Exemplar Health Care’s pay and benefits manager, Claire Stead, was keen to offer staff an exciting Christmas gift when she took over the management of benefits in January 2015.
After a reward provider market appraisal, Stead appointed CottrillsReward because of the choice of rewards it offers and because of the ability employees have to select their own gifts.
Stead worked with the provider to create a strategy that appealed to the whole workforce, comprising 2,500 staff, of which 80% are female and 20% male.
Exemplar spends £15 on each employee with less than one year’s service and £20 per head for remaining employees. It offered staff a choice of prosecco, wine or restaurant vouchers for Christmas 2015.
“It’s just a little thank you for employees’ work all year and a little something that’s nice to open,” says Stead.
Previously, employees were offered generic retail vouchers and hampers at Christmas.
Stead carried out a follow-up staff survey after Christmas to measure the effectiveness of her Christmas reward strategy. She also listened to anecdotal staff feedback, which was all positive.
“We’ve got quite an open business where employees can talk to us if they’ve got an issue, or if they’re not happy with something,” she says.
She plans to consider a different variety of rewards for staff for 2016, but will continue to offer prosecco, wine and restaurant vouchers because of their popularity.
“[An effective strategy] is about getting the right mix of gifts,” she says. “I work closely with Cottrills to get a good range of ideas and send that to our board of directors for them to approve.”
