#IWD2023: Suzanne Haycock, Head of Service Management (Technology)

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As the UK’s leading gift voucher, corporate rewards and Christmas Savings business, we want to turn our attention to recognising the incredible women in our company to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.

International Women’s Day has said its focus lies with embracing equity – creating a fairer society by adapting services and policies to people’s diverse lived experiences. As a company, we also believe that equity is not just a nice-to-have – it is a must-have.

To celebrate a world where difference is valued and celebrated, we have invited five especially inspiring women from our company to talk about their experiences of work during their careers. Here is Suzanne’s story.

Suzanne Haycock loves working in tech and relishes the challenges posed by its relentless pace of change.

However, it wasn’t her first choice. And it was only thanks to a disappointing set of A Level results that she found the path to what has become a very successful and rewarding career.

“I wasn’t that happy with my A Level results and I didn’t get what I wanted to study at university … I went to Teeside Polytechnic [now Teeside University] to study for an HND in Business Information Technology. I did that for a couple of years … I liked solving problems.”

More than two decades and several jobs later, Suzanne is now one of Love2shop’s newest recruits joining as Head of Service Management (Technology).

She and her six-strong team play a critical role in the smooth-running of a business that has undergone significant technological transformation.

“We are the single point of contact for all ‘business as usual’ technology, making sure the existing services we offer are running smoothly.

“My team will log incidents or issues around the services we provide. This could range from user access to loss of a business critical service. We need to react appropriately depending on impact and urgency. We also need to ensure any change that is being introduced into the business carries minimal risk.”

After completing her HND, Suzanne joined Liverpool City Council as a field engineer for about four years.

“Afterwards, I did some training on databases learning SQL+ and then joined another business as a system network technician for 20 years.

“However, I didn’t want to be crawling under desks for the rest of my career! I wanted to do other things. I wanted to utilise my SQL+ knowledge so I sought a role in management information and for that, I needed to do a degree.

“Shortly after putting myself forward for a Masters, I found out I was pregnant with my first child but carried on with the degree. At the end of the first academic year, I took one of my exams – the next day I gave birth!

“I returned to work a few months later and continued with my Masters. I took on a business analyst/project management role and I used a project that I worked on as my dissertation.”

Among work sectors, tech in particular has a reputation for being very male-dominated. Despite starting her career more than two decades ago, Suzanne says she was fortunate in her early roles.

“At Liverpool City Council, I had a manager who was actually quite progressive for the time,” she said. “He believed there should not be any barriers to women in tech.

“And I didn’t necessarily find that for a long time. I think it was more a case of opinions outside of work.

“People might say, ‘Oh, you work in an office so you must be a secretary’ but when I told them it was IT they would ask ‘What does that mean?’ and they may then ask you to fix their printer.

“There are more opportunities for women in senior roles now. The culture of having more men at the higher level is less apparent than before. Personal attitudes have changed. I think women are less likely to say: ‘I don’t think I can step into that role’.

However, Suzanne believes that too few girls are drawn to STEM subjects (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) at entry level.

“Unfortunately, tech still doesn’t attract enough women,” she added. “I don’t understand why as it is so flexible and adaptable. You can often work from anywhere in IT.

“There are always new challenges in IT. There is never a case where something cannot be improved. It is constantly changing because you have to take notice of changes. You need to take on the opportunities to learn anything new you can.”

Now a mother-of-two, Suzanne is impressed with what she has experienced at Love2shop since joining the business.

“There is a lot going on at the moment,” she said. “This is a very, very forward-thinking business. Even though there are a lot of people who have worked here a long time, I haven’t come across anybody who isn’t willing to try something new.

“Everyone is very open to change. There is no-one who has said ‘Oh we did that years ago, let’s not bother’.

“I think the culture here is very collaborative. I can’t think of anybody I couldn’t just go to and have a chat with to ask them for their thoughts about something. People are very supportive of each other.”

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?

That it is ok to say ‘no’. That you can be adaptable without being a doormat.

Best advice from a mentor?

To have confidence in my abilities. If I don’t know something straight away, I am able to figure it out.

What would you do differently if you had to do it again?

Take on more challenges or tasks that were outside of my comfort zone.

Biggest lesson learned?

Everything can be improved upon – don’t wait for things to be 100%.

What would you say to someone starting out?

