Creating a sense of belonging, fulfillment and job satisfaction in today’s workforce is undoubtedly a challenge. HR departments need to engage more and more in marketing, promotion and UX research among employees and in relation to the company’s brand as an employer. Motivating both current employees and those who are yet to become the company’s resources, as newly hired ones, is often achieved with various non-salary benefits or even happenings with elements of gamification. On the basis of numerous experiences in the area of implementation of motivational, team-building and communication actions, we are able to say that the subject is very complex and requires an individual approach each time.  

Employee engagement and the impact on Employer Branding

In the current business reality, companies are inventing newer and newer ways to increase the involvement and motivation of their employees. The development of HR tools and the set of possible non-wage benefits for the employee is very wide. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine building an employer’s brand without an extensive section of factors related to the benefits that can be obtained, separate from the standard remuneration resulting from the employment contract. Naturally, all these activities are aimed at introducing an additional motivating factor to apply for a voluntary position and distinguishing the company as an employer that actively plans activities aimed at increasing the sense of comfort and care for its employees.

 

Let’s be a team

However, these tools turn out to be much more universal, because apart from their basic applications, they can also affect the sphere of team building, integration and belonging to the functioning formal and informal structures within a given organization. The mythical “team-building” and employee integration are areas often discussed as part of the activities of HR departments and during activities, which in Party Projekt are a source of many years of experience and are closely related to the roots of all our activities.

 

How to do it?

Research shows that we are very eager to take part in various contests and actions that give us a chance to win, which is perceived as the most motivating factor. Our experience in planning and implementing such happenings shows that planning a competition action for employees is an extremely complex task that requires taking into account various factors. In cooperation with the HR Departments and HR Business Partners, we try to get to know the target group in order to optimally plan the resources and mechanisms needed to carry out the campaign. After all, the results and level of employee engagement are paramount.

Although, according to SODEXO’s research, 71% of participants in promotions, contests and lotteries consider cash prizes to be the best, in many cases this form of prize does not fit in with the planned communication related to the event, especially when we create a “STORY” for the entire action. We put it in a certain framework, a certain concept that allows us to activate our imagination and find ourselves “inside” the whole story. For example, basing an employee competition on the idea of ​​”family safety” instead of a cash equivalent for the winner, it may be a good idea to buy professional and safe bicycle helmets for the employee and his family that will protect their health and will be consistent with the entire communication of the event. Thanks to this approach, all elements of the action create an authentic and coherent message, the communication of which will be easier and more readable.

Our experience shows that, apart from the sphere related to winning a prize, the competition is often perceived as pure fun, introducing an element of fun and joy into everyday professional duties. It turns out to be extremely important in building a friendly work environment and developing the employer’s brand.

 

Integration in the home office era

The current situation related to operating in the shadow of a pandemic may limit the possibility of implementing actions. On the other hand, the dispersion of teams by introducing remote work and home office seems to indicate the need to intensify bonding activities for employees who are currently deprived of the possibility of participating in daily professional rituals and living together with their colleagues. Fortunately, there are many opportunities to transfer entire promotional campaigns, events and happenings to the Internet sphere, and the development of digital tools makes it possible to gather the audience in a given place on the web. Based on our agency experience, we are able to state that companies, apart from traditional methods of employee integration, are also open to digital events, carried out remotely and completely secure.

 

So what now?

Dozens of implemented employer branding campaigns of a competition or gamification nature allow us to say that the introduction of various mechanisms for engaging employees and allowing them to win awards should be an important element in the structure of the planned marketing and internal communication activities. The result will most often be an increase in employee involvement, building a sense of unity and recognition by the employer, but also providing very valuable layers of joy.

 

 

15.02.2022, Łukasz Dobiński, l.dobinski@partyprojekt.pl, Party Projekt®