2 December 2005
Many employers will be providing their employees with something extra this month by way of a Christmas gift (unless of course your company happens to be run by Scrooge!)
According to preliminary findings from the CIPD’s Annual Reward Survey, smaller employers are more generous at Christmas. Organisations employing fewer than 50 staff provide a party in 75% of cases and 13% offer a gift. In comparison, only 40% of companies with over 5000 staff provide a party and just 2% offer a gift.
Gifts can vary considerably but giving out the traditional bottle of wine this Christmas could prove costly. The outcome of a tribunal hearing is expected very soon on a case which involves a Muslim sales executive who is suing his employer, on the grounds of religious discrimination, for offering wine as sales incentive. According to Mr Khan, Direct Line offered no alternative to the alcohol which, in accordance with his religious beliefs, is forbidden.
So if you are now looking for a safer alternative you could consider the following choices which, according to research undertaken by One.Tel would be the most popular items on an employee’s Christmas list, in lieu of a Christmas bonus:
1) Complimentary taxi rides from evening entertainment
2) Massages at work
3) Christmas hamper
4) Bottle of Champagne (perhaps not the safest option given the case outlined above)
5) A duvet day
A gift at Christmas can be motivating – but the affects are unlikely to last a year and surely we all agree rewards should be for life and not just for Christmas!
Employees need to be fairly rewarded throughout their time with the organisation. Effective reward strategies can help to improve retention rates and increase staff motivation. It is important for employers adopt the concept of total reward and consider financial and other tangible rewards as well as intrinsic rewards.
A happy workforce can be the reward for employers who, amongst other things, support the employee’s need for personal growth, advancement, responsibility, recognition and achievement.