Vary your learning opportunities. Before you specialise and find your niche, explore other things.

Read our previous blogs…

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Press Release

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NEW RELEASE: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Now doubled: the number of HR professionals predicting business performance will plummet this year

Three in every four HR decision-makers say they are now having to make tough decisions on people, pay and rewards in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis

The number of HR decision-makers (HRDMs) expecting business conditions to get worse this year has now DOUBLED, new insights today reveal.

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis, soaring inflation, rising energy bills and challenging business conditions have forced thousands of UK HRDMs to make tough choices on employees’ futures, and to be more creative around staff pay and rewards.

The new insights, commissioned by Love2shop, the UK’s leading provider of rewards and recognition solutions for businesses, in collaboration with Republic of Media and Panelbase*, show the number of HRDMs anticipating a decline in business performance doubled to 6% in November 2022, from just 3% in May 2022.

The research also revealed that three in four HRDMs are now having to find ways to navigate a series of challenges in their organisations, to help manage costs and find new methods of recognising and retain staff.

More than one in five HRDMs say they are having to let go of employees (21%) and many more are looking for ways to ramp up support for existing employees amid shrinking budgets. They are trying to retain talent through higher salaries, bonus payments, enhanced rewards and recognition, and access to new discount platforms and schemes.

Top ways HRDMs are providing support for employees during the cost-of-living crisis**:

  • Salary increases (45%)
  • Increased staff rewards (39%)
  • Improved benefits (39%)
  • One-off payments (35%)
  • Access to discount platforms/schemes (23%)

“These new insights show the cost-of-living crisis is hitting many businesses hard – for some it’s as bad as it was following the Covid pandemic. However, HRDMs are facing this challenge head-on and finding new and innovative ways to support their employees,” said Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop.

“It’s a challenging market for HRDMs prompting many to think more innovatively and creatively by exploring alternatives to inflation-linked pay rises, through better rewards and recognition platforms, discount schemes for staff to offset squeezed household budgets, and enhanced benefit packages.”

Love2shop, the UK’s leading employee and customer engagement company and the home of Love2shop, is currently working with hundreds of UK HRDMs and Sales and Marketing leaders to explore new and innovative solutions to reward and recognise employees.

It works with HRDMs in a range of sectors, including professional services; financial, insurance and pension companies; wholesale, retail and logistics; health and social care; education; and the automotive sector.

Its wide range of Love2shop products offers a choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees.

It is also helping many HRDMs to integrate a new Employee Discount Card Scheme into their organisations, with the new Everyday Benefits Card helping staff save 7.5% on their day-to-day spending at more than 90+ leading retailers, including supermarkets to help with everyday essentials.

And through its intelligent, award-winning Love2shop Engagement Platform, Love2shop is enabling HRDMs to plan and launch incentives, engagement and employee recognition and reward programs with minimal effort.

Laura Maguire, Head of Research and Insight at Republic of Media, said: “These insights prove that in many ways, HRDMs are on the front line of the cost-of-living crisis, tasked with finding ways to attract and retain talent in a challenging economic environment.

“Building on these statistics and this piece of work, we’re looking forward to seeing the impact of the Employee Discount Card Scheme and Love2shop Engagement Platform when we re-run this research with Love2shop later in the year.”

ENDS

Editor’s Notes:

*The Love2shop B2B Insight study was commissioned by Love2shop and carried out by independent media agency, Republic of Media and Panelbase, a UK online research community. It set out to shed light on the dynamics of the gift card market in the B2B setting.
** Multiple choice answer-options, results exceed 100%

About Love2shop

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement.

Love2shop is  home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.  Read more here: appreciate.co.uk

Read our previous blogs…

What is customer acquisition

What is Customer Acquisition?

50 Employee Perks

50 Employee Perks to Offer Staff

What is customer acquisition

Customer Acquisition Strategy

Press Release

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PRESS RELEASE

October 2022

EMPLOYERS GIVEN COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO SUPPORT STAFF WITH DISCOUNT SCHEME ON EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS 

  • 10 million UK workers feel undervalued at work as they struggle to cope with inflation 
  • Employers want to support staff to retain and motivate them, but face their own economic challenges
  • ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is cost-effective way to reward staff with high-street discounts without breaking the bank

Businesses are facing a significant challenge this winter – how to retain and motivate key, skilled staff to increase productivity and offer support as everyone feels the cost of living crisis bite.

