Bringing management and works council together on benefits
HEVO is a specialist in sustainable housing and guides organisations through advisory and construction management projects. Operating from offices in 's-Hertogenbosch and Zwolle, the organisation works daily to create environments in which people can live, learn and work at their best.
HEVO wanted to gain insight into the latest developments in the field of secondary benefits and explore which arrangements would best suit the organisation and its employees. In addition, there was a desire to make existing benefits more visible and easier to understand.
Do our benefits sufficiently align with the needs of our employees, and is it possible to tailor them to different life stages? This question had been on our minds for some time. We were also curious about the benefits being offered in the market. Together with Not Secondary, we immersed ourselves in these topics. Paul Brink's expertise has been enormously helpful in shaping our thinking. Another thing we appreciated was that Paul takes a close look at what is genuinely appropriate and provides a very realistic picture of this. Something else we discovered during this process is that we already have many secondary benefits that are well-aligned, but that we could be communicating them far more effectively. Not Secondary helped us here as well, by creating an accessible and attractive reward statement.
Challenge:HEVO wanted to gain insight into the key trends and developments in the area of secondary benefits and explore which benefits align with the organisation, the sector, and its ambitions as an employer.
There was also the question of how well the existing package meets the needs of employees at different life stages, and how benefits can better contribute to good employership, attractiveness in the labour market, and employee satisfaction.
An important starting point was to actively involve both the management and the works council in shaping the future benefits package.
Approach & advice:To arrive at a well-supported recommendation, we organised two inspiration sessions.
The first session took place with the management and focused on HEVO's strategic objectives, the current benefits, and the opportunities for further development of the package.
We then organised a similar session with the works council. This provided insight into the needs and wishes of employees, and allowed different perspectives to be incorporated into the analysis.
Based on these sessions, we:
- conducted research into benefits within the market and sector;
- mapped relevant trends and developments;
- analysed the existing package;
- put forward concrete proposals for new and additional benefits;
- provided advice on benefits that align with employees' different life stages.
During the process, it also became clear that HEVO already offers many valuable benefits, but that these are not always sufficiently visible to employees.
We therefore additionally developed a Reward Statement that presents the complete benefits package in a clear, attractive, and accessible way.
Result:The process has given HEVO insight into the extent to which the current benefits package aligns with employees' wishes, market developments, and the organisation's strategic ambitions.
In addition, concrete opportunities were identified to further develop the package and better align it with employees' different life stages.
At least as important was the insight that many existing benefits already align well with employees' needs, but that the Communication around them could be improved. With the help of the Reward Statement, HEVO now has a powerful communication tool that makes the value of the benefits package more visible to both current and prospective employees.
