paretos

With a tech team working from Heidelberg to Hamburg, from Cologne to Berlin and many places in between, paretos faced a concrete HR problem. Most of the mobility benefits companies traditionally offer are largely ruled out in a remote-first setup.

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A public transport Jobticket adds little value when employees have no daily commute. A company car or a reserved parking space reaches only a small part of the team by definition. Even a simple fuel allowance would put employees at a disadvantage if they do not own a car or deliberately choose other modes of transport.

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"If you want a benefit that works for everyone, then we should not put individuals at a disadvantage because of where they live."

Nathalie Navidi VP People at paretos

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At the same time, an attractive benefits package matters in the competition for tech talent such as developers, data scientists and software engineers. For paretos the requirement was clear early on. If a mobility benefit is offered, it has to work for everyone on the team, regardless of where they live, which mode of transport they prefer and what their personal circumstances look like. A benefit that excludes the majority of the workforce is not a benefit but a privilege for a few.

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A second requirement carried just as much weight. Administrative effort for the HR function had to stay lean. For a growing tech company with a compact people team, every additional hour of manual administration is an hour less for growing the team.

In September 2024 paretos introduced NAVIT as its central mobility platform. The logic behind it is simple. Instead of offering separate benefits that each only suit part of the workforce, the NAVIT mobility budget bundles the relevant mobility options into one solution.

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"The mobility budget brings us measurable advantages. Employees can pay directly in their preferred apps with the budget. That removes the hassle of expense reports and keeps employees happy."

Nathalie Navidi VP People at paretos

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Every employee receives a monthly budget on the NAVIT Mobility Card, a Visa card that works in common mobility apps and at the corresponding acceptance points. What the budget is actually spent on is up to each person. That can be the Deutschlandticket (the nationwide public transport flat rate) for regular commuters, e-scooters and car sharing in the city, a taxi to the nearest station in a rural area, fuel for a private car or bike leasing for everyday trips. The NAVIT Fuel and Charge Card for combustion and electric vehicles is part of the package as well.

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Why paretos chose NAVIT

One offer for everyone: Public transport, e-scooter, car sharing or taxi. The mobility budget covers a wide range of transport options so that nobody is excluded because of where they live.

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‍A fit for remote-first: Even where many employees have no daily commute, the flexible offer covers urban and rural mobility needs alike.

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‍Low administrative effort: HR keeps administrative effort low and can spend its time on what matters, the people and the growth of the company.

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‍Familiar to use: NAVIT works the way employees already know their bank and credit cards. That makes onboarding easier for HR and drives engagement.

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‍An argument in recruiting: paretos hires for profiles that are in high demand. A flexible mobility offer pays into its attractiveness as an employer.

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After the launch the results can be stated precisely. The activation rate stands at 91 %. Nine out of ten employees use the benefit actively. For a remote-first workforce that is an exceptional figure. It shows that the offer was not just formally accepted but genuinely fits the team's everyday life.

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An internal review of the mobility services used confirms that inclusiveness in practice. The budget is spent in genuinely different ways, on e-scooters and car sharing in urban regions, on taxi rides in rural areas, on the Deutschlandticket for regular commuting and on fuel or charging costs for private vehicles. All employees benefit, regardless of where they live and which mode of transport they prefer.

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On the administrative side, monthly effort for the people team comes to around one hour. Four mobility products, one platform, one central report. No manual consolidation across providers, no separate receipt check per employee. The fact that employees pay directly in their preferred mobility apps and do not have to file expense reports takes work off both the workforce and HR.

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"We hear positive reactions to the mobility budget as early as the application process. For a tech company that is constantly looking for the right talent, that is a concrete advantage."

Nathalie Navidi VP People at paretos

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A less visible but strategically decisive effect shows up in recruiting. For a growing tech company competing in a tight market for developers, data scientists and software engineers, a considered benefits package that everyone can use is a direct competitive advantage. The mobility budget appears as a concrete argument in job ads and in the careers section of the paretos website, and it lands well during the application process.

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Conclusion: a benefit that fits every situation

The paretos example shows that a mobility benefit can work for a remote-first team spread across Germany, provided the underlying solution is flexible enough to reflect individual realities. For the HR team it removes the balancing act between a standard office solution and special arrangements for remote employees. For the workforce it creates concrete value that fits their own daily routine. And recruiting gains an argument that needs no further explanation in tech application processes.

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