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How personalisation can show you love your employees!

Everyone wants to be loved. It’s in our nature and something society teaches us to strive for from the moment we are born.

Whether by family, friends, fans, or colleagues – knowing that you are valued by those around you is both rewarding and motivational.

Personalisation is something that, when done correctly, can be used to reach company goals and objectives by using the things that are important to your employees to incentivise and retain them.

What is event personalisation?

In the events industry especially, the word ‘personalisation’ is thrown around a lot… and for good reason! Personalisation is a ‘means of meeting the customer’s needs more effectively and efficiently, make interactions faster and easier and, consequently, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat visits.’

Incorporating personalisation into your company events is a fantastic way to drive engagement and reinforce loyalty, and lets employees know they are valued and listened to. Don’t be mistaken that just because your employees turn up to work every day, they are engaged. Being truly engaged with a company takes more than simply being there – just think about times at school when you were sat in a lesson; physically you were there, but were you always fully immersed in what was going on?

We recently wrote an article about how to ensure employee engagement through incentives, visit our blog to read more.

So, how can you guarantee – or at least encourage - engagement through personalisation and show your employees you love them?

Communication is key:

To combat the absence (or loss) of employee engagement, frequent communications with inspiring and informative messages can be used to re-generate consistent engagement with your brand.

Think of the relationship between you and your employees like any other relationship – you wouldn’t go for long without communicating with a loved one, would you?

There is value in being valued, and being present through consistent communication is a great way of showing someone that they are valuable.

Understand the importance of ‘work-life balance’:

We all know that there’s more to life than work, and even if you’re not in a position to offer complete flexibility, understanding how you can accommodate your employees can really show how much you care.

Maybe some have a lengthy commute, and some flexibility around start time would benefit them. Or others that struggle to find childcare may find it easier to work remotely once a week. Changes don’t necessarily have to be big ones, but even little changes can help to create a more comfortable work-life balance for those who need it.

First Event’s Employee Relations Manager, Catherine Wallace, is a strong advocate of flexibility, and knows exactly how it can thrive in the workplace:

“In recent years, the demand for flexible working has grown considerably and remains a hot topic which isn't going to go away!

According to research, 92% of millennials prefer a flexible way of working, meaning organisations need to step up and listen.

For an individual, flexible working can help create a better work/life balance and help to manage stress and promote health and wellbeing. One example is a simple shift in working patterns cutting down commuting times, enabling individuals to manage their life outside of the workplace, work when they feel most productive in their jobs, whilst feeling trusted and empowered to achieve.

For an organisation, the benefits span a range of areas from attracting and retaining top industry talent, increasing workplace productivity, enhancing engagement levels and morale, and creating a better company culture built on trust and empowerment. Giving employees the ability to work from home, or remotely, can also help companies to manage overheads and make efficient use of workspace.”

Care about what your employees care about:

Salary is no longer the deciding factor of whether to accept a job offer or not, and rather, millennials are putting more emphasis on working for a company that aligns with their personal values. Sustainability, a focus on mental health and wellbeing, and CSR (corporate social responsibility) are just a few of the things that potential employees could be looking for as part of their workplace benefits.

Personal interests like this can also be incorporated into events in order to further engage employees and drive the desired results of an incentive scheme. For example, an event can be made and promoted as sustainable and demonstrate your determination to create an event that reflects the views of your valued employees.

First Event are an advocate for sustainability, and understand the importance and appeal of working with companies that values, respects and responds to your personal values:

With government action and consumer behaviours driving more sustainable choices, businesses are also stepping up to improve their sustainability. Sustainability is a massive trend affecting industries worldwide, and sustainable approaches will become more of an expectation from employees and customers alike.

Offering a more sustainable event can show employees that you’re aware of the wider societal trends that affect us all and are doing your part for environmental good. Things as small as providing reusable coffee cups for an employee trip instead of disposable cups, or offering shared transport to and from venues and activities, are good ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your event trips. Changes like this that show an investment in sustainability can really affect employee sentiment and overall brand endorsement.

Sustainability is a real personal passion of mine and many of us at First Event. It's become part of my way of living as a whole and so I am more inclined to invest in brands and companies that have a sustainable ethos.

I would definitely be more likely to consider working for a company that actively approached sustainability and any other personal interest or value of mine, it really does make me feel listened to, important and respected in the workplace.

Reward + recognition = retention:

Whilst celebrating success with colleagues is a great part of working in a team, recognition of individual members of staff is a much more personal way of congratulating those who bring more than just their job role to your company.

By shining a spotlight on individual employees and rewarding them for their hard work, the individual’s sense of pride and loyalty will be heightened, whilst simultaneously enabling the creation of a positive environment and providing motivation for the entire team.

Especially if your company has a lot of employees, this can be extremely gratifying and show everyone that they each have an important role to play within the business.

Read more about how incentive rewards can retain employees with our Incentive Cash VS Experience downloadable guide.

Personalisation is a fantastic way to show employee appreciation and add value to their work life through reward and recognition, whilst encouraging higher retention rates and productivity. Here at First Event, we organise and deliver outstanding incentive travel schemes that excite and engage employees, and can be personalised to ensure that each individual feels valued and loved by their company.

Find out more about how we can help you with your next event by contacting us today.