WHILE those from the duvet-day school of staff benefits might see a ten-day, saddle-sore slog through Uganda and Rwanda as more purgatory than perk, Geoff Baker is chuffed to bits. He works for Innocent, a small fruit-drink company in West London, which offers £1,000 “scholarships” to staff to do interesting things. His trip means a chance to cycle across a size-able chunk of Africa, see its mountain gorillas and help to raise money for charity.
“There’s no way I could have done it without the scholarship,” he says.
Baker explains how the awards work. “Every quarter, everyone is asked to submit a proposal. It can’t be anything health or work-related, but should be fun, challenging or life-affirming. At our Monday meeting the whole team sits down together and at the end those who have submitted proposals read out two paragraphs or so on what they want to do and how they will benefit from it.”
The winner is then decided by secret ballot.
Innocent, whose “Fruit Towers” head office in West London is carpeted with Astroturf and dotted with trees, is a young firm without the funds to offer big benefits, says a spokeswoman. But they dig deep for a company snowboarding weekend in Italy every year and for £2,000 “baby bonuses” for staff who become parents. Previous scholarships have paid for driving lessons, while a singing staff member used his to help fund the recording of an album. The downside for Innocent is that he then left to pursue a music career.
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Travis Glen, business development manager, is using his scholarship to pay for a football coaching course. Once a semi-professional back in Australia, Glen, who had trials with Chelsea, is off to the Lilleshall National Sports Centre in November on the first of two FA schemes, the total cost of which is £1,100.
But there’s no such thing as a free coaching course. On the day he heard his scholarship proposal had got the nod, Glen’s car was clamped. “It cost me a £150 fine,” he says.
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