Christmas rewards Archives | Page 2 of 2

3 ways to maintain productivity if budgets get cut in 2023

January 4, 2023/in Christmas rewards, Employee benefits, Employee Motivation, Employee recognition, Employee wellness, Employees, Short blogs, Staff morale /by Love2shop

With many HR professionals fearing budget cuts in 2023, how to keep stressed and struggling staff motivated so that your business comes through the recession strong is a real concern.

Across the UK economy, we are seeing workers take action because they are unhappy with their proposed pay awards – and a recent study shows that more discontent could be coming.

Budget cuts

According to a study by HR software company Personio, 55% of HR managers are expecting budget cuts in the coming months and 50% say their senior leadership team doesn’t prioritise employees.

These are worrying stats, as restricted budgets mean low or no pay rises or rewards – which has a direct impact on productivity.

Love2shop’ own research this year revealed that 52% of employees feel their output increases when they feel valued by their employer – so how can you maintain or increase productivity when faced with lower budgets?

Here are three tips to help maintain productivity during times of change and uncertainty.

Stockpile rewards

Rewards don’t have to be expensive to have a big impact – and some can be secured now to carry a company through until the next budget review.

Gift cards like Love2shop can be given as tax-free rewards up to the value of £50 per employee, and are a great way to show appreciation on an ad-hoc basis.

As the end of the financial year approaches, you can buy in gift cards in bulk now so if your business tightens the purse strings after April, you have enough rewards to keep employees feeling motivated and valued well into 2023.

Don’t sacrifice the ‘Great Place to Work’ mentality

Everyone knows how the world of work changed through the pandemic, and hybrid models of working are more popular than ever. Keeping employees motivated and happy is not all about money, but ensuring they are happy.

When it comes to work culture, shifting again – either to a full work from home model to save office costs or a full office-based model to utilise your commercial space – is likely to have a negative impact on output.

In research conducted by employee review site Glassdoor, 58% of hybrid workers said their productivity was increased as a result of the working arrangements, while the same proportion said it had also helped them manage the cost of living crisis.

Give benefits that make a difference

From ‘office dog days’ to dress-down Fridays – some rewards and benefits just don’t cut it, especially in this current climate. Instead, look at other ways you can meaningfully benefit your workforce. For example, fresh fruit deliveries or ‘pizza Fridays’ have a real benefit by helping people save on food spend. Take that one step further and offer them an Everyday Benefits Card – a pre-payment card which offers a 7.5% discount on card loads and can be spent wherever Love2shop gift cards are accepted.

What’s more, employees can keep loading them up – always with the discount – to enjoy savings on everyday essentials all year round.

Want to make sure your business offers cost effective, meaningful employee benefits into 2023? Visit www.highstreetvouchers.com to find out more.

Everyday Benefits Cards and Love2shop are flexecash products. Flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016.

Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.

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December 20, 2022/in Christmas rewards, Employee Motivation, Employee recognition, Employee rewards, employee wellbeing, Employees, Long blogs, Staff morale /by Love2shop

Every year we explore what employees want from their employers at Christmas, and beyond, and how you can get workplace gifting right – but in 2022 and 2023 it’s more important than ever.

From high earners to apprentices, inflation and recession are having a significant impact on household budgets and lifestyles. Many workers – even those considered to be in well-paid jobs – have swapped where to eat out for where’s the best value for groceries. Rising costs of energy and goods means the money people may previously have splurged at the shops is now going towards increased bills.

With workers under stress, how can you make sure that your Christmas gifting and your general day-to-day reward and recognition programmes are well-received and makes a real difference to your employees? And importantly, as businesses also face rising costs, can you do it within a strict budget?

Is there still time to deliver a little something for Christmas 2022? Yes – who would turn their nose up at a digital gift card?

Why should you gift employees?

Many business owners may be reconsidering giving employee gifts this year, (Christmas or otherwise), thinking instead about saving money amid the challenging economic landscape. Others may simply not believe in employee gifting – feeling that the salary individuals receive for their work is reward enough.

But research commissioned for the Love2shop Employee Value Report this year has revealed that 10 million UK workers – around a third – feel undervalued at work and 79% of those are looking for an alternative job.

Compare that to the fact that 76% reported they felt valued or recognised when their employer spontaneously gave them a gift and you can see that getting gifting right is key to retaining talent and reducing recruitment costs. Bear in mind that the vast majority of those looking for a new job have said that they are willing to stay in return for a simple sign of appreciation. It’s like the old adage: Ps and Ts go a long way.

Don’t know what to gift? Listen to your workforce

The Love2shop Employee Value Report for 2022 found that 60% of employees ranked days off, flexible working and multi-retailer gift cards as the best forms of workplace gifting.

While this is a consistent finding across such polls over recent years, our report found that, with the recession looming, 89% of workers awarded a multi-retailer gift card like Love2shop would not spend it on luxuries or experiences – in fact, they would use it to buy essentials like groceries, freeing up their cash to pay rising bills.

This is a clear indication of the growing pressure we all face and a sign that the most meaningful gift you can give as an employer this Christmas is something to help your colleagues get by.

It’s also worth remembering that small gifts up to £50 do not need to be declared to HMRC and are not subject to tax or National Insurance, which means no additional burden to your business.

A gift that lasts

With workers more likely to spend any extra money on just getting by, there is a certain employer satisfaction you can enjoy in offering a gift that helps them all year round – the Everyday Benefits Card lets a cardholder with an average family size to save over £1,300 each year

This is a prepayment card onto which you can load funds as a gift to each employee. The loaded funds are subject to a 7.5% discount – so every £100 loaded on only costs £92.50 – and employees can top up their funds all year with the same discount.

Their funds can then be spent in more than 90 outlets that accept Love2shop Gift Cards plus they can access additional savings on items like gift cards for major supermarkets, plus you can also pre-load funds onto their Everyday Benefits Card tax-free (up to the value of £50), to give them a little extra boost.

Over to you

If you haven’t set your Christmas staff gifts in stone yet, it’s worth taking a second to reassess your plans, especially during Christmas week when time is short and before you know it we’ll be in 2023. So if you need a quick fix, many business owners are ordering digital gift cards to bring a smile (and a sense of pride) to their teams.

If you want to talk about it, feel free to get in touch. We’ll be here to talk about Christmas right up until the 23^rd of December.

Everyday Benefits Cards and Love2shop are flexecash products. Flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016.

Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.