Care UK has experienced an opt-out rate of just 3.8 per cent since implementing auto-enrolment in March, putting its success down to an intensive, multichannel communications strategy.
The care provider used email, intranet, internal publications, employee forums, meetings with line managers and sessions with senior management where appropriate to get the message out to the almost 13,000 newly enrolled staff. This represented 60 per cent of its workforce.
“In an organisation such as Care UK, where due to the nature of their job many people don’t have access to email or our intranet, it was vital we ensured our methods of communication reached everybody, regardless of whether they’re based in a care home, treatment centre, office or work remotely,” said group pensions manager Rebecca Loader.
A pensions helpline was set up and a set of FAQs were made available to employees. “We have over 350 sites across the UK and our communications discussed our plans, the auto-enrolment timetable, how to get help and the benefits of this reform,” Loader said.
The organisation has systems in place to automatically assess any new or existing employees for eligibility who, due to changes in salary or age, can be opted into the scheme.
In the run-up to staging, the employer reviewed its procedures, systems and technology to ensure compliance with the Pensions Regulator’s requirements.
It started planning for the roll-out by setting up a stakeholder group including representatives from the pensions, finance, human resources and payroll departments.
“The key thing is to create a stakeholder working group,” said Gurmukh Hayre, head of defined contribution pensions at consultancy KPMG.
Such groups can look at what needs to be done to prepare for auto-enrolment – including what contribution rate will be set and the choice of pension provider – before producing an employer action plan, he said.
Many companies have experienced difficulties determining employee eligibility through systems offered by their payroll provider.
“When you have got multiple payrolls with different pay frequencies and dates, managing that within an auto-enrolment structure is quite a challenge,” said Geraldine Brassett, client relationship manager at Aon Hewitt.
