Only 40% of employees believe that benefits provided by their organisation actually meet their needs, according to a report: Inside Employees’ Minds—navigating the new rules of engagement, recently released by Mercer.
As those in HR are well aware, there are a wide range of complex issues which affect employee satisfaction, but fundamental to many is the importance that staff are and ‘feel’ valued within their organisation. We analyse two case studies of organisations who are resolving this issue with a concept relatively new to Hong Kong using an outsourcing solution to establish and maintain their social clubs. In doing so, the companies are able to use the clubs as a platform to deliver a range of everyday staff rewards together with regular social events to help cater to the widely varying needs and preferences of different staff members.
Case 1: CBRE Hong Kong
CBRE Hong Kong was looking for a solution to offer employees rewards and benefits that would be valued right across the board, as well as helping to enhance engagement levels within the organisation. A social committee was established to try and bring people within the organisation together by boosting staff communication and further enhancing the organisational culture. The club also aimed to enhance the personal lives of employees in rewarding them with a better work/life balance.
After some time, however, the committee—like their counterparts in many organisations—was left feeling a little frustrated because volunteer members simply did not have the time required to create, organise and execute unique events. Social committee Chair, Edwin Wong explained, “The biggest challenge of running an internal social club is coming up with ways to make it better than last year.”
As a result, participation levels started to lag and there was diminished engagement between employees and such social events.
Different thinking—inspired from Australia
Craig Shute, Senior Managing Director, CBRE Hong Kong learnt of a popular staff social club outsourcing solution from Australia that was now available in Hong Kong provided by Total Loyalty Company (TLC). Aside from social events, the solution also encompasses rewards and benefits that employees can utilise every day in their time away from the office.
Five-month snapshot
Five months into the social programme partnership between CBRE and TLC Wong pointed out, “The two most beneficial aspects [of the programme] have been, the assistance we get with arranging external and internal events for CBRE and the discounts that are sourced on our behalf.”
It’s not just HR that’s smiling about the programme, as it’s also been a big hit with staff as well. Queenie Jiang, member of the CBRE HK Social Club commented, “My favourite aspect of the staff social club is that there are so many fun events to choose from. It gives people options and choices.” Staff also report being proud to tell their friends about such privileges that they enjoy as employees. This is another indicator of the success of the programme in helping retain staff and in further enhancing the organisation’s standing as an employer of choice.
Case 2: National Australia Bank (Hong Kong)
The core values of the National Australia Bank (NAB) centre around people and relationships: at the head office in Australia the staff social club is an integral part of this organisational culture. Following suit, NAB (Hong Kong) recently implemented a staff social club to further engage employees within their organisation and reward them in a method befitting the organisational culture.
Solution to fit the culture
The diverse workplace at NAB makes it vital to find different ways to build relationships and foster teamwork so that engagement levels continue to be enhanced. Liz Slavin, Head of People & Culture for National Australia Bank Asia explained, “Finding fun ways to develop connections outside of the work environment is a great way to ensure better channels of communication within the workplace.”
Rewards that build relationships
The main objective of the social events offered in the programme is to reward employees with new experiences in Hong Kong and allow them opportunities to form new relationships and build on existing ones.
Commenting on the success of the social programme, Slavin—relatively new to NAB in Hong Kong—commented, “It has helped me meet a lot of colleagues in a short space of time. It’s a great way to build connections through our business. I have loved the opportunity to try some new things in Hong Kong, like lawn bowling in Victoria Park, as well as take advantage of some of the staff discounts.”
Soft benefits almost as important as cash
The Mercer report highlights that, although cash is still king in the never-ending quest for employee satisfaction, employees are beginning to view ‘soft’ benefits as increasingly more important. TLC’s social club outsourcing solution is currently at the forefront of a new industry within Asia, making it easier for companies in Hong Kong to provide such ‘soft’ benefits in a cost-effective and efficient manner. With the trend towards favouring ‘soft’ over hard benefits predicted to continue—innovative solutions to employee engagement are needed now more than ever.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
