Choosing a benefits package that's right for you

With a number of benefits to choose from how do I choose what’s right for me?

We asked Claire, our Proposition, Recognition and Benefits Specialist how our Festival of Benefits roadshow can help our employees choose a benefits package that’s tailor-made for them

Please introduce yourself.

I'm Claire and have worked for Nationwide for just over 8 years. My role as Proposition, Recognition and Benefits Specialist sits within the wider Reward team and focuses on researching, developing, and enhancing the propositions and benefits we offer to current and prospective employees. This can be anything from developing our domestic abuse support framework for colleagues to designing our voluntary benefits programme. My role is currently focusing on our annual voluntary benefits renewal - MyReward.

What is the festival of benefits and why is it important?

All Nationwide colleagues have access to MyReward, our online benefits platform, and can select from a wide range of voluntary benefits. It allows colleagues the choice and flexibility to create a total reward package that is made up of the things that are important to them. And because we offer preferential rates and through salary sacrifice, there's lots of savings to be made. Most of our voluntary benefits are available at any time, however, there are some that colleagues can only elect once a year. The festival aims to help our people make informed decisions about where to invest their salary for 2024. It gives colleagues the chance to speak to each of our benefit providers, hear all about what's on offer and ask questions directly to them. It’s an important part of our reward offering, as it gives colleagues the chance to make the most of the benefits available to them. By taking the time to understand their benefits and make informed decisions, colleagues can create a total reward package that meets their individual needs.

How do our employees choose a package that's bespoke to them?

Employees can elect benefits in our annual enrolment window, and for most benefits at any point throughout the year. Making their choices on our MyReward platform monthly deductions are then taken from their salary. A bespoke package can be tailored to each employee, with their current and future needs in mind.

How do our benefits differ from our competitors?

Our benefits package is based on employee feedback. Earlier this year we asked our colleagues what they would like to see in their benefits package, the feedback showed that whilst we have great insured benefits, our people wanted to see more preventative wellbeing options available. Therefore, we have introduced two new anytime benefits this year, cancer screening and will writing, both of which can be selected for employees and their partners.

What are the three most important employee benefits to you?

For me, the most important benefits are health & wellbeing based - I select dental and critical illness cover for myself and my husband. With rising costs of health and dental care in the market, it’s great to know that this is covered.

Find out more about our benefits here.