During the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, global software organisation Zendesk has reinvented its benefits strategy to match the ever-changing working world.
The organisation introduced new rewards to ensure that all of its 3,570 employees, working across 20 countries, were being productive while working remotely for the foreseeable future.
Zendesk quickly discovered that it was difficult for employees to strike a healthy work-life balance and be engaged while remote. The employer partnered with mental wellness Modern Health to maximise engagement, increase staff satisfaction and prevent burnout.
The Modern Health app provides employees with a service that can improve their sleeping habits, productivity and physical activity. Staff are able to access personal advice through one-to-one messaging, videos and blog posts on how to improve their health. The smartphone app requires employees to undertake a short assessment to understand what areas of their working life needs improvements.
Evangeline Mendiola, director of global benefits at Zendesk, said: "We paid for a one-year subscription to give employees a chance to calm down and relax during uncertain times. Since launching this, we have noticed that employees have been happier and more engaged. What really matters for us is that employees know that we care, and we are showing this through the benefits that we are rolling out globally throughout the pandemic."
One fifth (20%) of employees have used the new service so far, since it was introduced in October 2020. A large proportion (90%) have accessed information on how to improve their health, and 50% have been able to connect with a qualified health professional to continually improve their engagement and productivity.
To additionally support employees for working hard during a difficult period, in August 2020, Zendesk created online communities to increase collaboration and communication. An internal messaging service, built by Zendesk, offers employees the opportunity to informally catch up with their peers in different countries, pitch new ideas on how to work better and look for support if they needed it.
Mendiola believes that these initiatives have been critical in bringing people together during this time. She said: "Having employees working in over 20 countries has made it difficult to maintain effective communication and collaboration, so we wanted something to reward our employees during this time. We have seen immediate engagement in the first few weeks.
"Staff satisfaction is at the forefront of our priorities, so we have been looking to get comfortable with this new remote working style. Through pulse engagement surveys we are always looking for ways to improve our global reward strategy. It is going to be a continual journey that will bring us closer to our customers, and even closer to our employees."
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