How HomeServe Transformed Company Culture and Connected its Hybrid Workforce

Discover how HomeServe transformed its company culture and connected its hybrid workforce with powerful reward and recognition tools. 

Homeserve-.jpg-21646745635

HomeServe, a Consumer Services organisation, has been living its mission of ‘freeing our customers from the worry and inconvenience of home emergency repairs’ since 1993. The organisation has 2,500 employees.

industry icon

Industry:

Consumer Services

employees icon

Number of employees:

2,500

location-icon-case-study

Number of locations:

5 offices, plus remote workers

platform icon

Platform features:

Employee wellbeing, employee communications, employee rewards and recognition, employee benefits

The challenge

HomeServe always has had a hybrid workforce, with one third of its people operating as engineers working in the field, and the other two thirds as contact centre and support staff typically working in the office. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, all employees have been working remotely or dispersed among various locations. 

The HR Team was challenged with producing engaging, cost-effective ways to keep all 2,500 staff connected during a time of heightened uncertainty and stress. The team revitalised the employee engagement platform to become a one-stop-shop for employees, bringing people closer together and keeping the company culture alive remotely.

Back in 2014, HomeServe partnered with Reward Gateway to help them create an initial culture of appreciation. As part of the wider People Team, Roshine Bulpitt looked after HomeServe’s engagement strategy over the years. She’s recently transitioned into the Head of Engagement and Talent Development at HomeServe and works with the engagement advisors, leaders and managers to ensure they make a positive impact on employees.

homeserve-featured
homeserve-au

The approach

Originally, HomeServe started out with employee benefits and employee recognition. But seven years later, the organisation has rounded out its platform and it’s become a one-stop-shop for everything employees need. The platform has become a great way to connect its dispersed people, increase conversations and celebrate wins. HomeServe first launched its engagement platform in the UK and also runs platforms with RG in the U.S.

Employees can find tools to help improve financial wellbeing, learn more about what's happening in the organisation with leadership communications and save on everyday items to help stretch their disposable income with benefits. The platform, called ‘PeopleServe,’ showcases the company values or ‘People Promises.’

Roshine adds, “Everyone knows what our values are – they live and breathe them because they believe in them. The recognition is there to reinforce those behaviours, and the eCards are linked to them. It’s also helped us stand out as a top employer as we enhance our Employee Value Proposition.”

A tiered approach to reward and recognition

Since 2014, Roshine and the rest of the HR team have been on a journey to shine a spotlight on achievements and improve employee recognition and reward. 

Over the years, the team has introduced a multi-level R&R experience with the help of their strategicemployee recognition program, which has expanded to include:

Non-monetary eCards: 

  • Iso-greetings: To connect people who are spread out across various locations, including ‘Sending you a virtual hug’ and ‘Little box of sunshine.’
  • Say Thank You: To shine a spotlight on the everyday work that makes a big impact, such as ‘You did the right thing’ and ‘You owned it!’

P2P monetary rewards:

  • Shining Star Awards: To encourage peer-to-peer quarterly recognition where people can nominate each other for $400. There are 11 categories for each of the organisation’s values or ‘People Promises,’ plus six additional ones. For example ‘HomeServe Hero,’ ‘CEO Choice award,’ ‘Community Contributor’ and ‘Career Developer.’

Manager monetary rewards:

  • Shooting Star: To encourage manager instant awards where managers who have teams of five or more get pots of money to reward their teams.


Recognition and reward is most valuable when it’s timely, consistent and visible throughout the organisation.

Roshine adds, “People enjoy being able to use the social recognition wall to comment on or add reactions to awards. The peer-to-peer quarterly recognition program has been especially well-received and we get hundreds of nominations every window. It’s been fantastic for showcasing hard work during the pandemic that’s not seen every day. It’s helped increase visibility, improve conversations and foster a sense of community for our People with our Customers at the heart of everything we do.”

The results

Since launching PeopleServe in 2015, a lot has changed. Taking a step back to look at how far HomeServe has come in its journey to creating a culture of appreciation, the number of recognition and reward moments is captivating. Conversations around recognition became more strategic, with managers and employees understanding the why behind sending a reward versus an eCard. In 2020 alone, employees and managers sent 12,000 more eCards than in 2019.

And in the past six years:

  • 98% of users registered, with 85% of them actively using the platform on a regular basis
  • 70% of employees have either sent or received recognition
  • 44,700 rewards have been sent through the platform, totalling $1.5m spent through the platform
  • 95,900 eCards have been sent through the platform 


Since 2015, employees have saved $1.35m and counting through the employee benefits program, and there have been 3.1k views on the Wellbeing Centre, just one year after its launch with the Munch and Money categories being the most popular.

Transforming company culture doesn't happen overnight, but with the right tools in place organisations can take steps towards creating significant and long-lasting change. HomeServe is a prime example of this. In the first three years post-launch, the organisation saw an increase from 56% to 82% in its engagement scores. On top of that, in 2017 it was ranked number three for the Glassdoor Employees' Choice Awards.

Roshine says, “Our partnership with Reward Gateway has gone from strength to strength. We have really good engagement with our platform. Everybody uses it on a daily basis for accessing discounts or sending eCards.” She adds, “PeopleServe has become a part of the culture at HomeServe. Everyone knows what it is and what it does. People value it and use it in their day-to-day work. The PeopleServe platform has been a great way to fill the void of not being in the office and better connect our hybrid workforce as we continue navigating challenging times.”

 

98%

Of employees are registered, and 85% are active on a regular basis

44,700+

Rewards have been sent, totalling $1.5 million worth of rewards

95,900+

eCards sent

$1.3m

Saved by employees