Employees who are worried about bills or feel undervalued cannot give their best in the workplace, but businesses too are facing challenges – as bills rise and spending falls, they also need to carefully manage the cost of giving.

According to the recent Love2shop Employee Value Report, almost 10 million workers in the UK feel undervalued, with 79% already looking to leave their current employer for a new role.

However, with the right reward and recognition strategy in place, 84% of UK employees said their loyalty to a company would increase.

But recognising employees to help them feel valued doesn’t have to be expensive, particularly at a time when businesses are facing rising energy bills, higher commercial rent, falling consumer spending and the impact of inflation.

So, what is the ‘cost of giving’ for a business wanting to support  employees during this pressurised time while also needing to keep an eye on expenditure?

The ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is a pre-paid discount card that employers can buy for a small fee and hand to their employees as a new benefit. By giving staff the ability to pre-load funds at a discount onto their Everyday Benefits Card they help them save at more than 90 popular retailers including Marks & Spencer, Argos, Iceland, Boots and Currys. The card also gives access to exclusive giftcard and e-code discounts. It’s a cost-effective way for employers to make a real difference to their staff.

Created by the team behind Love2shop gift cards, the ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ allows you to give tax-free gifts to employees in addition to ongoing discounts. For example, as a business you can offer employees a gift up to the value of £50 without any tax implications thanks to HMRC’s annual tax allowances.

A company will decide on the individual spend, whether that’s more or less than the £50 tax-free maximum, but crucially once the recipient’s balance has been spent, employees can re-load the card themselves to save on supermarket gift cards, high street spending and online purchases.

How does it work? As a pre-paid discount card, funds added receive an instant discount of 7.5% – so for every £100 someone adds to the card, they only pay £92.50. This can be used in-store in more than 90 Love2shop retailers or to purchase e-codes online for a range of high-street partners in retail and meals out. Card loads can also be exchanged for a pre-paid virtual Mastercard which can be used for online purchases with even more retailers (fees may apply).

Employees with an Everyday Benefits Card also receive access to exclusive discounts, ranging from 4% on gift card loads with selected leading supermarkets up to 50% at some of the UK’s most popular attractions such as Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor and even holiday vouchers.

“The current economic situation in the UK means that everyone, entrepreneurs, businesses, individual employees and their families are trying to manage a particularly challenging economic climate,” said Frank Creighton, Director for Business Development at Love2shop.

“For employers, there is a complex challenge. They want to help their workers through a tough time, to reduce stress and allow them to focus on their work. They also know that if they lose good staff, they will lose the key skills they need to successfully recover when the economy improves – and the cost of recruiting is expensive.

“But they are weighing that up against a backdrop of increased costs, reduced income and the fact their businesses are also facing a battle.

“This is where the Everyday Benefits Card can help. With minimal cost you can reward your employees with a discount card that will help them manage their household finances.

“As an employer you can choose if, and when, to add funds to the card.  You may want to use a top-up as a reward for good performance, to recognise milestones like long service or simply as a random act of kindness. But importantly employees can add funds to their own cards and continue to claim discounts for as long as they like, at no cost to you, but feeling positive about their employer.”

To learn more about how Everyday Benefits could help your business recruit and retain key employees view more details on Love2shop’s Employee Discounts Card Scheme

The Everyday Benefits Card is a Flexecash product.

Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues the Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. (FRN: 900016)  

ENDS

Media enquiries

Alec Doyle, Senior PR Executive:  [email protected] 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Everyday Benefits Card

With the Everyday Benefits Card from Love2shop, employers provide their employees a card to load funds onto at a 7.5% discount.

They are then free to spend on gift cards or e-codes from more than 90 high street stores and gain access to exclusive discounts including:

  • 4% discount on supermarket gift card loads – top-up gift cards for selected leading supermarkets at a reduced rate.
  • Love2shop Holidays – provides access to a concierge holiday booking service.
  • Up to 20% off the cost of gift cards – perfect for one-off larger purchases such as TV’s, gifts or furniture.
  • Online spending – employees can purchase a virtual prepaid card and spend on the websites of over 50 leading retailers.
  • Up to 50% off pre-booked entrance tickets for leading attractions.
  • An exclusive range of reduced-cost branded home appliances.

