Five ways to structure a sustainable rewards strategy
Sustainability is not only important business, it’s good business.
After all, Mckinsey research revealed that 83% of C-suite leaders and investment professionals felt environment, social and governance (ESG) programmes would contribute more shareholder value in the next five years. But when it comes to global reward strategies, how do you balance the need for global efficiency and effectiveness with the broader, bigger need for transition towards a more sustainable future?
Here are five ways we’ve identified you can leverage your reward strategy to support your wider ESG goals.
1. Recognise and reward sustainable choices – In organisations that are creating value through sustainability, 60% of employees say that sustainability is a part of the corporate culture. Drive change and build a sustainable culture within your organisation by recognising and rewarding employees making sustainable choices. Whether it’s cycle/walk to work schemes, car share networks or implementing local sustainability initiatives, encourage and reinforce positive behaviours through your reward and recognition programme.
2. Let employees donate their reward to causes – With cost of living pinching on employees’ disposable income, their own ability to donate and support causes of meaning to them may be limited. Allow them to use their recognition rewards to close the gap between their desires and abilities.
In the past five years we’ve seen a year-on-year increase in the value of charitable donations through our EMEA marketplace and, in 2022 alone, EMEA donations increased by over 200%, demonstrating a trend towards more altruistic redemption behaviour.
3. Digitise your selection – Whilst most reward and recognition schemes have gone digital, some reward options and processes may still feature paper or paper equivalents. Review voucher providers and push for digital solutions.
4. Create sustainable catalogues – For many, there’s a desire to become more sustainable, but there’s also a knowledge gap as to how to make more sustainable choices. Nudge the journey by curating sustainable reward collections that allow employees to choose rewards with more sustainable credentials. In July 2022, we launched a sustainability category within our Reward Marketplace to key regions within Europe. At launch, this category featured +250 new products ranging from garden furniture to audio, hifi and electronics.
5. Think shipping – It’s all well and good having a sustainable catalogue, but if the fulfilment solution means rewards are crossing borders you may be diluting the result. Seek to leverage a reward provider that can offer local coverage to your employees to minimise the impact of shipping costs. Better still, seek a provider that’s also asking sustainable practices of their supply chain, magnifying the impact from end-to-end.
Original article: Five ways to structure a sustainable rewards strategy.
In partnership with BI WORLDWIDE
BI WORLDWIDE is a global engagement agency delivering measurable results for clients through inspirational employee and channel reward and recognition solutions.
