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Case Study

How Southeastern saved over £830,000 in National Insurance - and built a culture where everyone goes the Extra Mile 

  • Industry: Transport
  • Number of Employees: 4,500
  • Solutions: Discounts, Reward & Recognition, Car Benefits, Holiday Trading, SmartTech and Wellbeing
SouthEastern logo

23x ROI

delivered through EngagementOS

£830k

in employer NI savings

£2m

in employee savings & NI reductions

Reaching a 94% active user rate with its Reward Gateway | Edenred system, Southeastern Railway connected a largely offline workforce via a centralised system for benefits, discounts, recognition and more.

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    What they needed

    With a remote workforce who operate on trains, in stations and in depots, and with limited day-to-day interaction with colleagues and managers, getting the message out about the rewards and benefits was a challenge for the HR team at Southeastern Railway. A reliance on numerous different suppliers, separate platforms and a mix of online and paper-based administration was also made it harder to drive uptake.

    In order to get more employees using the benefits and rewards on offer and make them easier to use and administrate, the HR team at Southeastern Railway knew they needed one digital location with fully tech-enabled access and management. The solution would also need to make peer-to-peer recognition easier in order to support the company’s culture of appreciation.

    How we helped

    Working with Reward Gateway, Southeastern Railway launched Extra Mile, a one-stop-shop for employee benefits, discounts, recognition and wellbeing initiatives. The system was aligned to the Southeastern Railway brand and ‘Ways of Working’, offering a user-friendly interface that ensured employees could easily find the different benefits on offer. Reward & Recognition has been streamlined and simplified, making it easier for employees to send eCards and nominate colleagues for rewards. By introducing a discounts programme, employees can now save money on everyday household spending and, through SmartTech™, spread the cost of buying technology and white goods. The introduction of an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme has also enabled employes to spread the cost of an EV across multiple salary payments. With a new Wellbeing Centre in place on the system, the HR team is now able to run campaigns throughout the year in support of their employees’ mental, physical and financial wellbeing, signposting relevant content and the different benefits that can make a difference. To launch, Southeastern Railway established a network of local ambassadors across the company’s sites - all playing a crucial role in promoting the system, supporting onboarding and helping to communicate with a dispersed workforce.

    “I’m really proud about what we have achieved with Reward Gateway | Edenred who have helped us be brave and try something new with our employee benefits. Of all of the great things we have achieved as an HR team in the last year, this is amongst the best.”

    Head of HR Services
    Southeastern

    What they achieved

    Usage

    The launch of the Extra Mile has transformed employee engagement at Southeastern Railway: proven by the fact that 95% of employees are now active users of the system.

    Recognition

    Extra Mile has helped significantly reinforce Southeastern Railway’s culture of appreciation with eCards and awards that highlight the company’s ‘Ways of Working’, which are promoted throughout the platform. With 5,700 eCards issued to recognise good work over the course of a year and a total of £121,000 in rewards sent to and redeemed by employees, managers now say reward and recognition is much easier to give.

    Employee & business savings

    The discounts programme has helped employees save over £90,000 in one year, while SmartTech™ has been embraced. The scheme has allowed staff to spread the cost of  over the last year, worth a total £1.2m. Employees have also been able to buy and sell over £140k of annual leave through the system’s Holiday Trading scheme, supporting work-life balance and generating NI savings for both employees and the business. One of the standout results has been the introduction of the electric vehicle scheme, helping staff access £5.7m of EVs, and saving £1.8m for employees and £788k for Southeastern in National Insurance Contributions.

    Operational efficiency

    Extra Mile has also helped the HR team to save countless hours on administration by replacing its cumbersome paper-based benefits system, now enabling managers to easily access information around benefits to share with their teams – a move the HR team describe as “from Excel to Easy!”

    Ready to deliver significant employee and business savings?

    Southeastern Railway showed that when you support the needs of your people with a unified, branded solution that delivers recognition, offers savings and drives productivity, the results follow. The Result: Proven ROI built on everyday moments of joy and a brand that stands out as an employer of choice.

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