Chloe Stewart
3 min read
Against the will of my colleagues, this year I started to feel festive the second that Halloween was over. Okay, I’m not one of those that put the tree up in November but I am secretly listening to Michael Buble’s Christmas album on my commute to work. Once we’re into December though, it’s socially acceptable to mention it at least once a day!
I know it, you know it: Christmas is coming.
While it’s definitely a season that’s full of fun and festivity, for a lot of people, the holidays are also a season of stress. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, people to host and places to travel. There are kids and teens to entertain for weeks over the Christmas break. Extended family come to visit. The pay cheque feels as though it disappears as soon as it’s landed into the bank account.
Christmas is normally the most expensive time of year for your people and their families. What if you could use benefits to ease financial stress and give your employees the power to stretch their disposable income by saving on things like Christmas gifts, entertainment and travel?
Recent research from Reward Gateway shows that 58% of recent graduates would prefer to forego a holiday bonus in favour of more frequent rewards and consistent benefits.
Instead of giving a token gift or a one-off bonus that's easily forgettable, a financial employee discounts programme provides savings at hundreds of retailers through the festive season. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Give employees the freedom and flexibility to choose the perfect Christmas gift
Modern benefits programmes provide personalisation and choice, so instead of restricting what items are kept in stock, your employees have the freedom to choose the perfect gift – whether it’s a new iPad from Currys PC World, something festive from John Lewis or a new jumper from Marks & Spencer.
Maybe they’re more into gifting experiences? Through an employee discounts scheme, your people can send their loved one to the latest show with discounted tickets from Love Theatre, pick a personalised experience at Groupon or purchase a few date night’s worth of discounted cinema tickets from Vue or Cineworld – all without breaking the bank.
Even those unsure of what to buy can take advantage of buying eGift cards at a discounted price and send them via email or print them out and put them in a Christmas card. The recipient gets to shop using the full value of the gift card and is none the wiser that their Secret Santa scored some serious savings.
Save more with easy access to an employee discounts platform and app
You can keep the costs down even while getting the house in order for Christmas lunch – whether it’s all the ingredients for a festive Christmas lunch from Sainsbury’s, the perfect boozy companion from Laithwaite’s Wine, or buying a new table from IKEA to fit the 10 guests for your Christmas dinner!
In fact, my client Travis Perkins, has been using our employee discounts platform for years — they’re one of our longest clients! Since embracing the mobile app of SmartSpending, their large workforce of over 20,000, currently has half of its staff using the app to save money on their shopping, particularly at Tesco, Curry’s PC World, Sainsbury’s and Argos.
This is especially apparent during the ramp up to Christmas, where we’ve seen a 31% increase in spend throughout November compared to their monthly average across the app and platform, shown above.
That’s savings of £73,948 in just one month from their employees, who are predominantly offline and dotted up and down the country!
Give now, and well into the new year
While 65% of HR managers acknowledge employees have heightened levels of stress in their financial health, only two in five employers actually offer support in this area.
Leveraging financial benefits allows employers to stand out from their competitors by supporting employees’ financial wellbeing all year long. Give your people something that makes a tangible impact to their everyday spending and long-term savings – it’s a gift that will give your people something to smile about.