In November 2020, KPMG employees were given the opportunity to purchase an ergonomic keyboard, a quality mouse, an additional monitor or a decent headset via the cafeteria plan. Yves Demaeght, HR Director at KPMG and Peter van de Velde, Mobility Manager and HR process manager, steered the project in the right direction.
Yves, how did you come up with the idea of including these benefits in the cafeteria plan?
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly catapulted employers and employees into a new reality. Remote working suddenly became the norm, where previously it had been more occasional. One of the many measures KPMG implemented to adapt to this new reality was an attractive offering of IT equipment that allowed our employees to more comfortably equip their workstations at home.
The demand after the launch exceeded our expectations. This was a clear indication that this initiative met the needs of our employees. Going forward, we will continue to look for the optimal balance between working in the office and telecommuting. Nevertheless, we think that working from home has acquired a firm place in the new, collaborative working world and is here to stay.
Peter, how did you approach this in practice?
With the changed work situation, we wanted to fully support our employees by helping them to ensure that their work situation at home was as comfortably and professionally equipped as possible. By building this program into our KPMG Flex Reward Tool, we were able to minimize the additional administration for HR. Through the tool, the employee can access our supplier's portal, place an order and link it to the KPMG Flex Reward Tool. The KPMG Flex Reward Tool also automatically creates the necessary attachment to the employment contract.
It is a fully automated process, a kind of self-service for our employees. The choice of supplier was crucial in view of the automation. We chose Vanden Borre. Through the existing API between Vanden Borre and the KPMG Flex Reward Tool, the necessary data are also automatically visible in the tool. Vanden Borre delivers all devices directly to our employees, who also receive a warranty certificate so they can directly contact Vanden Borre in case of problems.
What were the challenges?
The selection of the devices was a challenge. First of all, we had to check with the IT department whether everything was compatible with our laptops. We also had to check with the supplier whether everything was in stock. For some brands, there is a shortage due to high demand. It is also important to check out everything fiscally, legally, and practically beforehand.
Was the idea well received and what are the results?
In the first 2 months after launch, a total of 540 orders were placed by our 1,400 employees. Given that employees can only avail of one of each type of item via the tool, we can roughly estimate that 25-38% of employees actively engaged with this additional benefit. This number exceeds our expectations and proves that our employees clearly appreciated this extra support in these times.
In uncertain times, flexible pay is even more important. Discover the different functionalities of the KPMG Flex Reward Tool.
