Alana Cummings
While there are many ways to attract and retain employees, two top ways to stand out in a competitive talent market is to improve company culture and create a strong employer brand. Companies with supportive company cultures will not only attract the best talent, but will also make top employees want to stay.
This became a primary focus for Plymouth Community Homes (PCH), a leading social housing landlord with 16,000 properties and 600+ employees in the UK. The company had struggled in the past to engage and unite its dispersed workforce of mobile and community-based workers in Plymouth, so PCH decided to revamp its approach to reward, recognition and communications to stand out as an employer of choice.
In 2019, a company-wide survey revealed that almost half of PCH’s workforce felt disconnected from the organization, and only 38% of employees reported feeling consistently recognized for their work.
Staff wanted more two-way communication where their voices could be heard, and there were issues with the company’s previous intranet that made communications difficult.
PCH partnered with Reward Gateway to launch the “Jannet” hub, the company’s own employee engagement platform that would reflect the company's brand and meet employees' recognition and communication needs. The new "Jannet" hub allows managers and employees to share blogs, vlogs and updates which discuss different ideas and encourage two-way dialogue among their teams. It was also a top priority to find new ways to support employee wellbeing, so PCH added a Wellbeing Center where all staff had access to a host of resources that support their physical and mental health.
Since reward and recognition were a top priority for employees, PCH added a seamless eCard system to make it simple for both managers and colleagues to recognize great work. Employees were also calling for a stronger discounts offering, so the company introduced SmartSpending™ to further support employees' financial wellbeing.
68% of staff either sent or received an eCard in the last year, which feels like a giant leap forward given that PCH highlighted employee recognition and reward as one of their biggest problem areas. Employees have also been using their new discounts, with over $163k spent by employees in just one year.
Read the full case study here to learn more about PCH's employer brand and company culture journey.
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