LONDON, November 24, 2016
Next Stage Ltd, the social care service that provides emotional and practical support to vulnerable young people and adults across the North of England, has won the Award for Employee Benefits at this year’s Personnel Today 2016 Awards.
Next Stage operates within the care industry, where driving sustainable staff engagement and retention is a challenge. The organisation devised and implemented an employee engagement strategy to urgently address their attrition rate, which previously stood at an underwhelming 58%.
As part of a major overhaul to its original rewards, recognition and benefits programme, Next Stage partnered with Perkbox to implement a robust reward & recognition infrastructure – a cost-effective means of celebrating good work and achievements by teams and employees company-wide as well as giving staff access year-round to over two-hundred practical, recreational and salary-sacrifice perks and benefits. This formed a significant part of a wider approach to improve overall employee wellbeing and workplace morale, driving hardworking staff to feel both valued and appreciated in a job that demands much resilience and giving.
The Personnel Today Award for Employee Benefits recognises the company’s efforts and success in driving staff engagement through its benefits, rewards and recognition programme, which has resulted in a significant reduction in attrition rate in six months. Now just 14% of new starters leave in the first 12 months (down from 58% the previous year) – a phenomenal achievement in a sector that sees many qualified workers churn within a year. Additionally, its employee referral scheme resulted in 38% new hires since January 2016, and Next Stage’s partnership with Perkbox has also enabled the organisation to provide better support to its service users.
Commenting on the award, Saurav Chopra, CEO and co-founder of Perkbox, said: “We congratulate Next Stage on their award, and feel incredibly proud to have played a critical part in helping the organisation turn a corner and curb the disturbing downward trend in retention and recruitment afflicting every organisation in the care sector. With a compelling benefits and reward and recognition infrastructure in place, Next Stage will continue to inspire staff to invest in their future and career with them as a forward thinking and caring employer.”
Founded in January 2015, Perkbox has since helped businesses become recognised as pioneers in employee engagement: Snowflake Gelato, a chain of luxury ice cream parlours in London, was recently shortlisted as a finalist for having the Most Effective Benefits Programme in this year’s HR Excellence Awards, while three other businesses it has worked with have either been shortlisted or have won the prestigious Investors In People Award this year.