Salmon supplier Marine Harvest used boats, planes and cars to reach employees across the far reaches of northern Scotland, in a face-to-face auto-enrolment communication campaign that reflects the challenges faced by remote employers.
As a result, only six of the 106 employees not already in the company’s scheme elected to opt out after its April staging date last year.
Organisations with a large proportion of remote employees have faced an uphill battle driving engagement around auto-enrolment.
How contributions pay at different levels
Marine Harvest offers newly enrolled members the basic statutory employer contribution for the first year following the three month deferral, recognising this group of employees as Level 1 members – aimed partly at its seasonal workers.
After 15 months' employment the company promotes members to Level 2 of the scheme, an enhanced platform that offers age-related employer contributions of 5-7 per cent, with 4 per cent from the employee, and the option to put in additional voluntary contributions.
At each stage of the process the company writes to employees and makes regular onsite visits to keep its workforce engaged.
Steve Elliott, DC and auto-enrolment specialist at Barnett Waddingham, said: “The company wanted an engaged workforce and achieved this through a clear and comprehensive communication project.”
Transport operator FirstGroup saw its monthly online engagement double in the year to April 2014 following a multimedia campaign targeted at its driver audience.
During the three years prior to auto-enrolment, Marine Harvest undertook a significant communication drive to engage members.
The company opened pension membership windows to boost overall take-up across its existing defined contribution scheme.
When combined with its legacy defined benefit scheme, total pension membership rose from 50 per cent to 80 per cent as a result of the drive.
“We took boats, planes and drove to sites. Our guys respond better to direct communication,” said Margaret MacDonald, pensions manager and chair of trustees at Marine Harvest.
"We went out to every site and met as many staff as possible. We ensured the presentations were tailored to meet the needs of all employees, from young lads to people in their 60s.”
When staging, the company collaborated with consultants to deliver a series of four presentations to its 230 factory employees, where each worker was provided with a bespoke booklet. Its total workforce numbers hit 630 last year, with a large proportion working remotely.
To cater for the high number of Polish and Latvian employees within the workforce, interpreters were present at all meetings and literature was provided in three languages.
Information delivered at presentations was supported by additional material released in subsequent newsletters, 'hot topic' guides and roadshows.
MacDonald said the company targeted different age groups to meet the needs of a wide-ranging employee demographic.
“We tailored the communication to be delivered in layman’s terms. For young people with different financial commitments we told them how much it would affect their monthly wage, costing it out to show a net difference,” she said.
Overcoming complexity
Greg Thorley, director at communication consultancy Life Academy, said it was crucial for employers to provide staff with education that transforms the theoretical prospect of investing money into a reality.
“[The industry] must be aware that the end user is not fluent in technical, regulatory and legislative lexicon,” said Thorley.
Marine Harvest presented contribution statistics to employees as a monthly cost rather than a percentage of their annual salary.
“Pensions seem a whole lot more affordable when they’re quantified for employees," said Steve Charlton, DC proposition manager at asset manager Vanguard.
Charlton called for employers to consider the adequacy of their DC schemes, with a long-term view of the consequences of an ageing workforce reaching retirement and being unable to leave work due to inadequate pension savings.
“Education must be relevant and it must resonate,” he added.