About Love2shop

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement.

Love2shop is a trading name of Park Retail Ltd, an FC Agent of Park Card Services. Park Retail Ltd is home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.

Read more here: appreciate.co.uk

The Love2shop Employee Value Report Press Release

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ONE-THIRD OF ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE UK – A STAGGERING 10 MILLION PEOPLE – FEEL UNDERVALUED AT WORK

• Eight in ten undervalued employees are looking for a new job elsewhere

• Over half of employees say productivity increases when they feel appreciated

• Rewards including gift cards would help workers feel more valued

• National study by leading multi-retail redemption provider Love2shop

One-third of all employees in the UK – almost 10 million people – feel undervalued at work, according to new national research revealed today.  

The ‘Love2shop Report’ commissioned by Love2shop, was designed to lay bare the scale of workplace happiness in 2022.  

It reveals the true value of employee rewards, with three-quarters of people (75%) saying companies who gift staff regularly are likely to attract a better calibre of employee, and 52% saying productivity increases when they feel valued by their employer. 

The report also found 41% of those who feel undervalued believe regular rewards by their employer would give them a greater sense of value, with the same number saying gift vouchers from their employer throughout the year would make them feel more appreciated. 

Nearly four-fifths (79%) of undervalued employees are looking for a job elsewhere, with that figure increasing to nine out of ten (90%) among the youngest demographic aged 18-24. 

The Love2shop Report found UK companies spontaneously gift employees an average of just 1.3 times a year, despite respondents reporting this number should rise to 2.3 times a year for employers to make staff feel valued.  

There is also a gender divide when it comes to workplace gift giving, with men receiving an average of 1.5 gifts a year compared to women receiving 1.2, the research found. 

Elsewhere, nearly half the report’s respondents (46%) have never received a spontaneous gift from their employer, while more than a third (36%) say their employer never, or hardly ever, acknowledges their work or actions. 

Shockingly, just 12% of employees strongly agree that their employers are generous. 

When it comes to a professional breakdown of happiness in the workplace, employees in publishing and journalism reported feeling the least valued at work, followed by those in the performing arts, then the environment and agriculture sectors.  

At the other end of the scale, property and construction, insurance and pensions, and law were the top three professions when asked about feeling valued at work. 

People in law enforcement and community reported receiving the fewest spontaneous gifts from their employer per year, at just 0.3, while those in business, consulting and management came top, with 2.4 per year. 

In terms of a geographical breakdown, workers in London and Northern Ireland feel the least appreciated, with an average value rating of five  out of 10 closely followed by those the East Midlands (5.5). Employees in the South West feel most valued (6.5), ahead of people in the West Midlands (6.1) and the North West (5.9). 

Elsewhere, a whopping 92% of workers who feel undervalued in the capital are currently looking for a new job, compared to only 42% of the same people in Yorkshire and the Humber. 

When it comes to rewards, six out of 10 employees say that days off, flexible working and gifting multi-retailer gift cards are the best ways of showing appreciation.  

If they were to receive a multi-retailer gift card, a staggering 89% would spend it on food, drink, or clothing – a survey result that experts attribute to the ongoing cost of living crisis – with 30% of them saying they would spend the voucher on their weekly shop. 

Asked about the value of employee rewards, over half of people (57%) say bonuses and regular rewards contribute to a feeling of being valued in the workplace, while 86% would feel valued at work if they received a surprise multi-retailer gift card or gift voucher worth £150, with only 7% saying it would not help them to feel valued. 

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, said: “The extent to which UK workers feel undervalued and under-appreciated is alarming.  

“The fact that one-third of staff feel undervalued should be a massive wake-up call for UK business, particularly in light of the report, which found almost half (49%) of people would feel a heightened sense of loyalty to their employer if they felt valued by them. 

“How undervalued employees are resolving this situation poses even greater concern. Our report’s data indicates that many will continue to vote with their feet by finding a business that does appreciate them. 

“This ongoing nationally recognised trend, now known as the ‘Great Resignation’, is costing companies a huge amount of unexpected expenditure in recruitment, training and time and that’s why it’s so important for more businesses to start making staff feel appreciated – by changing their attitude towards rewards. 

