The workforce at SNC-Lavalin is not your typical group of employees. Highly skilled (most are engineers) and mobile (continuously moving from one project to another in more than 100 countries), the size of the employee population changes as projects ramp up and down.
Obviously, long-term costs are an issue, but educating and gaining the participation of this group is just as big a challenge. When a company merger resulted in the acquisition of a deferred profit sharing plan (DPSP), in addition to the defined benefit plan that SNC-Lavalin already had, the decision was made that the new plan better suited their specialized workforce.
The Harvest Retirement Savings Program (which includes a DPSP and an RRSP) was introduced in 1993, and 10 years later, a steering committee was established to help govern and oversee the plan. Claire Leboeuf, vice-president, compensation and benefits, corporate HR, says, “Even though there is no requirement to have a steering committee, we’re very pleased that we do it because it keeps us focused on the plan.”
The employee response to the Harvest plan has been enthusiastic—the participation rate is 83%. Says Leboeuf, “It’s a great plan because of the matching company contributions.” An employee can con-tribute up to 5% of base pay, and the company match consists of a base and a variable contribution, the latter based on how well the company is doing.
For example, an employee who currently contributes 5% gets 9% from the company. In the past five years, the average has been 7.6%, and the company match has always exceeded what the employees put in. “People really do see it as a nice benefit, and it is one of the more interesting benefits that we provide to our employees,” Leboeuf adds.
With a large expatriate employee population, communicating with employees can be a challenge. Therefore, SNC-Lavalin frequently conducts seminars and workshops at satellite locations. SNC-Lavalin also promotes its provider’s website as well as its own intranet, where the company posts information on the management of funds, changes to funds and other plan aspects.
Every year, SNC-Lavalin sends a reminder to all employees who are not enrolled in the plan to remind them about its benefits and invites them to participate. And though relatively few employees end up in the default fund, these employees are contacted annually to confirm their selection of the default fund. SNC-Lavalin sees these efforts at employee engagement and plan communication as a means of promoting good governance of the plan.
Despite the ongoing success of the Harvest plan, Leboeuf and her colleagues make it their priority to get the participation rate up—especially among the younger employee population where enrollment is lowest. Martin Nobert, senior director, employee benefits, says, “The challenge is to get those younger emp-loyees participating in the plan sooner and realizing that it takes the pressure off having to get spectacular returns on investments to meet their goals.”
Kerry Maddocks is editor of Benefits Canada Across Borders.
kerry.maddocks@rci.rogers.com
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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the December 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.