Increasing attraction, motivation and retention levels with a brand new car

Tusker, the Car Benefit People, have been providing new cars for hundreds of thousands of employees since they launched their salary sacrifice scheme in 2008. Now, nine years on, Tusker works with over a quarter of NHS Trusts, a third of Ambulance Services, over 70 City, County and Metropolitan Councils as well as countless private organisations including National Grid, Harrods and Your Move.

The Car Benefit Scheme enables employees to drive a brand new car complete with insurance, road tax, breakdown cover, servicing and tyres. The scheme has proven particularly popular in making salaries go further, with some estimates equating the running of a car through Tusker to a 4% pay rise.

It’s been well received across both the public and private sectors, especially in areas or organisations where it can be a challenge to attract and retain employees to specific roles up and down the country.

Raffaela Goodby, Director of Organisational Development for Sandwell West Birmingham Hospital Trust (SWBHT) comments: “In the current environment, it’s quite tough to get skilled people to come and work with us, so for these nurses and clinicians, we need to offer something a bit different. That’s where the benefits package comes in.”

Offering benefits can be a huge motivating factor for existing staff members too, with employees’ wellbeing increasing. Ben Thomas, Rewards and Benefits Manager, at Your Move comments, “The car scheme helps us with attracting the right people for key roles across the business, as well as with engaging with existing staff. It’s an important addition to our package for our staff.”

With retention also a key issue in the modern workplace, offering a brand new car to those not normally eligible, can be extremely beneficial.

Greg Masters, Senior Human Resources Manager at London Ambulance Service (LAS) comments, “Until the introduction of the Tusker Car Benefit Scheme in 2015, there were hardly any benefits on offer at LAS, other than their salary. We had seen that Paramedics were leaving the Service in considerable numbers – going to other NHS Ambulance Trusts who were perceived to offer a better package. This has now been reversed.”

During the last 18 months, LAS has seen employee turnover reduce from 14.5%, to almost half, at 8.1%, and this is expected to continue to fall as more employees take up the scheme.

Cory Laywood, Service Centre Manager for Leicester City Council agrees, he says, “Employees love the scheme, I would 100% say it helps us to attract and retain staff and I think from an employer’s perspective, the fact that there’s no cost to you, the fact that the admin is really easy makes it a little bit of a no-brainer.”

The Car Benefit Scheme is also great for shift workers and those living and working in rural areas, in expensive inner-cities, or where public transport isn’t available 24 hours a day.

Greg from London Ambulance Service continues: “With the majority of our staff working shifts that may finish after most public transport had ceased, the offer to staff of a fully maintained, brand new car of their choosing and under a financially advantageous scheme, was considered as a high priority in tackling the staff retention issues we were experiencing.”

Neil Robson, Benefits Contracts and Payroll Manager at Northumbrian Water agrees: “To have the best people you’d argue you’d need the best benefits and this is one of those benefits that we think we really helps our employees.”

Paul Gilshan, Tusker’s CEO, comments: “We’re enabling more people than ever before to drive a brand new car, something many wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, while also helping improve employee happiness, motivation and retention which are key factors for many organisations.”

If you’d like to find out how you could benefit from our Car Scheme, get in touch or request more information today.