gedas UK flexes benefits with 4th Contact to attract and motivate IT talent

New flexible benefits programme from 4th Contact attracts talent, encourages contractors to consider full employment and motivates 330-strong workforce 4th Contactís Absence Reporting technology produces ëhuge, tangible, measurable benefitsí for the organisation System security is critical - 4th Contactís experience, background and customer reference sites provide vital reassurance 4th Contact offers technology ëexperts who really understand the reward landscape ñ they are far and away the most experienced of the other providers.í

gedas UK, a member of the Volkswagen Group, which offers advice, planning and support for IT implementations, has launched an online flexible benefits programme powered by 4th Contact technology for its 330 employees. The flex initiative has been designed to attract specialist IT employees, encourage contracting staff to become fully employed and motivate all staff.

Barry Hoffman, Head of Human Resources for gedas UK, is responsible for supporting staff through wide-sweeping culture changes within the company, and especially implementing the 4th Contact flexible benefits programme. He explains, ìgedas comes from an automotive heritage where benefits primarily revolve around cars and fuel. We found we were less able to offer benefits to suit the needs of specialist IT staff, and we particularly wanted to encourage contracting staff to become fully employedî.

A member of the Volkswagen Group, gedas UK has rapidly become a leader in designing efficient, flexible business system solutions for its clients, primarily in the automotive and manufacturing industries.

gedas also wished to communicate the rewards package more effectively to the entire workforce. Hoffman continues, ìWe found that employees didnít understand their whole salary package. With the total reward technology, employees can appreciate that they earn say, 30k in salary, yet they earn nearly half as much again in benefits.î

According to Hoffman, 4th Contact was chosen for the implementation because in his view they are ìtechnology experts who really understand the reward landscapeî.

He also prioritises security. He says, ìgedas is part of a large corporate that is very tight on security, so system integrity is critical. 4th Contactís experience, background and customer reference sites provide vital reassuranceî. Secure technology is of paramount importance to 4th Contact, where all online data is hosted within a fully secure, best of breed environment.

Indeed, 4th Contact has a pedigree in security. It is owned by Star, a leading provider of managed technology services and part of the MessageLabs group of companies, the leading provider of managed email security services to businesses worldwide.

The 4th Contact technology also provides absence management and reporting capabilities. Using this system, which was launched a year before the flex programme, has provided ëhuge, tangible, measurable resultsí for gedas. The company used to manage absence on paper, and using technology to manage holidays and sickness has saved the company five days per month of company time that is now redeployed on other sales related activities. In addition, gedas has a view on capacity planning for peaks and troughs for all staff.

Paul Watson, CEO of 4th Contact, comments, ìgedas is a leading-edge company undertaking wide-sweeping culture changes. This shift has affected every member of staff and HR is taking the lead to make this work effectively for everyone. The company has found that our flexible benefits and absence reporting technologies make dramatic, positive differences to the employees and the business. It is also fantastic to know that customers find our systems security experience reassuring. Like our customers, we take system security very seriouslyî.

Hoffman sums up, ì4th Contact was by far and away the most experienced of the other providers. That smoothed the course for us. They have given us room to breathe; they took away the difficult work and let us concentrate on business, safe in the knowledge that our employees can pick and choose benefits relevant to them. All in all, happy employees lead to happy customers. The implementation has had a very, very good response.î