“We do understand it isn’t always easy for employers to know when to reward their employees – or by how much. That’s why we’ve compiled the Appreciate Report, which offers valuable insight when it comes to making staff feel valued while maintaining and increasing productivity levels.”  

To read the report, visit: https://business.love2shop.co.uk/appreciate-employee-value-report-2022/

Media enquiries to Alec Doyle, Senior PR Executive on: [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Survey data taken from a poll of 2,000 employed UK adults in August 2022 

About Love2shop   

Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.  

With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement. 

Love2shop Business is part of Paypoint, home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.   

Read more here: business.love2shop.co.uk

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. 

 

 

Press Release

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Love2Shop Partners With Payment to Provide Vulnerable Brits with Emergency Support Amid the Cost of Living Crisis

Digital e-Code allows local authorities to efficiently deliver essential goods

Leading multi-retail redemption product provider, Love2shop, has partnered with digital payment expert, PayPoint, to help provide some of the UK’s most vulnerable residents with emergency support amid the cost of living crisis.

The new partnership will see both parties expand their range of solutions to provide local authorities across the country with a new way of servicing the most financially at-risk people within their communities.

The all-digital initiative sees local authorities equipping residents with emergency e-Codes that are selectively issued to vulnerable residents for spending in three essential categories within the Love2shop Essentials Range: Food, clothing, and electricals, and a fourth one allows users to draw upon two of the Essentials or more.

Within each of these categories, there is a select number of high street retailers from which users can exchange their Love2shop Essentials e-Code given the Love2shop choice. These include choice from Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, Primark, and Argos.

The initiative means residents who need urgent assistance with a purchase, such as a fridge freezer or clothing, will have a way of accessing funds, while the Love2shop Essentials Range provides authorities with an efficient new alternative when it comes to supporting communities.

This type of flexible financial support is needed now more than ever, according to the experts, as the cost of living crisis continues to grip millions of UK households, with living costs soaring and prices across the board increasing at their quickest rate in decades.

That’s why Love2shop and PayPoint have worked to ensure the service is quick, simple and effective for both the user and the participating authority, which allocates which category, (or categories), the e-Code can be activated within.

Local authorities order funds online on behalf of a resident, which are delivered as an e-Code via SMS, email or in the post. Once provided to a resident via email or SMS, users go to the Love2shop website and activate or register their account, before entering the supplied e-Code.

After the code has been activated, users simply select ‘Exchange’ to view the list of available retailers, before adding a selected retailer to their basket and checking out. The retailer’s e-Gift Card will then be emailed within 48 hours.

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, said: “Love2shop is delighted to deliver the Love2shop Essentials Range for PayPoint as it strengthens its work with local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

“When enabling vulnerable communities to receive critical funding to support them at a time when they need it most, local authorities can rely on Love2shop Essentials Range to deliver funds quickly, securely and safely.

“We provide a broad range of UK retailers through our Love2shop retailer partnerships allowing recipients of the funds to select their essential items from reliable brands, whether that’s food, clothing or electrical goods.

“As it is a digital activation and redemption process from start to finish, it is more secure than the cash equivalent, and can be used online, in addition to in-store, with the majority of the selected retailers.”

Danny Vant, Client Services Director for PayPoint, said: “This new scheme is simple for both the local authority and for the recipient of the funds. If a resident needs urgent help purchasing a new fridge, for example, the council will set up the e-Code to be used in one of four high street electrical retailers.

“However, if they need help buying food, the e-Code can be allocated for use in any one of five main supermarkets. With the cost of living crisis deepening, this type of flexible support is more important than ever, and it needs to be provided quickly to ensure the funds are available to help people immediately.”

About Love2shop

Love2shop is a leading gifting, prepayment and engagement company, and expert at creating joyful experiences and connecting people to the things in life they enjoy the most. Its purpose is to create more joy in the world by being trusted to help our customers with celebrating and rewarding. Love2shop is home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, and is fast-becoming the home of digital innovation in gifting.

About PayPoint

For tens of thousands of businesses and millions of consumers, we deliver innovative technology and services that make life a little easier. The PayPoint Group serves a diverse range of organisations, from SME and convenience retailer partners, to local authorities, multinational service providers and e-commerce brands. Our products are split across three core business divisions.

If you have any media enquiries, please contact Niamh Gallagher, PR & Content Executive, at [email protected]