Noor Esposito· Total Rewards Manager, Steinbach Industrie
Posted in Benefits & Wellbeing ·
Two Nordic logistics companies merged in 2024, one Swedish with 1,900 employees and one Danish with 1,300. I led the benefits harmonisation and we finished in June, so this is a write-up while it is fresh.
The instinct in the room was to level everything up to the better of the two. That was costed at 4.2% of combined paybill, which was never going to be approved. What we did was pick the three benefits employees said mattered most in a survey of both populations, level those up fully, and grandfather the rest for existing staff with a single new scheme for joiners.
The three were pension contribution, health insurance and extra holiday. Total cost 1.6% of paybill. Happy to answer questions, and interested in whether others think grandfathering just postpones the problem.
6 helpful · 4 insightful · 2 agree · 5 replies · 188 views · 9 following
Sales Compensation Manager, Lumen Biosciences
Grandfathering does postpone it, but that may be fine. We still have three legacy benefit structures from an acquisition in 2017. They cover 14% of staff now, down from 40%, and the cost of buying them out has fallen every year. The price is admin complexity and the occasional awkward conversation when two people in a team compare.
Director, Total Rewards, Cardinal Insurance
How did you run the survey so it was not just a wish list? Every preference exercise I have done produces the answer that people want more of everything.
Director, Total Rewards, Cardinal Insurance
On the survey: we forced a trade-off. Each person had 100 points to allocate across eleven benefits and could not submit until all were spent. 58% response. Pension took 27 points on average, health insurance 19, holiday 16, and nothing else got above 8. The company car, which the leadership team assumed was untouchable, averaged 3.
Director of Benefits, Bellwether Consulting
I think you were right not to level up across the board, but I would question levelling up holiday. Time off is the one benefit you can never take back, and it carries a hidden cost in cover. We added three days after a merger and the operations director is still raising it four years later.
Compensation Consultant, Tidewater Utilities
Fair challenge on holiday. It was the cheapest of the three on paper at 0.3% and I accept the cover cost is understated. If I did it again I might offer it as holiday purchase with a company subsidy instead.
