For small businesses looking to improve staff retention, a rewards strategy could be the perfect way to cut HR costs and reduce staff turnover by as much as 31%. By implementing an effective workplace incentives programme and selecting rewards specific to employees, company culture can be transformed and recruitment costs can be significantly reduced.
Incentive programmes are not without their own expenses, but for companies who invest in rewards, the results can be huge. Benefits such as saved capital, improved engagement, and heightened productivity can make employee retention and engagement strategies extremely valuable.
In this article, we explore how small businesses are using digital tools to inform their employee rewards programmes, which can inspire you to find the best route for ROI for your business.
Employee retention: Saving money as well as skills
The average cost of filling just one vacancy through the use of recruitment agencies is thought to be around £4,500. But when you factor in costs such as salary, National Insurance, pension, holidays and training, the total amount is actually closer to £50,000.
For a scaling SME, not having to invest as heavily in recruitment can result in some serious savings. Telephone answering service provider, Moneypenny, has connected its employee rewards programme with a reduced need for external hiring support thanks to happy employees recommending their workplace to others.
Moneypenny has made employee engagement a priority over the years, with rewards at the heart of its strategy. Its “Pick and Mix” incentive offers rewards that are specific to each employee’s preferences or stage of life.
This has contributed to a staff attrition rate of just 1.4% as well as more than 3,000 unsolicited CVs and applications to-date. The business is now able to cherry-pick top talent ahead of market competition, which ultimately leads to a stronger customer-facing business.
Incentives improve employee engagement
For Moneypenny, heightened engagement happens as a result of employees using the social business tool, Workplace from Facebook. CEO, Johanna Swash, believes that signs of social engagement through the app are evidence that the company’s rewards are successful.
“Every member of the company’s workforce uses Workplace from Facebook as a way to communicate with each other. This has led to improvements in how we problem solve and in fast tracking productivity without the need for pre-planned meetings and discussions.”
She added: “As well as our great staff attrition rate, our return to work from maternity leave stats have also improved from 85% to 99% since using the app. It eases their transition back to work as they already feel connected to what’s going on in the office.”
Rewards planning increases productivity
Digital marketing agency Digital Ethos has also taken a tool-driven approach to its rewards strategy. While Moneypenny uses social engagement as a way to monitor the success of its rewards, Digital Ethos uses internal project management application ClickUp to determine what rewards to give, and to who.
“Every month, data is pulled from the application to assess employee work patterns and this determines the extent of rewards they receive – from £100 gift cards, early finishes, late starts or fun ‘be the boss for a day’ perks,” explained Digital Ethos CEO, Luke Tobin.
“We also assess employees’ intention to do extra training, take extra qualifications or to simply excel in their roles through the app. That data informs who to reward, and to what extent.”
Tobin added that activity on the app is completely transparent. This ensures visibility and fairness when it comes to rewards time.
He said: “Everything is in the tool and is visible to all. We can see how long tasks have taken against internal and client expectations, while also monitoring how overall campaigns are progressing compared to estimations.
“As a result, better productivity and task success have improved our business performance and employee esteem at the same time.”
An American Express® Business Card helps business owners collect Membership Rewards® points¹ through their business spend. The points earned can be used to invest in your employee rewards initiatives.
This could include investing in new technology for your team, subscribing to entertainment sites like Spotify or Netflix for employee usage, or channelling the rewards towards gifts, vouchers or even Amazon gift cards – so your employees know just how much you value their hard work. Find out more here.
- Membership Rewards points are earned on every full £1 spent and charged, per transaction. Terms and conditions apply. Enrolment is required.
