Teal Partners places a strong emphasis on flexible remuneration. Employees have a budget that they can exchange for multimedia, a bicycle, extra vacation days, or even repaying their home loan. Few companies offer such a range of choices. Office manager Britt Marien and HR Legal Elfi Van de Loock explain why.
Remuneration is not one size fits all. In a job market where good profiles are hard to find, flexible remuneration is an asset.
Britt Marien: "A mobile phone, a tablet, extra vacation days, reimbursement of individual pension savings, and much more: our employees choose from a variety of options on how to spend their flexible budget. All thirty employees on the payroll take advantage of this cafeteria plan, as it is called. In this way, they can individualize their salary package. You get to decide about your compensation package and choose what is useful for you. We've been doing this since we started in 2016."
Elfi Van de Loock: "As soon as the government introduced the mobility budget, we decided to offer it at Teal Partners. The mobility budget encourages employees to exchange their traditional company car for a sustainable alternative. This can be an electric or hybrid car, but also a shared car, a train subscription, or a bicycle, electric or not. Anyone who lives within ten kilometers of our office can also use the budget to pay off their home loan or cover the rent. In this way, we promote sustainability and offer an additional form of flexible remuneration."
Britt Marien: "We want the options to be truly useful for our people. Tailored to their individual situation. A family with children has different needs than a recent graduate who is single. That's why we offer such a wide range. In the IT sector, a company car is almost standard in the package when you sign a contract. But what if you don't need a car? Or if you'd rather spend the budget differently? With us, you can choose the car, but it's not mandatory. You'll get the budget anyway."
The government introduced the mobility budget in 2019 with a view to promoting a more sustainable mobility policy. If an employer chooses to implement it in his company, the employees can exchange their company car, or their right to a company car, for this budget. The amount corresponds to the actual annual employer cost of the company car that the employer would offer. Employees spend this budget by opting for an environmentally friendly company car or another sustainable means of transport, or for the repayment of housing costs. If part of the budget is not spent? Then the employee receives a cash bonus at the end of the year.
Elfi Van de Loock: “To make the options clear, we use the Flex Income Plan software from SD Worx. The system is intuitive and user-friendly. Consider it as a menu in a restaurant.”
Britt Marien: “Every month, the employees receive an amount in their account. They choose from the options what is most interesting for them. Or they let the budget be paid out as a financial bonus.”
Britt Marien: “Everyone is enthusiastic. The team is happy that they can choose benefits that suit them. In other companies, the cafeteria plan budget comes from the end-of-year bonus. At Teal Partners, it’s an on-top budget. You get your end-of-year bonus AND the budget for your cafeteria plan. You don’t have to choose between Christmas gifts or a new laptop.”
“Because cafeteria plans are relatively unknown, our newcomers need to be sufficiently informed. This does take some time. That's the only downside (laughs).”
Elfi Van de Loock: “Autonomy is a buzzword in human resources. We practice what we preach and provide autonomy in practice - the way we remunerate is a beautiful example of this.”
Britt Marien: “We want to attract people who excel in their profession. They deserve the best, and we mean that literally. It’s not easy to find IT talent, let alone convince the top players. We need them because the software projects we undertake are challenging and complex. It's logical that we provide top conditions. The salary and the way of remuneration is not the main reason to choose a company, but it is recognition.”
Elfi Van de Loock: “We want to let our people choose because we don't believe in a standard remuneration package that fits everyone. Remuneration isn't a one-size-fits-all. In a job market where good profiles are scarce, it's an asset that sets us apart.”
Britt Marien: “There are no departments within Teal Partners. No separate HR service, managers, or a board that decides what you can get. No classic evaluation interviews. We don't believe in control or hierarchy but promote an entrepreneurial mindset. You have to deal intelligently with smart people.”
“Our vehicle fleet is now entirely sustainable. What's more, a significant part of our employees leaves the company car as it is. One in three sets the car aside and opts for alternative modes of transport. A fifth of the team chooses to use the budget to pay off their home. The arrangement motivated one of the colleagues to look for a house close to our office.
Elfi Van de Loock: “Simply put, not many employers offer it, even though the legislation has existed for four years. At Teal Partners, we have a lot of experience in software projects in the HR sector. We are familiar with the subject. It’s a logical step for us.”
“Probably, many companies are not aware of the possibilities. Unknown is unloved. Giving people more choices implies a shift in administration. Companies fear the complexity, while for us, the effort is absolutely worth it.”
Britt Marien: “We also lead with the cafeteria plan. Only a third of employers, for example, allow purchasing vacation days. We attach great importance to the freedom and self-determination of our employees. Our remuneration policy has the same freedom as a starting point.”
The Flex Income Plan, also called a cafeteria plan, does not yet have a legal framework like the mobility budget. The choice options are broader. It allows employees to make individual choices based on a budget set by the employer. In this way, employees compile part of their remuneration package themselves.
In most companies, this budget comes from the end-of-year bonus. Part of it is converted, according to cost, into a budget with which employees can choose alternatives for the cash payment of the end-of-year bonus. Typically, employees can choose from a wide range of options, including multimedia, transportation, additional vacation days, reimbursement of individual insurance, such as pension savings or the personal contribution to the employer's hospitalization insurance.
