As a sector, utilities do well on the whole when it comes to rewarding staff for strong performance and loyal service. Energy and water companies incentivise more than just their call centre staff for hitting targets and signing up customers to direct debit. They incentivise all members of staff, from people reading meters to office workers.
In fact, leading companies have excellent reward and recognition programmes (see box), rewarding staff who go beyond the call of duty and via long service awards. At this time of year, some utility staff can even look forward to modern takes on the traditional Christmas bonus.
For employers to maximise the benefits they get from recognising staff contributions via gifts, choosing the right reward is important. Multi-retailer gift options are great for rewarding groups of employees or teams, or individuals, on an ad hoc basis. Not only do vouchers or gift cards represent a tangible amount the employee can clearly see, but they offer a lot more choice than a single store voucher and hence appeal to all types of staff – men and women, young and old, senior and junior.
For example, the Love-to-Shop gift voucher can be spent in 20,000 stores including Argos, Boots, Comet and Debenhams; in leisure and pleasure attractions including Alton Towers, Legoland and Madame Tussauds; or used to book short breaks and holidays with more than 250 travel companies including Thomas Cook, Virgin and Disneyland Resorts.
Single store gift vouchers and cards for retailers such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are good if you are targeting an individual or specific type of person who you know shops in a particular store – and you have time to plan and organise the reward. In general, giving vouchers is better than giving cash because cash can easily be swallowed up by household bills so the “reward” element can be easily lost. With a gift voucher, staff can treat themselves to something they really want, giving them a real boost and likely enhancing their satisfaction with their employer in the process.
From a corporate point of view, gift vouchers also appeal because discounts are commonly available on orders over £1,000, so employers can effectively give more than they pay for. Many vouchers also typically have two-year expiry dates, so they can be stored if all are not to be given out at once.
Giving presents such as cases of wine and bouquets of flowers, while nice as a gesture, can be less effective because employees may not drink, or may not particularly like the type of flowers chosen and so on. In some cases, such gifts can almost be considered a waste – costing the company money but not delivering the desired sentiment among recipients.
Martin Cooper is head of sales at employee reward specialist Love2reward
Rewarding jobs
South Staffordshire Water runs an Excellence in Action reward scheme, which gives managers an annual pot of multi-retailer vouchers to issue at their discretion and bimonthly cash incentive payments, which are awarded by a neutral panel. John Morrall, head of human resources, says the company also offers long service awards and an annual bonus scheme based on corporate performance. “Then there are the annual Spotlight Awards for individuals and teams in set categories,” he says. “The Spotlight Awards involve an evening event with trophies. The other rewards are either vouchers or taxable payments.”
Anglian Water rewards employees who receive customer commendations, who have promoted positive safety behaviours, or whose line managers flag up they have done great work of one sort or another. Human resources manager Louise Ormiston says: “We provide rewards for long service where employees have achieved 15, 20, 30, 40 and 45 years’ service.” Most rewards take the form of multi-retailer vouchers. “Employees are definitely more motivated when they are rewarded,” Ormiston says. “We have a recognition page where we feature all employees who have been rewarded each month, and receive very positive feedback from it.”
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 14th December 2012.
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