Checklist for SMEs: how to launch your first successful Flexible Compensation 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 benefits plan? 

Some common targets for SMEs are: 

• Improve the Talent attraction and retention 

• Increase the Satisfaction and engagement of the workers 

• Offering benefits without increasing gross wages 

• Optimising the taxation both for the company and the staff 

Having these objectives clear will make all subsequent decisions easier. 

2. Analyse the profile of your team

Before designing a flexible benefits plan, it is crucial to know the people who make up your company. Not all workforces have the same needs, and an effective plan is one that adapts to the daily reality of the workers and is not based on assumptions. 

Analyse the team profile This involves observing aspects such as average age, the life stage employees are in, their family situation, where they work from, and how they commute to the workplace. These factors directly influence the value that each benefit can bring. For example, a young and urban team might particularly value solutions like Ticket Restaurant or Ticket Transport, whereas in workforces with more family stability, benefits such as company health insurance or Edenred Guarderíagain more importance. 

To obtain this information accurately, conducting an anonymous survey of workers can be of great help. Ask directly what benefits they are aware of, what they use in other companies, or what solutions would bring them greater value. allows for a tighter plan with a higher adoption rate from the outset. Moreover, involving people in this initial phase reinforces the perception that the company listens and cares about their well-being. 

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

3. Select the most suitable benefits

For a first plan, it is advisable to start with Bespoke employee benefits, easy to manage and highly valued by staff. 

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 Guardería: key to reconciliation and support for families with young children (up to 3 years). 

4. Ensures legal and tax compliance

Flexible Remuneration offers advantages for both the company and employees, but it is essential to ensure that tax regulations are met to maximise the benefits. Each product has specific limits for 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 a 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, simplifies the correct application of these limits and ensures that the company and its employees fully benefit from the favourable tax treatment associated with each product. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of payroll errors or tax declaration mistakes and simplifies the administrative management of the plan. 

5. Choose a supplier that simplifies management

For an SME, ease of management is key to ensuring a flexible benefits plan works correctly and is truly useful for both the company and its employees. A good provider should offer: 

• Intuitive digital platformAn easy-to-use tool that allows employees to check their benefits, make changes, and access information quickly, without the need for complex training. For the company, the platform must facilitate payroll management, tracking benefit utilisation, and generating clear reports. 
   

• Support for companies and employees: constant support throughout all phases, from the discovery and design of the plan, through implementation, to the daily management of benefits. This support ensures that both the HR team and employees understand how the plan works and can resolve queries immediately. 
   

• Flexibility to grow and add new benefitsThe provider must offer the possibility to expand or adjust the plan according to the changing needs of the SME. This allows for the incorporation of new products, adaptation of benefit limits, or customisation of solutions 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 your day-to-day life and your quality of life. 

• Explains tax savings with clear examplesHere's how flexible remuneration allows you to increase your purchasing power without changing your gross salary, highlighting the income tax exemption limits for each benefit. Practical examples help employees visualise the real impact on their finances. 

• Provide guides, FAQs or briefing sessions 

• Reinforce the message at the time of the launchAccompany the plan's implementation with reminder communications, emails, posters, or brief meetings. A strong 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 the flexible remuneration plan has been launched, it is important to monitor it to evaluate its performance. Analysing the level of take-up and the most frequently used benefits allows us to check if the plan truly meets the needs of the workforce. Collecting employee feedback also helps to identify potential improvements and to strengthen communication. 

Flexible remuneration isn't a closed system, but rather a solution that can be adapted 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.