Press Releases
Over 100 benefits providers help to win the war for talent
September 2007
It is less than three weeks till Europe's largest benefits event comes to London. Held at The Business Design Centre, Islington, London 2nd-3rd October 2007, the Employee Benefits Exhibition and Conference is an opportunity for HR, Compensation and Benefits specialists to meet benefit suppliers face-to-face and discuss innovative and cost-effective ways to get the most out of their benefits strategy.
The Benefits Research 2007* found that 57% of employers believe that benefits are an effective recruitment tool, while 55% find it an effective retention tool. Over just two days, the Employee Benefits Exhibition will host over 100 benefits providers and advisers who can help employers deliver strategies to win the war for talent.
Healthcare providers Bupa and Best Doctors will be at the show to provide visitors with information especially catered to their company's requirements. Bupa will focus on the employee assistance programme (EAP) feature of its cash plan which offers users a 24-hour telephone helpline and helps staff to deal with issues such as stress at work or home. Emma Exelby, sales manager at Bupa Cash Plan, commented: "We really want to focus on the EAP this year because in the past we have promoted face-to-face stress counselling but now we want employers to add more value to the cash plan with an EAP." Organisations will be able to add the EAP to their existing cash plan for no charge if the cash plan is being provided to 1,000 or more staff.
Meanwhile Best Doctors wants to target visitors that already have some form of healthcare arrangement in place, but are looking for additional benefits. Best Doctors offers additional benefits such as immediate access to high level doctors in the event of illness. Stephen Haynes, business manager, UK and Ireland at Best Doctors said: "This product fits well into a wider package, more specifically for companies that are looking to enhance their existing package of workplace health benefits." To help visitors understand the benefit Best Doctors has put together a DVD, which will show case studies on its stand of companies that have used the service.
Other exhibitors set to use the show to target specific audiences include Specsavers and Health Matters. Specsavers will target visitors from public sector organisations with its low-cost visual display unit (VDU) voucher. The VDU product can be bought for £17 and this covers both the eye test and glasses. Andrew Adams, corporate account manager at Specsavers explained: "When you think that public sector organisations ask staff to go wherever they want for an eye test and glasses, they end up paying £30 for the test and £60 for the glasses, so it's a lot of money to be saved." Health Matters (UK) LTD are a specialist employee health related benefits intermediary who specialise in dealing with small to medium businesses. They can offer advice and assistance on the wider health and wellness issues of SME's are followed by practical solutions based on their requirements. Health Matters will be able to demonstrate to SME visitors their Health Matters Assistance Programme and Employee Assistance Programme.
New exhibitors to the show will feature innovative benefits packages for all employees. TheTrainline will showcase their new season ticket booking service taking away the administration burden that is involved in offering a season ticket loan to staff. Employees log onto a secure and company-branded website, calculate the cost of their annual ticket, their employer authorises the amount and then TheTrainline sends the ticket out to the employee. The employer still makes monthly deductions from the employee's pay to repay the loan. Staying with the travel theme and HotelStayUK, as the UK's one and only genuine hotel voluntary benefits provider, will guarantee to provide employees with the largest discount and best price for hotels both in the UK and worldwide. There are 20,000 hotels available worldwide including global hotels in Asia, Middle East and Australia. Lastly, and with Christmas around the corner, Tastelondon, the provider of restaurant discounts, will demonstrate how it can slash staff, client and private restaurant bills. Through its Tastelondon package, which provides two-for-the-price-of-one-deals or 50% discounts on the total food bill, companies and employees have access to over 500 restaurants across London.
The show will also have a number of exhibitors with a motoring theme. The AA will explain the advantages of its employee benefit product, AA Affinity, which offers employees cut price access to breakdown assistance. “The key reward for employers is that the scheme is free to set up and involves no administration costs, while the employee receives a discounted membership fee, explained Donna Eales, affinity and partnership executive, at the AA. Additionally the IAM will demonstrate to visitors a new product to be launched at the show. IAM Wheels is a revolutionary employee benefits portfolio enabling car drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists the opportunity to develop their road safety skills and take advantage of discounts and special deals that membership of the IAM brings including discounted car / motorcycling insurance, hotel accommodation and car hire.
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
*The Benefits Research 2007 is published by Employee Benefits magazine and forms part of The Benefits Book 2007. A copy of The Benefits Book 2007 will be available to all registered visitors at the Employee Benefits Exhibition & Conference 2007 while stocks last.
Entry to the exhibition is free for visitors by pre-registering via the website www.employeebenefits-confex.co.uk. Visitors can also pre-book keynote, conference and masterclass sessions of their choice via the website.
For press enquiries please contact Rob Newton on Tel: 020 7970 6507 or e-mail rob.newton@centaur.co.uk
To enquire about exhibiting at the show please contact Charlotte Adams on Tel: 020 7970 8086 or e-mail charlotte.adams@centaur.co.uk
Full exhibitor list as of 11th September 2007
AA, Accor Services, ACE European Group, Advanced Vision Care, AEGON Benefit Solutions, Allsave Childcare Vouchers, Asperity, Axcoinfo, Benefex, Best Doctors, BHSF, BUPA Cash Plan, CASHFAC Initiative, Citibank at Work, Corporate Rewards , Cyclescheme , Denplan, Doctorcall, Easy Relax, EBLAS, Emergency Childcare, Everyclick, Eyecare Plans, Flexphone, Foster Denovo, FSA , Generali Employee Benefits, GLOBOFORCE, Gynea Check, H S A, Halfords, Hargreaves Lansdown, Harvey Star, HBOS, Health Matters, Health Shield, HealthSure, HotelStayUK, I A M Fleet, Imagine Co-operative Childcare, Immogenics, Incorpore, I-to-I EmployeeVolunteering, JLT Benefit Solutions, Leapfrog Childcare Vouchers, Lifescan, Love2Reward, Marriott, Marsh employee advantage, Medicash, Michael C Fina, Motivano, National Car Parks (NCP), National Dental Plan, National Trust, Northgate HR, Norwich Union Healthcare, Orbit Benefits, Oval Financial Services, P&MM, Payplan, Personal Touch Fitness, Provincial Hospital Services Association, Pru Health, RAC Motoring Service, Royal Bank of Canada, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, Standard Life, Taste London, Team Rewards, The Trainline, The Voucher Shop, thomsons online benefits, Towry Law Employee Benefits, Validium Group, Westfield Health, Wheelies Direct, Work Stress Management, WorkMatters - A Unum Group Company, Workplace Giving, You at Work