Rolling out Vanco’s global remuneration package
| Pages | 12-13 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390680000919 |
| Author | Steve Mansfield |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
12 Volume 5 Issue 6 September/October 2006
REWARDS
,
Short case studies that demonstrate best practice in rewards
Rolling out Vanco’s global
remuneration package
locations. In order to reflect the
diversity of our workforce, we also
needed something that allowed
employees to tailor benefits to fit their
lifestyle. However, we found no other
company that offered such a rewards
structure at that time, so it had to be
built from scratch.
Personal value with v:choice
Chris Bruce, co-founder of thomsons, set
up thomsons on the premise that the
way employee remuneration schemes
were implemented left a lot to be
desired. In April 2003, Vanco selected
thomsons online benefits to introduce
“v:choice,” an online, international and
multi-currency flexible benefits
program. This program allows Vanco
employees to maximize the personal
value of their benefits package by
selecting the options that are right for
them.
Vanco had conducted an employee
survey prior to thomsons’ involvement
so we had a good insight into exactly
what our employees wanted from a
remuneration package..thomsons online
benefits was then responsible for the
overall design of the program and for
benefit sourcing in each of the countries
in which Vanco operates.
This involved finding suitable
providers for each benefit in each
location. v:choice was simultaneously
rolled out across eight countries (UK,
Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands,
Singapore, the USA and Australia) in
2003 and was extended to cover
Belgium, France and the Czech Republic
during 2004 and to Sweden,
Switzerland and Poland at the end of
2005.
Expanding the choices
Each employee is given a “v:choice
pool,” the size of which depends upon
their length of service and position
within the company. This pool is then
split between core and non-core
choices. Core choices comprise a
minimum amount of holiday, pension
and death-in-service cover. After that,
employees can then allocate the
remainder plus up to 20 percent of
salary to buy non-core choices such as
more holiday, non-related work
training, private healthcare and a club
for those interested in driving high-
performance cars.
In 2004, more benefit choices –
including gym membership, dental
healthcare and childcare vouchers –
were also added to keep the program
exciting and fresh. The benefit program
was divided into four categories:
1. Employee well-being (for example,
life insurance).
2. Life choices: This can include
additional private medical insurance
and longer holidays – the most
popular option and a significant
V
anco is a telecoms company with
a global remit. When it asked
thomsons online benefits for a
new employee remuneration package,
it insisted that this be applied globally.
Identifying the right benefits package
Vanco is a provider of
telecommunications services to
enterprise companies worldwide. It was
the first Virtual Network Operator
(VNO) in the world and uses the
networks of other companies. After
listing on the Stock Exchange in 2001,
CEO Allen Timpany needed to replace
share options as a means of recruiting
and retaining employees and was
looking for a flexible rewards package
in which employees could, for example,
buy additional holiday.
However, Allen wanted to do it
internationally or not at all. He wanted
a globally consistent incentive package
as a means of building emotional ties
between employees in disparate
Established in 1988, Vanco Plc is the
pioneering and leading global Virtual
Network Operator.It provides fully
managed network solutions, available in
230 countries and territories. It operates
through 23 offices in 21 countries and
employs 750 people across the business.
VANCO
Vanco’s Group HR manager, Steve Mansfield, explains how the telecomms company was able to deliver a
consistent benefits package to employees covering all of its regions.
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