“Being competitive in what we offer is definitely important to us”
Scott Horvitz, Vince’s Senior Director of People for Retail and International, shares how KMH Benefits supports their French team, ensuring compliance, employee satisfaction, and smooth HR operations abroad.
Scott Horvitz, Vince’s Senior Director of People for Retail and International, shares how KMH Benefits supports their French team, ensuring compliance, employee satisfaction, and smooth HR operations abroad.
Tell us about Vince's activities and the role you play in them.
I am Senior Director of People for Retail and International at V Opco, LLC, which is the brand operator for the women’s and men’s ready to wear business for the brand Vince, which includes not only design and production, but also the operation of Vince retail stores and the vince.com e-commerce site in the U.S. and in certain worldwide territories.
As a company, we operate approximately 60 retail stores in the U.S. We have two offices in the U.S., and we also sell in department stores, both in the U.S. and overseas in Europe and Asia. We have two stores in London as well as a showroom based in Paris, and employees working at department stores such as Printemps. That’s really where we got connected with KMH Benefits, to help with our French employees.
How long has Vince been conducting business directly in France, and how many employees work for Vince in France?
Vince has been present in France for almost 10 years now. In France, our team comprises of approximately 10-15 employees.
How did your first contact with KMH Benefits come about?
Our entire HR and legal teams are based in the U.S., and we were looking for a local partner who could provide responsive and practical guidance appropriately tailored to the needs of our organization, and importantly the needs of our relatively small team of French employees.
We originally approached KMH Benefits after determining that we needed a more nimble and customer-service focused partner. We had recently experienced a number of missed opportunities with our previous benefits broker— a large company — as well as our former payroll provider and knew we needed to find a better partner to help us navigate our obligations in France.
What were the main risks for Vince?
We know that compliance is a very important aspect of maintaining an employee base in France. However, without the right local partners assisting the company through the various requirements under French laws and regulations, staying current and compliant with employment and benefits requirements can quickly become unwieldy and that’s when unintentional mistakes can be made.
How did the KMH Benefits team help you deal with this problem?
We had an exploratory conversation with Nicolas Medan first. I think he was a little shocked to see the lack of service and attention being provided to us by our previous providers. He made a proposal outlining what he could do to help us on this matter. He also supported us in navigating through some areas requiring remediation. Nicolas was extremely helpful and practical, as was his team.
How do the KMH Benefits teams help you navigate the complex French regulatory landscape?
KMH helped us to do an audit of all our policies and validated that all of our employees were set up correctly to receive their appropriate benefits in the most cost-effective way for the company. They also helped us to confirm that we had all required programs set up and in place and that the company was otherwise fulfilling all of its benefits obligations to its employees under the French regulatory landscape.
What sets KMH Benefits apart from your previous providers?
Before working with them, we would send an email to someone at our large broker, and if I was lucky, I’d hear back two weeks later! Due to the language barrier, we also often found communication with our large broker generic, unresponsive and confusing and they were never available to discuss any follow up questions over the telephone. With KMH, we get responses within a day — often within hours and the responses are always tailored to our company’s needs. Sometimes, due to the time difference, if I send something after working hours in France, I still hear back the next day. Additionally, they are always happy to make themselves available to speak over the telephone – given the complexity of French regulations, a live conversation is often the simplest and most direct way to resolve a question! They’re also very proactive. For example, if I send information about a new hire, Gilles Degranges reaches out directly to that individual. All of our employees know that if they have a question about benefits, they can contact the KMH team directly.
Can KMH also help you improve employee satisfaction — and therefore retention — by offering additional benefits programs?
We want to ensure that our employees receive benefits similar in quality to those offered in the United States. Being competitive in what we offer is definitely important to us. KMH helped us develop suggestions and measures to provide benefits to our French employees that are consistent with what their American colleagues receive.
So KMH Benefits is sort of an extension of your HR department in France?
It’s like having a part-time HR service for us, yes! They’re a great resource — not only for me and the HR team, but also for our employees. Having someone they can reach out to, with access to a portal and electronic documentation, makes everything so much easier than before. I think that’s really important for employee satisfaction and retention.