Checklist for SMEs: how to launch your first successful flexible remuneration scheme

1. Define the objectives of the plan 

Before choosing products or suppliers, it is key to answer a basic question: 
What do you want to achieve with your flexible remuneration plan? 

Some common targets for SMEs are: 

• Improve the attracting and retaining talent 

• Increase the satisfaction and commitment of workers 

• Offering benefits without increasing gross wages 

• Optimising the taxation both for the company and the staff 

Being clear about these objectives will facilitate all subsequent decisions. 

2. Analyse the profile of your team

Before designing a flexible remuneration plan, it is essential to know the people who make up your company. Not all workforces have the same needs, and an effective plan is one that is adapted to the day-to-day reality of employees and is not based on assumptions. 

Analysing the team's profile involves looking at aspects such as average age, where employees are in their lives, their family situation, where they work from and how they commute to work. These factors directly influence the value that each benefit can bring. For example, For a young, urban team, solutions such as Ticket Restaurant or Ticket Transporte may be particularly valued, while for more stable families, benefits such as company health insurance or Edenred Guarderia are more relevant. 

To obtain this information accurately, an anonymous employee survey can be helpful. Ask directly what benefits they are aware of, what benefits they use in other companies, or what solutions would bring them the most value. allows a tighter plan to be designed with a higher adoption rate from the outset.. Moreover, involving people at this early stage reinforces the perception that the company listens and cares about their well-being. 

This prior analysis not only helps to better choose the benefits, but also to avoid implementing a plan that is little used or perceived as irrelevant.  

3. Select the most appropriate benefits

For a first plan, it is advisable to start with consolidated benefits, easy to manage and highly valued by employees. 

In the case of Edenred, these are the most common for SMEs: 

• Ticket Restaurant: improves the purchasing power of employees in their daily meal. 

• Edenred Mobility: ideal for commuting teams. 

• Company health insurance through Edenred Flexone of the most highly valued long-term benefits. 

• Edenred NurseryKey to work-life balance and support for families with young children (up to 3 years old). 

4. Ensures legal and tax compliance

Flexible Remuneration offers benefits for both the company and employees, but it is essential to ensure that tax regulations are complied with to maximise the benefits. Each product has specific limits on personal income tax exemption that must not be exceeded: 

• Ticket Restaurant: until 11 € per day exempt from personal income tax. 

• Transport and mobility: until 1,500 per year exempt from personal income tax. 

• Nursery: until 1,000 per year per child exempt from personal income tax. 

• Health insurance: until 500 € per year per policy exempt from personal income tax. 

Having a specialised provider, such as Edenred, facilitates the correct application of these limits and ensures that the company and its employees benefit fully from the favourable taxation associated with each product. It also reduces the risk of errors in payroll or tax returns and simplifies the administrative management of the plan. 

5. Choose a supplier that simplifies management

For an SME, ease of management is key to making the flexible remuneration scheme work well and be truly useful for both the company and the employees. A good provider should offer: 

• Intuitive digital platformA user-friendly tool that allows employees to consult their benefits, make changes and access information quickly, without the need for complex training. For the company, the platform should facilitate payroll management, benefits utilisation tracking and clear reporting. 
   

• Support for companies and employeesSupport: constant accompaniment at all stages, from the discovery and design of the plan, through implementation, to the day-to-day management of the benefits. This support ensures that both the HR team and employees understand how the plan works and can immediately resolve any queries. 
   

• Flexibility to grow and add new benefitsThe provider should offer the possibility to extend or adjust the plan according to the changing needs of the SME. This allows new products to be added, benefit limits to be adapted or solutions to be customised for different employee profiles without complications. 

6. Communicate the plan clearly and attractively

One of the most common mistakes is not explaining the plan well. To maximise adoption: 

• Communicate the benefits in a simple wayEmphasise how each product can improve their daily life and quality of life. 

• Explains tax savings with clear examplesThe report shows with real figures how flexible remuneration can increase purchasing power without changing gross salary, highlighting the personal income tax exemption limits for each benefit. Practical examples help employees visualise the real impact on their finances. 

• Provide guides, FAQs or briefings 

• Reinforce the message at the time of the launchThe launch of the plan is accompanied by reminder communications, mailings, posters or short meetings. A solid launch generates interest and motivates participation from day one. 

When employees understand the real value of the plan, their participation increases significantly. 

7. Measure results and adjust the plan 

Once a flexible remuneration scheme has been launched, it is important to monitor its performance. Analysing the level of adherence and the most used benefits allows you to check whether the plan really responds to the needs of the workforce. Gathering feedback from employees also helps to identify possible improvements and to strengthen communication. 

Flexible remuneration is not a closed system, but a solution that can adapt and evolve over time as the needs of the company and its team change. 

👉 Ready to take the plunge? 

With Edenred, With the new "Taxation", your SME can start offering tax benefits, welfare and flexibility without the hassle today.