As more and more people learn about the benefits of the Home Computing Initiative (HCI), a number of specialist HCI providers have entered the marketplace promising to improve access to such schemes. But without a solid finance provider behind them, their ability to deliver on these promises risks being compromised. Recently, experienced providers HCI Limited partnered with leading independent finance suppliers Syscap. As a result, HCI Limited were able to deliver a swift, seamless service to their clients. In this case study we focus on the benefits to one such client: financial services company Sesame.

Sesame is part of the global Misys group and employs 800 staff in several offices through the UK. The company understands the importance of employee benefits and of creating a sensible work-life balance to maintain staff loyalty and motivation. When
they heard about the Home Computing Initiative, or HCI, they realised it was the ideal scheme to help them achieve these goals.

What is HCI?
HCI is a government-backed scheme that enables companies to provide staff with computers for use at home at a fraction of their high street value. Under the terms of the scheme, the employer acquires IT which it then loans to its employees, who pay for the
equipment through a salary sacrifice. Access to home computing is a key way of improving the work-life balance – it also makes employees more efficient: according to a recent Cabinet Office survey, 51% of employees with home computer access said they’d learned skills which had helped them at work.

Although in theory the employer can purchase the equipment, the majority of companies want to implement a cash neutral HCI scheme and use a third party to supply the equipment and arrange leasing. It’s much easier from an administrative point of view, as Giles Nunn at Sesame explains: “There are several stages to the HCI process and even if we had felt confident in completing our application successfully ourselves, we simply don’t have the resources to spend a lot of time on something like this.”

A little help
With this in mind, Sesame asked HCI Limited to arrange the scheme from start to finish. This meant meeting directors to decide the best approach, organising roadshows to present the scheme to employees, running an online application process, handling the paperwork (including the main application for approval by the Office of Fair Trading), arranging the finance of the scheme and ultimately supplying the equipment. Choosing the right finance partner remained a crucial factor in the scheme’s success, as HCI Limited’s Managing Director Geoff Garside explains: “We work really hard to sell the scheme to companies, but it relies on finance to make it work. If we get that side of it wrong, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the finance partner could ruin the entire thing. I encouraged Sesame to liaise directly with Syscap to ensure everyone felt comfortable with the idea and the practical implications of the lease agreement. This enabled all the different departments involved to continue the process with confidence.”

Garside looks for several critical elements when deciding on a finance partner for his clients: expertise, reliability, flexibility and efficiency. “The main thing is that they must deliver the lease on time. Unless that lease is signed and ready to go, none of the employees will receive their equipment and the whole scheme grinds to a halt.” Fortunately, Syscap has a dedicated HCI department which combines the company’s 15 years’ expertise in delivering IT finance solutions with a strong understanding of HCI.

Trust
For Garside and his team, there’s more to a finance partner than just securing the funds: “There has to be a visible presence for the client, someone they can trust. Syscap understands the learning curve that our clients need to go through, which includes everyone from HR to finance and the legal department. There’s a lot to digest and Syscap talks them through the conditions of the lease, the costs and the VAT and corporation tax issues in ways they can understand and feel comfortable with. I can bring Syscap into a meeting at a moment’s notice and they know exactly what to say and how to put clients at their ease.”

Following the consultation process between Sesame, HCI Limited and Syscap, Garside and his team began rolling out the scheme to Sesame employees. “Once everyone who is subscribing to the scheme has chosen what they want, it’s then that the finance team really needs to deliver,” says Garside. “You’ve got hundreds of employees waiting for their equipment and if the lease isn’t sorted out on time then nothing gets delivered; it’s as simple as that. Once again Syscap proved themselves to be completely reliable, completing the process without a hitch and ensuring everyone received their equipment on time.”

Realising the benefits
All the hard work and enthusiasm paid off. The average take up rate of HCI among employees is between four percent and eight percent. Garside and his team usually achieve in excess of 17 percent and at Sesame the take up was 18 percent. “We are delighted with the outcome,” says Nunn. “The number of our employees who have benefited from the scheme runs into three figures and we couldn’t have done it without HCI Limited and Syscap.”