Incentive & Motivation

Paul Bartlett, Head of Reward and Benefits at Grass Roots

“With the UK’s workforce facing rising costs of living (inflation recently leapt to 4.5%) and the spectre of pay freezes slow to move away, those organisations that find cost-effective ways to support their employees in financially challenging times are most likely to achieve and sustain stronger employee engagement and loyalty.

“Salary sacrifice schemes are once again coming into sharp focus, and there are plenty of established options to go for, such as childcare vouchers, bikes and health-related programmes.  Yet it’s also worth thinking about ways to get creative and add value to your benefits offering. Introducing car-related benefits may help employees switch out of costly, fuel-inefficient vehicles and a course fees offering may assist people to gain essential skills in an affordable way.

“Salary ‘exchange’ schemes may not be as tax-efficient, but they leverage the power of purchasing to help employees pay for high-ticket items (such as key technology) without having to pay interest or find the entire sum up-front. Targeted properly, they can also help you reach and engage with new and different segments of your employee population. There are also emerging green options that allow employees to retrofit energy-saving products, which will deliver direct savings to their energy costs.

“Even more popular at the moment are benefits schemes which enable employees to obtain store vouchers at a discount on face value, or shop with certain suppliers and get exclusive deals. This can mean anything from cheaper holidays to reduced grocery bills, which can make a significant difference to household finances. Prepaid reloadable debit cards can be a useful tool for stretching the personal budget further too – not only are they an excellent reward mechanism, they can also be topped up by the holder each month and then used to earn cashback on purchases with partner retailers.

“Effective communication should lie at the heart of your engagement strategy, and the way to obtain best value from all your benefits initiatives is to communicate with individuals as individuals. Broadcast bulletins cannot compete with a proactive communication strategy that is linked to the employee’s life cycle and needs, such as induction, maternity, promotion and retirement. By messaging your workforce as if they were consumers – in a highly segmented and personalised way – you can drive greater appreciation of the personal benefit, scheme uptake, and therefore satisfaction and value for both them and your organisation.”

Grass Roots is a global business services company which helps clients engage with employees, channel partners, customers and prospects to improve their performance and provides a wide range of services, including Reward, Recognition and Incentives, Loyalty and Digital Marketing, Measurement and Events and Communications.

Voucher acquisition
P&MM has acquired childcare voucher providers Allsave Ltd and My Family Care Vouchers Ltd in a move to strengthen its position in the sector. Existing directors Jacquie Mills and Catherine Maddox will continue to manage the businesses, which will remain as separate brands within the Employee Benefits division of P&MM Limited.

Unhappy UK workers
A new study by Lumesse shows UK workers have the second-least job satisfaction of 14 worldwide countries surveyed. Scandinavians were the happiest. The survey revealed that age is a major factor in employee motivation and workplace happiness, as mid-career workers are the least happy.

Smart links
The John Lewis Partnership has rolled out total reward statements incorporating new technology for its 75,000 staff in John Lewis and Waitrose stores. The new paper-based total reward statements include 2D quick-response codes, which can be scanned using a smart phone to take employees directly to relevant online information.

Insolvency legislation
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland has called for legislation that requires retailers who accept deposits to hold them in a separate bank account, which is not available to offset borrowings. The recommendation follows a number of high-profile insolvency cases, including Zavvi and MFI, where consumers lost money paid prior to insolvency for products that they did not receive or gift vouchers, which could no longer be redeemed.

RESTAURANT CHOICE
Grass Roots has launched the UK’s first exclusive multi-brand dining voucher, called Restaurant Choice. The product can be used at over 800 UK dining chains, pubs, hotels, casinos and independent restaurants.

Vouchers are available in £10 and £25 denominations and can be used towards the cost of food and soft drinks at the recipient’s chosen venue. Restaurant Choice also has a searchable, dedicated website, www.restaurantchoice.co.uk

Incentive provider Projectlink Motivation has rebranded as Grass Roots Projectlink. Part of the Grass Roots Group, the move comes as the company regroups its UK services into eight divisions: loyalty; rewards; digital marketing; measurement, and learning (headed by Andy Lister); recognition and incentives; consumer promotions (headed by MD Ian Horsham); and events and communications – formerly Grass Roots EventCom – headed by Nick Bender.

Commenting on the change Horsham says: “Projectlink has been a part of the Grass Roots family for nearly eight years now, our clients are very comfortable with this and we feel the time is right to reflect this comfort in our name. The change has been the catalyst for us to bring all our recognition and incentive talent into one team with a very clear focus.”