“To find an affordable PMI option as an SME that actually delivers value to employees is a real challenge. Equipsme was the ONLY affordable solution that gave us the kind of quality we were looking for. We couldn’t find a competitor that was even close to being able to match it.” Lily Shippen
When recruitment agency Lily Shippen were looking to introduce health benefits, they weren’t even sure where to start. After trying the usual PMI suspects and finding group policies expensive and unsuitable, Operations Manager Emily Mills googled terms around affordable health insurance – and found Equipsme.
“Lily Shippen is a specialist recruiter for executive support and HR roles,” explains Emily. “It started out as our founder and MD, Lily Shippen, and one other person. But as the organisation started to grow we needed to develop our infrastructure, create new systems, policies and processes, and build out things like our brand values, performance and rewards frameworks.”
Building a benefits package
“In a company meeting, it turned out that the very top thing on everyone’s wish-list for a benefits package was health insurance. We weren’t actually sure we could deliver a solution that would be universal, usable AND affordable - but went away to do the research. Eventually, we found our way to Equipsme. And it just wasn’t like anything else out there.
“It was really easy to get a price, the benefits were on a par with other PMI, it wasn’t intimidating, and it was really simple to manage – without lots of complicated language or complicated clauses. Most of all, it was affordable and it was EASY.
“I wanted to be able to look at the data available and know what I was getting, how much it was going to cost, and how it would actually work. It’s surprisingly difficult to get a straight answer from most providers.
“In contrast, our contact Natalie was brilliant – and really patient. It took us a while to get to the sticking point, because there were a lot of ducks to get in a row - this was a huge investment for us and we had to be ready. But she didn’t give us the hard sell, didn’t put any pressure on us, and made everything really digestible. She was just there to help us with our thinking and answer any questions as and when they came up.”
Quality cover
The Lily Shippen team now consists of 8 people, and the company bought everyone a Level 3 plan, including the 24/7 GP service, access to physio support and up to 5 face-to-face sessions, nurse support line, and diagnosis services through AXA Health approved private hospitals. They also added on stress support, so the team can access EAP services, and even face-to-face counselling if needed.
“Two of the women who work here actually cried when they were told about Equipsme,” says Emily. “Both have families, both were clearly worried about the NHS’s ability to look after them, and neither of them ever thought they’d get private health insurance as back up. It’s not something that’s typically offered in recruitment agencies, especially at more junior levels, and especially in smaller organisations.
“If you look back ten years ago, PMI was only for the executives in the c suite, and in our industry that hasn’t changed very fast. We believe we’re now one of the only smaller agencies offering all colleagues PMI. That means that Equipsme has given us a real advantage over our competitors when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent. If you’ve got a choice between two jobs with a similar salary, you’re going to take the one with the added extras that really matter to you, obviously.”
Supporting health and wellbeing
For Emily, one of the key things she wanted was cover that would suit the relatively young team, and would be something they would actually use that would support health and wellbeing proactively.
“This generation is more aware than ever of their own wellbeing,” says Emily. “Our team are mostly Gen Z – and they’ve got really high expectations of workplaces. They’re also not going to engage with something that’s not instantly usable. Luckily Equipsme doesn’t make you jump through any hoops to make a claim. You just go on the app, see clearly what you have and what you need to do next, and get what you need in a few clicks.
“That’s certainly been my own experience. I was stuck at an airport on the way home from a holiday not feeling very well. I asked for an Equipsme GP appointment at 1am on a Friday night. By 12.30pm on the Saturday I was talking to a doctor. That’s exactly the kind of service we wanted for our people.
“We’ve all been shocked by how easy it is, and how proactive it is. Most people can’t get their own GP to pick up when they call them. So this is something that’s really responsive, and really valuable.”
Benefits that mean something
“We’re a small business. We’re a small team, and quite a new one. We don’t have a shiny sparkly pot of money at the end of the rainbow for endless shiny sparkly benefits. The pot we do have we want to use to create benefits that actually MEAN something to people. That’s definitely what we’ve got with Equipsme.
