Can quick wins create lasting employee engagement?

Need to know

• Offering ‘quick wins’ can deliver an immediate impact on employee morale and engagement.
• Possible initiatives include relaxing an organisation's rules, free lunches or additional days off.
• In the longer-term, it is important to look at the overall employee experience to deliver lasting benefits.

Many organisations facing a drop in morale or engagement might look to implement quick wins to rectify this; possibly in the form of benefits that will give the workforce a boost without the time and cost involved in setting up a more formal package.

Quick-win perks are a great way for employers to keep staff happy, engaged and motivated, and they do not need to be costly, says Simon Briffa, internal talent manager at recruitment firm Sellick Partnership. Many of these revolve around relaxing normal rules in areas such as start and finish times or dress codes. “We recently held a ‘dress down August’ where staff were able to choose more relaxed work attire, which was very well received,” says Briffa.

“Other quick wins include free fruit, discount vouchers, small financial incentives, competitions or low-cost gifts at topical times of year, such as sports bottles in January to promote a healthier lifestyle or chocolate at Easter.”

Giving staff the freedom to adjust their working hours can also have a significant effect, he adds.

What do employees want?Other possible quick wins that may prove effective include giving staff a day off on their birthday, providing a free lunch for all staff on the last Friday of every month or offering bonus payments to into pensions or individual savings accounts (Isas), says Manesh Patel, senior consultant at Aon Employee Benefits. However, it is vital for the employer to have a clear vision of what it is trying to achieve and to understand what employees actually want.

“An employee survey is a good way to measure what they are looking for rather than putting forward benefits that they may not want,” he says. “Also,? given the various types of employee, no one benefit will be of value to all. [Employers] need a range so that ?they are relevant to as many people as possible, at any point in their life.”

A good starting place when trying to identify what to offer is to consider what support employees require, says Adi Reed, head of engagement at Avinity. “What generations do [employer] have in their workforce,? what would they enjoy and? what would they appreciate for added security?” she says. This could be access to musical or sporting events, discounts with retailers or businesses in the local area or a more flexible approach to working hours to help those with family commitments.

Long-term engagementIn the longer-term, though, organisations will also need to address more fundamental issues if the value of quick wins is to be maintained and filter through into wider goals such as the attraction and retention of staff. Claire Jones, senior account director, employee engagement and change management, at Weber Shandwick, says: “Benefits have got to be one part of fair pay and reward packages for employees.

“No employee is going to turn down a free lunch, but ‘quick wins’ will only create lasting engagement if they are part of a broader package which [a] workforce considers to be fair in exchange for what they do. A great employee experience starts with the basics: effective line management, fair pay and reward, and a pleasant working environment.”

Often, the most effective way of motivating and engaging staff costs nothing at all. As Andy Swann, founder of Simple Better Human and author of The Human Workplace, explains: “It’s not about financial reward; it’s about being recognised for [their] work. Just feeling appreciated is far more powerful than a voucher or a free lunch. It all starts with saying thanks.”