Hitachi Europe: Using shared services to streamline benefit provision

Hitachi Europe (HEU), based in Maidenhead, is pioneering a shared-service approach to the provision of employee benefits among its 22 UK-based companies, driven by its compensation and benefits team. The project, which started three years ago, was initially focused on cost savings, but now forms a high-profile part of the company’s new drive towards a globalised approach to all aspects of human resource management.

What you will find in this report

The project comprises a pooled approach to the purchase of risk benefits for employees - life assurance, income protection etc - private medical insurance and access to a flexible benefits platform. This case study, research and written by e-reward, examines:

• the key aims of the project
• the main pressures driving the change programme.
• how the reward/HR team went about persuading companies in the Hitachi Europe group to join the project
• what benefits can be flexed
• future plans for expanding the shared services project
• the main outcomes and achievements delivered by the project
• lessons learnt.