Towry Case Study

Employee benefits magazine announced the winners of the 2010 Employee Benefits Awards at a ceremony held in London, on the 25th June.  There were 100 finalists and only 21 winners, with four of these being Edenred’s clients.  A further three clients were runners up to the award and two reached the finalist stage.

Winners were recognised for the best reward and benefits strategies among employers in the UK:

Towry Total reward won the ‘Most effective total reward stategy’ award, with Edenred being their provider.

In 2007, this financial services firm moved away from commission-based charging to fee-based billing. This led to the introduction, in 2008, of a new reward strategy that included higher pay and lower variable pay for client-facing staff. In addition, the firm needs to hold on to top talent ahead of its planned flotation in 2010/11.

The strategy aims to drive recruitment, retention, employee development and engagement by providing an attractive, competitive reward proposition.

It also aims to drive a unique total reward culture by treating pay and benefits, long-term incentives, learning and development, the work environment and employee wellbeing as integral elements of reward.

For example, all pay reviews include face-to-face discussion to ensure staff understand the total value of their reward and how the pay decision was reached. Total reward statements are used to assist in this process.

Within each element of the total reward strategy, this entrant pushes its overall business strategy. For example, under compensation, a good performer will earn a bonus 100% higher than for an average performer. Under benefits, flexible benefits allow total choice with no core benefits, while the firm’s comprehensive health and wellbeing programme is linked to its absence management strategy. The company also pays for study material and exam fees for staff development.

Each aspect of the programme demonstrates either cost savings for the firm or an impact on key HR measures. So although it may hard to draw a direct link between the new total reward strategy and the doubling of annual earnings since 2006, there must be a strong correlation.