About 60% of housing provider Home Group's 4,000-plus employees have signed up to the organisation's Open Door Rewards scheme since it was launched in May 2010.
The voluntary benefits programme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, enables all staff to access a range of perks online, including discounts and savings at major retailers for food shopping, holidays and other purchases, and to select a suitable reward.
Lynne Griffin, head of HR at Home Group, estimates 20% more staff will sign up to the scheme in the next 12 months. "We wanted to do the best for our [staff] and carried out a lot of internal research through employee surveys, listening groups and setting up an email feedback address to identify what they felt could improve their benefits package," explains Griffin.
Staff indicated that they wanted more clarity about what sort of benefits were on offer and how they could be accessed. As a result, Home Group introduced the reward scheme on the company intranet so all staff could access it at home or in the workplace.
The company also launched an e-card recognition scheme in July 2010 to reward employees for delivering exceptional performance. The take-up and response so far has been very encouraging. The company now sends an average of 700 e-cards a month, with a total of 4,000 sent per cumulative year to date.
"Linked to this, the best 25 e-cards become our shining stars and are awarded £20 on their online reward and recognition account," says Griffin.
The shining stars are also featured in the company magazine.
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