Consistency is king in driving workplace engagement

November 5, 2019 in Employee Motivation, Employee Recognition, Employee Retention, Team Work, Work Culture

Consistency is king in driving workplace engagement

Consistency is king in driving workplace engagement

An adrenaline shot of recognition once a year is a great way to reward the people who work hard to make your business successful throughout the year. But research shows that these one-off gifting events are not enough to persistently move the needle on employee engagement.

Rewards and one-off perks are great at driving engagement in the moment, but unless operationalised, the impacts can be short lived. The needle goes up, and then goes back down. And your people quickly come to understand that the rewards are only temporary fixes or incentives to drive immediate goals – not a long-term strategy designed to build a robust culture.

Building a workplace culture that delivers to the bottom line requires the same approach as any other business activity – consistency of execution. Gains in employee engagement require, much like other strategic undertakings, a long term lens. Creating a place where people want to do their best work means meeting the expectations of the modern worker all year round.

But what are those expectations?

Jacob Morgan, best-selling author, futurist and keynote speaker on the future of work, employee experience and leadership, conducted interviews with 150 psychologists, economists, and business leaders around the world to identify the three environments that matter most to employees: cultural, technological and physical. He then analysed more than 250 organisations based on these insights – many from the Fortune 100 and those ranked as ‘best places to work’. What he discovered was telling.

More than half the companies were rated poorly by their employees in at least one of the three areas.
Of those 6% – the ‘experiential organisations’ who were investing in an ongoing, considered and deliberate engagement strategy – they saw directly-related performance gains.

When Morgan interviewed leaders at the top organisations (the likes of Adobe, Microsoft, Facebook, Accenture), they anecdotally reported their investments in the three ‘employee experience environments’ (cultural, technological and physical) had led “not only to happier employees but also to larger talent pipelines and greater profitability and productivity”.

Morgan then took the research one step further, overlaying it with financial data. What he found made an unmistakable case for investing in employee engagement in an ongoing and thought-out manner.

“Compared with other companies, the experiential organizations[sic] had more than four times the average profit and more than two times the average revenue. They were also almost 25 percent smaller, which suggests higher levels of productivity and innovation.” – Jacob Morgan

The data certainly makes a case for investing in an ongoing approach to employee engagement – through creating workplaces that reflect human desires for great cultural, technological and physical environments. It’s not enough to have the right tools to do the job anymore, people want and need recognition to continue to deliver results, day in and day out. It’s just the way we’re built as humans.

There is significant return to be won for organisations that focus on employee experience over the long term, not just as a stop gap or a budget burner at the end of the year. And now is a great time to get started – to ride the wave of excitement as the year comes to a close and ensure you realise the benefits in the New Year.

After all, a five per cent increase in employee engagement is linked to a three per cent increase in revenue growth the subsequent year (Aon). The numbers are hard to argue with.

Let the REDii team show you how to build an ongoing program of recognition that will pay your business back over and over again. Request a demo today.

Experiences hold the key to employee engagement

October 22, 2019 in Employee Engagement, Employee Motivation, Employee Recognition, Work Culture

Experiences hold the key to employee engagement

Experiences hold the key to employee engagement

Creating a great employee experience has never been more important.

At a time when every business is looking to establish a competitive advantage, taking care of your greatest assets – your people – is a powerful means of doing just that. Recognition builds engagement, drives retention and assists in the acquisition of top talent. At the same time, a culture built on the foundation of thanks is proven to reduce attrition and regrettable turn-over. In fact, 69 percent of employees would work harder if they felt their efforts were better appreciated (Socialcast).

On the flipside, lack of recognition leading to turnover is costly. When high level positions can cost upwards of 400 percent of their annual salary to replace (Drake) it pays to look after your people.

So where do experiences come in? Well, shared experiences create moments of bonding, camaraderie and understanding between individuals and teams. They create social currency and talkability about your brand. And it’s these stories that create culture and folklore. That’s how brands are built in the hearts and minds of both the people inside your business as well as customers.

But more than that, people really want experiences – more so than ‘things’, and more than at any other time in history. In fact, 31% of household income is now spent on things to do, including travel, dining and entertainment (JP Morgan). So if you give your people what they want, you stand a far better chance of moving that needle on engagement.

It makes good business sense to nurture a culture of engagement – Employers who invest in a great employee experience outperform others by 122% on key success metrics (Accenture). And companies ranked in the top 25 per cent on employee engagement report nearly three times the return on assets and double the return on sales compared to organisations in the bottom quartile (IBM).

The various consumer brands that REDii serves from (RedBalloon, Adrenaline, IfOnly and LIme&Tonic) have spent almost 20 years delivering experiences across Australia and New Zealand. And we know how powerful these shared moments can be for both customers enjoying a weekend with friends and family; through to employees taking time out to bond with their colleagues, or as a reward for a job well done.

That’s why the REDii framework is based on the power of experiences to drive engagement, celebrate moments and create memories that build trust and connection which ‘things’ cannot.

