Employee Engagement 2.0

Here at Yellow Fish we use insights and the science of experience to create stand out reward strategies for our clients. A lot has changed post COVID-19: here’s what you need to know about reward and recognition for your business in this new era. 

Experience, a word used so frequently in a time where making memories is craved more than ever. The everyday moments of escapism and happiness that enrich our lives, that have been so missed during the pandemic. 

Our demand for experience extends beyond our personal lives, acting as the driving force to give our careers and achievements real meaning. It’s therefore essential for employers to proactively adapt and improve reward and recognition strategies in order to retain talent and engage employees. 

Living in the experience economy is nothing new. A shift towards rewarding loyalty and hard work with experiences opposed to money and possessions has been increasing for years. Futurist, William Higham, said: “People increasingly look for more ‘meaning’ in what they do, therefore possessions are proving less valuable than experiences, and the memories and learnings that we gain from them.” 

However, the experience economy is changing. The pandemic has profoundly disrupted our daily lives placing certain aspects of experience front and centre which need to underpin how we reward and recognise our people.  

The time is now. Get your R&R schemes right, build an inspiring culture of productivity and fundamentally happiness.

Check out key insights from our team of experts:  

Meaningful connections 

From bespoke digital reward and recognition programs to running an incentive sales campaign rewarding with products or travel incentive trips, one thing is key, connection.  

Creative and experience guru Chef Heston Blumenthal places connection at the forefront of his philosophy. He believes that “as human beings, we have an innate need to connect with something“. In each of his ground-breaking dishes like bacon and egg ice cream he aims to create a connection which triggers emotion and nostalgia.  

This philosophy can be applied when shaping a reward and recognition strategy, to reinforce company culture and build a positive bond between colleagues and an organisation.  

So, how can you ensure you create a meaningful connection? 

• Where possible bring people together for shared experiences, through training, a reward itself or to launch and exciting reward campaign. By taking part in something collectively they’re part of something bigger.  
• Think about each touchpoint in a campaign. What is the end goal in how you want the audience to respond? Use experience clues through to trigger reactions.  
• Give your people a voice to share wins, successes and show support.  
• If rewarding with incentive travel, create bucket list activities, invite partners, surprise and delight and create opportunities to mix and mingle with the management team.  

We partnered with Samsung to deliver a once in a lifetime incentive focused around driving new product sales, check out how we did it here. 

Power of Personalisation  

While employees crave a sense of community there has also been more of a shift in focus towards self, coming to expect a more individual, well-rounded experience when shopping, socialising and working. Employees now expect employers to provide experiences that have a positive impact on their lives as rewards and recognition for reaching targets/goals.  

Personalising reward and recognition programs doesn’t have to break the bank, choose what works for your budget: 

• Personalised comms and video talking directly to individuals
• Bespoke rewards which benefit not only top performers but their loved ones 
• Little touches such as personal thank you letters and videos from senior management 
• Room gifts during incentive travel which capture personal memorable moments from a trip  

Gather data and insight directly from employees to understand what drives and motivate them as individuals.  

Financial gain alone does not emotionally connect an individual to an organisation anymore, therefore giving your people a united voice to share which reward mechanics motivate them, from incentive trips alongside peers to products which benefit entire families will instil loyalty, togetherness and drive ROI. 

Check out our Samsung & Three ‘Your World Upgraded’ case study for a great example of how to personalise a campaign. 

Digital as well as in person experiences 

Creating a personal digital experience has become just as key as the live experience. We need to be engaged more than ever online with so much digital noise and overload. You need cohesive multi-channel recognition strategy.  

Here are our three top tips to create digital engagement:  

1. Add gamification to up the level of competition and boost collective team productivity  
2. Curate emotive employee content and video across all channels  
3. Incorporate positive, emotive employee led content to motivate others and wider teams  

We work with our client Currys to do just this – find out more about our digital portal ‘Be Amazing’ here. 

Purpose led campaigns  

Employees are placing more pressure and expectation on organisations to do the right thing. The Edelman report states that around 9 in 10 want to know how a brand is supporting its employees. Authenticity and genuine care for employees, their wellbeing and the environment must shine through within any reward and recognition strategy.  

Purpose sits at the heart of any successful campaign, we asked Head of New Business Becky what her top five tips for a killer campaign are: 

• Leave a legacy of gratitude during incentive travel and offset carbon for travel  
• Incorporate a focus on wellbeing and personal growth  
• Give employees a voice to share their stories, successes and the impact rewards have made to their lives 
• Ensure values and ethos shines through all comms  
• Think about how employees can give something back to the community as part of the programme  

Want to find out more about how we can elevate your reward and recognition programme? Speak to a member of the team and start your journey with Yellow Fish today.