Mobility reinvented

More and more employees are shopping on the labor market. Mobility is often an important reason to change jobs. The solution? A flexible payroll and mobility plan. This keeps companies competitive and helps to attract and retain the right talent. Alternative, more sustainable mobility is also becoming increasingly important in the fringe benefits offer.

An online solution for cafeteria plans and flexible mobility: that's the KPMG Flex Reward Tool in a nutshell. This allows companies to offer their employees more choices about remuneration and benefits in a quick and easy way. Each company can put its own emphasis on and determine its choices. Because just about everywhere alternative mobility is becoming more important in the salary package, explains Olivier Vanneste, partner Tax & Legal at KPMG.

The tool responds to the new mobility trends and the mobility budget that was introduced in March. In the past, you used to have a certain company car per employee position. But that led to expensive, unnecessary car options, because employees wanted to spend the available budget as much as possible.

Now we see a shift in mentality: both among employees and employers. Company cars are now fiscally much more expensive. Think of higher taxes due to the new WLTP consumption standards, new corporate tax rules and higher fuel costs.

The mobility budget offers a solution here. It promotes more sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility solutions, says Tania Pittoors, Director People & Change at KPMG. Via the mobility budget, companies give their employees the opportunity to choose the type of transport they prefer. And that is also useful from an HR point of view. Because a difficult or unfavorably organized mobility is an important reason for more and more people to change jobs. A company that understands this, works on it and modernizes it, strengthens its employer brand and is thus more competitive on the labor market.

From a sustainability perspective, employees increasingly want to be able to choose between, for example, a bicycle or scooter, payment in cash, downgrading or handing in a car. Or they are looking for combinations between alternative means of transport that can then be ordered via one of the numerous mobility apps, which increasingly also have a multimodal route planner. Our tool manages everything," says Olivier Vanneste. Who chooses a mobility budget? What is the advantage for the employee? Are there any costs involved? The tool provides immediate answers. Employers thus lighten and automate their administration. And they can also provide incentives that trigger mobility behavioral changes among their employees. Think, for example, of a compensation for those who take public transport, the bicycle or carpool. This can all be filled in via the mobility calendar that is also included in the tool.

An automated cafeteria plan tailored to employers and employees is an immense asset for all parties: for small SMEs with 20 employees as well as for large companies with thousands of employees. Olivier Vanneste: 'An employee who wants a smaller company car, buys extra holidays or chooses a bicycle instead of an end-of-year bonus, sees the impact of this on his gross and net salary when he logs in, thanks to a simulation. All benefits are immediately apparent.’

In addition, the tool also allows the employer to communicate flexible pay options with employees, for example via clear fact sheets. These include, for example, what happens when you lease a bicycle and when the employee leaves the company. Or what the consequences are if you convert holidays into cash. Or what happens if you opt for an internet connection at home, a smartphone or tablet for teleworking. The tool is very user-friendly and intuitive for both employee and employer.

Because the Flex Reward Tool automates processes, the administrative burden for employers is reduced. An example is the automatic drafting of an appendix to an employee contract. Tania Pittoors: 'The tool can automatically create a flow, where employees first upload the necessary certificates, and where a selected choice is only activated and processed once all the necessary information has been uploaded into the tool. All that is left fot the HR team is to approve the choice.

A one-size-fits-all solution is outdated. The employee population is becoming increasingly diverse, with different generations on the work floor and needs that differ according to the stage of life. For young parents, extra holidays or child benefits are probably more important than for starters. Moreover, people also tend to have longer careers and retire later. They want to be able to make more individual and personal choices themselves,' says Tania Pittoors.

The tool stores all data in a database. This data can then be linked to internal or external parties. Olivier Vanneste: 'This results in less operational regulation. In addition, thanks to our tool, a flexible payroll and mobility plan generates little or no extra work for HR services.’

‘The tool also takes all calculations for tax and social security into account. Personal income tax, VAT and corporate income tax: everything is automatic’, Olivier Vanneste explains. Regular software updates guarantee that all automated processes are carried out in accordance with the most recent rules and legal changes. Our tax specialists and lawyers specializing in social law keep a close eye on everything.

Meanwhile a growing number of customers use the tool and KPMG also uses the solution for its own staff. The user experiences are unanimously positive, concludes Olivier Vanneste. 75 percent of our employees put together their own salary and mobility package via the tool. For customers who use the tool, that number is around 40 percent. This is an immense increase compared to the 25 percent that we saw a few years ago. This number will continue to rise in the coming years'.

Yet the tool is only a first step in the introduction of flexible remuneration. Tania Pittoors: 'This must be embedded in a broader HR strategy. The tool is an important and easy to implement option, but everything must be part of an overall vision from the employer. This also means that clear communication with regard to the employees and guidance should be implemented, not only to use the tool, but also to encourage behavioral changes.

KPMG developed the Flex Reward Tool itself as it has KPMG Technology Solutions at its disposal. This technology department invests and develops smart solutions for the companies of tomorrow. Tailor-made digital solutions are becoming increasingly important', says Olivier Vanneste, partner Tax & Legal at KPMG. Through our multidisciplinary approach, we achieve these completely internally, technically, fiscally and legally.