Experiences as recognition have never been more relevant in the workplace as Millennials are poised to take the reins as the largest generation in the modern workforce. When deciding where to work, 90% of Millennials look for employers who offer ‘meaningful personal experiences’ in the workplace and 87% want ‘personal recognition’ (CONE). These are no longer nice things to have, but absolute core requirements for the workplace.

Ultimately, if you can engage your people, they can even do the heavy lifting when it comes to promoting your business to both customers and potential employees. Because connected and happy employees are 186% more likely to recommend their company to a friend (Globoforce).

Let the team at REDii help you unearth a powerful company culture based on the power of experiences and recognition. We have something for everyone, everywhere. Request a demo today.

Experiences are more effective than cash rewards this festive season

October 7, 2019 in Employee Engagement, Employee Motivation, Employee Recognition, Work Culture

Experiences are more effective than cash rewards this festive season

Say goodbye to cash bonuses, and instead give them a reason to celebrate this festive season.

It’s hard to argue with numbers.

Non-cash incentives have been proven to be 24% more powerful at boosting performance than cash incentives (University of Chicago).
More than that, people want experiences – more than ‘things’ and more than at any other time in history. In fact, 31% of household income is now spent on things to do, including travel, dining and entertainment (JP Morgan).
In Australia, online search volume for experiences is in the billions each year (Hitwise). And those businesses defined as ‘experiential’ are four times more profitable, have two times higher average revenues and boast 40% lower turnover (Jacob Morgan, 2017).

This festive season, giving back to your people – be they employees, customers, partners or clients – is a powerful way of tapping into engagement, connection and building your brand’s social footprint through powerful word of mouth.

And here are three reasons why…

Experiences drive engagement

“Experiences that are personal and memorable can help us acquire and retain clients and customers as well as recruit and retain top talent,” Colleen Reilly – author, Forbes

A culture built on the foundation of ‘thanks’ is proven to build engagement, drive retention and attract top talent, while simultaneously reducing attrition and turn-over. Looking after your people looks after your business.

According to Accenture, employers who invest in a great employee experience outperform others by 122 percent on key success metrics. And it flows to customers, with a great employee experience credited with directly impacting the bottom line. In fact one study from IBM showed that companies ranked in the top 25 percent on employee engagement reported nearly three times the return on assets and double the return on sales compared to organisations in the bottom quartile. This creates a real competitive advantage for those businesses investing in employee engagement. They not only save on recruitment costs by retaining their top performers, but the flow on effect of delivering a great customer experience amplifies this advantage.

With disengaged employees estimated to cost the Australian economy $305 billion each year due to lost productivity – an average of $26,300 per worker (EY), it’s in everyone’s best interests to invest in a happy workplace.

Experiences create talkability

“Stories are a communal currency of humanity,” Tahir Shah, author.

In a way that material goods cannot, shared experiences create moments of bonding, camaraderie and stories worth telling. It’s these stories that create culture and folklore – and that’s how brands are built in the hearts and minds of both employees and customers.

When was the last time you heard someone raving about the amazing new toaster they bought? It doesn’t happen. But that time they conquered their fear of heights on skydive; now that’s a good story.

In fact, the telling of the story is sometimes even more powerful than the event itself. The event becomes heightened by the addition of photos, video, commentary and when shared across social networks. In many ways it’s the ‘bragging rights’ and talkability where many derive the greatest pleasure. Social currency is amassed according to likes, shares and comments against tweets, grams and snapchats.

For brands this is an incredibly powerful action to tap into – by putting your brand on that moment you are forever connected to the memory. What’s more, the modern workplace will soon be comprised mainly by Millennials, and 75 percent of this generation would happily use a designated company hashtag to share their own experiences (CONE).

Experiences build connection

“Experiences create connections and bonds like nothing else. And that’s what the ‘experience economy’ trades – it’s the currency of human connection,” David Anderson – CEO and Co-Founder, Big Red Group.

Experiences by their nature are fun, interesting and exciting. They’re also very personal – people have bucket lists, aspirations and things they’ve always dreamed of doing. By putting your brand on a moment of personal recognition, you can build emotional connection between you, your employees, clients and customers.

It’s been proven that connected and happy employees are 186% more likely to recommend their company to a friend (Globoforce); identify 98% more strongly with the values of their organisation; and spend 65% more of their time feeling energised at work.

As humans we want to feel known and understood; rewarded and recognised for our efforts. If this is done in a personalised way – with a reward that speaks to our own individual preferences, then it’s even more powerful. When more than two thirds of employees say recognition from a manager is better at driving performance than money (EY), it becomes obvious that business is about people. And the brands that put their people first will see the profits flow.

So this festive season it makes good business sense to choose experiences to recognise your people. It will pay dividends and also build a culture of truly engaged people who feel connected to your brand, and want to tell others about it.

Contact the team at REDii to discuss how we can help you unearth a powerful program of thanks this festive season. Request a demo today.