People matter: 82% of employees consider recognition an important part of “happiness at work”
[Exclusive Part 3] Investing time and resources in recognising positive contributions to the workplace has real value when it comes to employee satisfaction and of course, retention.
According to Shopify, as many as 82% of employees are happier when they’re recognised in the workplace, and those who don’t feel recognized are twice as likely to quit.
When done right, employee recognition can give your employees a sense of belonging. It can energize them, motivate them, and give them a sense of fulfillment.
What are some of the ways that retailers are rewarding, recognising and incentivising employees right now?
Charles Tyrwhitt agrees that recognition and appreciation is in fact, the foundation of employee engagement and has been a major area of focus for them. We asked Phil Vickers, Director of HR more about this:
“Everyone loves being recognised and thanked for a job well done, so it’s something we’ve always been focused on a business. Internally we have a number of ways to do this, and it’s important that managers use their knowledge of their teams to make it personal and relevant.
“On our internal comms platform, we have our “Celebration Station”, which is a place where colleagues can send e-cards to each other to thank them for the work they’ve done or something they’ve achieved. They can even send birthday cards! This is particularly well used by our Retail teams, who share when colleagues have made large sales, which their peers can like and comment on.
“For bigger projects, we use the news channel on the comms platform to do this. Additionally, we have “The Tick from Nick” which is an award from our founder, Nick Wheeler, which helps recognise those colleagues who have gone above and beyond to support our CSR agenda – this could be reducing product packaging, raising money for our nominated charity (The Princes Trust) or organising for clothing to go to charities.”
When it comes to retailers that really demonstrate a commitment to supporting colleagues, it would be remiss to not mention the Timpson Group. Timpson strategically focuses on 4 key areas: family, health & wellbeing, finance and career progression which is perhaps what makes them so infamously progressive.
The retailer covers the costs of HRT for staff going through menopause, offer colleagues an extra day off on their birthday, hand out £100 bonus when a colleague gets married plus throw in an extra week off work for their honeymoon. The retailer regularly rewards colleagues with a unique ‘Timpson Scratch Card’ with instant cash prizes to be won. They also run initiatives like ‘Bring A Parent To Work Day’ and even incentivise staff that successfully giving up smoking/vaping.
When we asked the retailer about their commitment to employees, Sir John Timpson said: ‘Our success totally depends on the expertise service delivered by our front-line colleagues. In turn they benefit from the support of our field and off-site managers. This is a people business, which is why it is so important to look after our people’
Anna Rasmussen, Founder & CEO, OpenBlend argues that whilst extrinsic motivators such as financial reward are undeniably important for employee wellbeing, their ability to increase motivation is “short-termist at best.” In the quest for lasting engagement and motivation, retailers are now rightly lending more focus to intrinsic motivation.
“Enabling employees to take an active role in shaping their own experience of work is also fundamental – and in fact, our own industry research shows ‘work-life balance’ and ‘wellbeing’ to be the two topics that retail workers most want to talk about with their managers. Not tangible rewards or benefits, but the human element.
“Retailers are waking up to the fact that enriching experiences now trump tangible rewards – and they certainly ensure bigger (and longer lasting) motivational gains than any Amazon voucher or cycle to work scheme.”
According to the latest Employee Value Report by Appreciate Group – the home of Love2shop – around 10m workers in the UK feel undervalued at work, with 74% of those willing to seek a new role as a result. The research also found that 60% of employees found days off, flexible working and multi-retailer gift cards were the best ways to make them feel valued.
Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop believes that reward and recognition strategies can strengthen employee loyalty and make your business more attractive to new talent.
“The benefits of rewarding employees are clear in terms of increased productivity and retention.
“Increasingly, we are also seeing all sorts of companies from a range of sectors, using Love2shop rewards as part of their recruitment advertisements, as job candidates have begun taking into consideration prospective employers’ reward schemes and added benefit packages.”
Ultimately, by making your employees feel valued and appreciated, you will create a more rewarding retail employee experience. We at TRB firmly believe that 2023 is the year to recognise and call out the retail rockstars out there. This has shaped our vision for the People in Retail Awards 2023, where we will allow your star employees to shine at a company and industry level.
