Recruitment company consolidates benefits into one-stop hub and relaunch benefits brand, reducing employee turnover by 17%

What they needed

SThree had a variety of benefits in place which were being underutilised as employees found it difficult to engage with them. Employee discounts were on one platform, further benefits on another, there was a lack of information on what was available and the process wasn’t user-friendly. SThree’s HR team found that all of these issues combined had led to a negative perception amongst the workforce towards their total reward package.

On top of this, a round of global restructuring had resulted in headcount reductions and morale was at a low point, leading to a high turnover of staff. SThree’s team had a modest budget to create an offering which would retain the company’s high performers and attract the best talent.

As SThree already had a set of benefits in place, part of the challenge was promoting what was currently available. The team also knew that ultimate success meant  they would need to consolidate all of their benefits into one easy-to-use platform, supported by an immediately identifiable benefits brand which captured SThree’s renewed values of “Respect,” “Rapport,” “Reward” and “Energy.”

How we helped

The first step in the team’s approach was to renew the partnership with Reward Gateway, continuing to offer employee discounts, but adding the next step to implement an employee engagement hub. The team chose to call the hub “SThree Benefits” and it was branded to match the company’s renewed values. A key benefit of SThree’s new employee engagement hub is that it allowed SThree to move all of the existing employee benefits into one, easily accessible place.

SThree’s team chose to launch the new hub at a companywide meeting which allowed them to communicate face-to-face to the entire U.K. workforce. To capture the staff’s attention on the day, the team put on a roadshow with the help of Reward Gateway’s Product Ambassador. Employees could discuss any questions they had about their new benefits hub at prominently-placed stands throughout the day. The team also used a range of collateral during the launch which included teaser emails, posters, TV screensavers, and messages in pay slips.

To keep up the buzz post-launch, the team visited every office location to hold interactive, face-to-face sessions aimed at showcasing all of the benefits which were available and explaining how they work. The sessions included testimonies from employees who were actively using the benefits on offer and had already saved large amounts through employee discounts. The team also promoted the benefits they offered during the recruitment process and ensured new starters were aware of the hub from their first day.

What they achieved

Thanks to the team’s communication efforts and having one central hub for all of their benefits, usage shot up. Unique logins to the hub increased by 252%, the number of orders placed through employee discounts increased by 267%, and the total amount saved by employees increased by a huge 431%!

SThree also saw employees voicing a greater affinity towards their employer and now 93% of their people say that SThree is a great place to work. This is echoed in the 17% reduction in employee turnover the team now sees.

With the renewed interest in their benefits package, employees began suggesting potential new benefits. This led to the introduction of gym discounts and, through Reward Gateway, a salary finance offering. Using this momentum, the team are introducing Reward Gateway’s recognition products into the “SThree Benefits” hub to take their total reward package to the next level.