Case Study: College X
The Brief:
College X came to The Harding Hub after recognising they needed to improve their employee value proposition. A post-pandemic environment meant their staff were more stressed than ever before.
College X wanted to protect themselves from high staff churn. They wanted their team members to feel more financially secure and better cared for by their employer. At the same time, they wanted to solve some longstanding bugbears with their payroll and pensions services, without increasing costs.
In conjunction with our specialist financial planners, our we designed modern, tax-efficient and compliant solutions for today’s education workplace needs.
What we did for College X…
Our skilled team worked in partnership with College X’s staff to conduct a holistic audit of their existing payroll operations, pensions schemes and workplace benefits. The Harding Hub colleagues engaged College X’s team members in conversation to learn what changes make the most difference to their busy lives as educators and supporting staff.
Together, we identified the following opportunities:
OPPORTUNITY
1
College X could move the administration of its Payroll and Pensions service to The Harding Hub. Our specialist advisers had identified that in doing so, we could create savings of £40,000, annually.
OPPORTUNITY
2
College X could use those annual savings to significantly enhance their employee valuation proposition to help not just their own employees, but their employees’ families, feel more valued and cared for by College X than ever before. College X was able to implement private medical cover, enhance its critical illness and income protection cover and offer a range of ancillary benefits such as Private GP access, which would go to help employees and their dependants. A range of other benefits such as a Workplace Nursery Scheme and Cycle To Work were also able to be offered to staff on an opt-in basis.
OPPORTUNITY
3
In moving the administration of its payroll service to The Harding Hub, College X would also benefit from our expertise in the area of reporting. The Harding Hub was able to provide the data that College X needed for its annual HESA Staff Return and OfS Finance Return, reducing the burden that HR and Finance teams felt at already-busy times of the year.
OPPORTUNITY
4
College X could roll out a proactive programme of mindfulness and cognitive behaviour therapy to reduce the stress problems it had reported amongst its staff. The therapy would build resilience and prevent crisis. The Harding Hub’s innovative VR based technology was so scalable that College X was also able to roll this out to students, not just staff members. With education providers reporting that such technology can reduce exam stress and improve performance of students, not just mental health, this was of particular benefit to College X.
OPPORTUNITY
5
College X’s employees could benefit from The Harding Hub’s Pension Advice service, providing staff members with low cost tax efficient access to meeting with a specialist financial planner. By reviewing things such as pension fund selection, tax-free savings allowances and retirement objectives, our advisers could help College X colleagues create an actionable plan that is designed to maximise their financial prosperity.
What next?
After implementation…
After implementation, Harding Hub clients like College X typically report improved colleague satisfaction, reduced staff churn and improved recruitment capability as a result of their improved employee value proposition. In conjunction with our specialist financial planners, our Harding Hub team will provide modern, tax-efficient, compliant solutions for your education workplace needs.