How Inspired Villages Group transformed the employee experience to create ‘careers that matter more’ and reduce staff turnover by 18%

Partnering with Reward Gateway | Edenred, Inspired Villages focused on employee engagement, retention and attraction by creating a culture of recognition and increasing the utilisation of key benefits.

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3,000

eCards sent and £8,800 spent in Rewards in 12 months

£216k

in Car Benefit orders, saving employees £69k and the company £29k in National Insurance

99%

active user rate 

£36k

of Holiday Trading, saving employees £11k and the company £5k in NI contributions

What they needed

Every member of Inspired Villages’ HR team is committed to cultivating a happy, energetic and supportive working environment where employees can be their best selves at work. They want to nurture a culture of recognition, continuous learning and wellbeing that enables colleagues from all backgrounds to thrive. The team understand that an engaged and motivated workforce not only transforms the employee experience, it also transforms the experience of its residents and village communities

But operating in an industry renowned for high staff turnover and with a workforce that had grown by over 1,500% in just 7 years meant the HR team had their work cut out. Armed with passion and a vision to create ‘careers that mean more’, they got to work. The team had a clear set of objectives that aimed to raise the profile of Inspired Villages as an employer of choice, which included increasing the utilisation of employee benefits, embedding a culture of recognition and relaunching an enhanced employee wellbeing programme.

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Industry:

Health & Social Care

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Number of employees:

450+

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Platform features:

Discounts, Wellbeing, Recognition & Reward, SmartTech™, Holiday Trading, Communications, Cycle to Work

How we helped

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Inspired Villages Group had been using their Reward Gateway | Edenred platform for a couple of years, but the growing workforce meant a fresh approach and relaunch was in order. The team worked closely with Reward Gateway | Edenred to introduce new features and rebrand the platform as Inspired World. A new focus was placed on employee recognition by encouraging staff to send eCards, celebrate nominations on the Social Recognition Wall and submit nominations and votes for the annual VIVIA Awards (Very Inspired Village Awards).

Another development was the launch of a new Wellbeing Hub, which shared valuable resources and promoted essential services such as menopause referrals and men’s health checks. Holiday Trading was also added to the Inspired World platform, supporting wellbeing by enabling colleagues to better manage their work-life balance. The HR team also began using the platform to communicate information about monthly new joiner and manager onboarding days, helping to promote Inspired Villages’ purpose, vision and values with new recruits to the growing workforce.


What they achieved

The refocus on recognition, community, engagement and wellbeing has been transformational for employees, residents and Inspired Villages’ wider communities. The group experienced an annual reduction in voluntary staff turnover, down by 18% in three years to just 22%, compared to an industry average of 35%. As the business continues to grow, the HR team has been able to consistently attract top talent without needing to rely on agencies by focusing on referrals and internal promotion through Inspired World.

Since the rebrand and launch of Inspired World, there has been a 48% year-on-year increase in recognition eCards, a 212% increase in Instant Awards and an impressive 99% active user rate. Employees were able to save £8,800 through Discounts in just 12 months and spent £8,000 in Rewards they received from peers and leadership.

On top of this, £216,000 worth of Car Benefit orders were placed through the platform, reducing the organisations’s National Insurance contributions by £29,000, while Cycle to Work orders totalled £11,000.

The Inspired Villages team also saw a 170% increase in Holiday Trading – saving employees £11,600 and the company £5,000 in NI contributions. In recognition of the unwavering dedication to create a first-class employee experience and exceptional places to work and live, Inspired Villages was named the 2nd Best Company to Work for in the Health & Social Care Sector and secured a spot on the list of the 100 Best Large Companies to Work For.

Inspired Villages Group won the HR Team of the Year category at The Appreciation Awards 2024. Congratulations!

"Our small and mighty HR team of just seven individuals embraced the challenges while Inspired Villages was growing significantly. It was certainly no mean feat. But armed with passion, a vision for creating ‘careers that mean more’, and the vast capabilities of the Reward Gateway | Edenred platform, they felt confident of success. Small team, huge ambition."

Head of People & Organisational Development at Inspired Villages Group

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