, expanding choice within myBenefits and helping to improve employee financial wellness.
To support the focus on an electric future, EDF launched an electric vehicle (EV) car scheme in February 2020 which is available as a salary sacrifice benefit through myBenefits.
It partnered with Tusker to provide EVs and ultra-low emissions vehicles (ULEVs), to help employees save on tax and National Insurance in the process.
Uptake of the new salary sacrifice car scheme was unprecedented – with 250 taking part – as employees understood the savings they can make in comparison with a private lease.
Revamping the myBenefits scheme for 2020 to make it simpler and more streamlined, the company also introduced benefit categories that aligned with employee needs: myWellbeing, myLife and myMoney.
Each category was informed by comment and data gathered from employee focus groups across the business.
Further additions were made under the new categories to update the rewards offering.
Under myWellbeing, the team increased the cycle-to-work scheme limit to £5,000, added LPA to the will writing benefit, introduced a carbon footprint calculator and gave employees
access to the Thrive App, which provides NHS-approved cognitive behavioural therapy.
To better support employee Financial wellness EDF partnered with financial education provider; Neyber, which has its own tile on myBenefits.
Employees can now build an account on Neyber’s platform, curate the kind of content they’re most interested in, and find out their financial wellbeing ‘score’, alongside being able to apply for a salary-deducted loan.
EDF expects that, with many people across the country being furloughed, financial
wellness will be paramount for employees to help them support themselves and their families.
They are expecting an increase in engagement and potentially uplift in loan applications as
employees mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
The clear link between this strategy and EDF’s broader organisational aims and values is what made this entry a winner. The package’s potential for development showed promise too, and the elements overall showed great value to employees.
Shortlisted:
Elior UK
Find the full list of the 2020 HR Excellence awards winners here. You can also watch the event on demand and register your interest in the 2021 event here.
