Mekari Presents Mekari Benefit, a Solution for WFH

Answering the needs both in terms of the company (HR) and in terms of employees, Mekari, software as a service company for SME and mid-enterprise businesses, through its Talenta product, presents a new feature, namely Mekari Benefit.

The implementation of the work from home (wfh) policy that has been running for two months presents a new transition for employees and companies to the “new normal”.

At this time, employees must adapt by utilizing technology as a whole to support work productivity from home, but on the other hand, they also prioritize their role at home.

Meanwhile, with social distancing, the space for employees is limited to meet their daily needs. With this transition, companies can take a role to help employees overcome challenges during the WFH.

Mekari Benefit Program Helps Companies Manage Employee Benefits Digitally

Mekari Benefit is said to help companies manage employee benefits digitally and can be accessed by employees from smartphones. Employees can use facilities from a variety of selected partner vendors that support insurance needs, basic needs to support needs during WFH.

Integration with payroll also allows employees to access the benefits available with the option to use employees’ personal salaries. Thus, Mekari Benefit establishes itself as the first employee benefits platform in Indonesia that can implement a “salary sacrifice” scheme.

“We want to facilitate companies and employees in providing and accessing employee benefits that are relevant, appropriate, and targeted so that employee morale and productivity are maintained in this difficult time,” Kelvin Soh, CEO of Mekari said.

With Mekari Benefit, according to Kelvin, the company can provide a range of essential needs during WFH to employees at a more affordable price without having to find and negotiate with vendors or service providers.

“Selected partners are vendors that can provide employee needs without leaving the house, so that social distancing remains carried out, starting from essential needs such as delivery services for basic needs, food, catering, medicines. Including WFH supporting needs such as data packages, credit credits, and electric tokens,” Kelvin said.

It Is the Solution in the Middle of a Pandemic

In a pandemic like this, many companies tend to delay or reduce employee benefit programs because of budget reasons. This solution is claimed to be free to implement, the company also does not need to spend a budget in providing benefits to employees.

That is because every purchase transaction on the Mekari Benefit platform, usage will be charged without additional interest costs, on the salary of the employee concerned in the next payroll period, so it does not involve cash from the company.

Apart from funding problems, the burden of manual administrative work is also an obstacle for most companies to implement employee benefit programs.

These administrative matters include procurement, recording usage transactions per employee, calculating the remaining balance, to other administrative work that takes time. To use the Mekari Benefit platform, the company and its employees must first be registered with Talenta.

Mekari will Launch the Development of Mekari Benefit

Kelvin said there are three benefits that can be obtained by employees using Mekari Benefit. First, they can fulfill their essential daily needs and support productivity while still carrying out the principle of social distancing.

“Secondly, employees can enjoy savings from shopping for daily necessities because the prices offered are partners’ prices that are more affordable,” Kelvin said.

Finally, Kelvin said the employee’s personal cash would be better maintained because new usage would be cut off in the next salary period.

In the near future, Mekari will also launch the development feature of Mekari Benefit, which is a flexible benefit. Later, the company can design employee benefits programs that are better targeted according to the demographics and personal needs of each employee.

To date, there are more than 20 partners available on the Mekari Benefit platform including Sayurbox, Kulina, Kliknclean, Kitabisa.com, K24Klik, Houzcall, Fore Coffee, etc. In addition, employees can also purchase credit, data packages, and PLN tokens to support the smooth running of WFH.