Penguins have seen first-hand the challenging times we are facing and how it has affected businesses in many ways, switching off traditional, but successful methods of communication and activities that have been an integral part of business strategies and relied on as a way of engaging with the team. Therefore, reward and recognition programmes are vital to post-pandemic workplaces. With travel and live activations on hold, brands and businesses have needed to change their strategies and think outside the box.
In answer to these challenges, Penguins shone a light on them and launched a report: The changing face of reward, interviewing a selection of brands to investigate the current reward and recognition market. Researched and authored by our reward and recognition specialists, the report demonstrates the importance of reward and recognition through expert and frontline insights.
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The report highlighted how businesses found success in using multiple communication platforms to encourage a variety of types of conversation i.e. instant messaging, video calls, email, broadcast and virtual environments. However, not one solution has been a single replacement for face-to-face communication because there is no equivalent.
One interviewee commented: “While the current global circumstances are driving us towards solutions suitable for our current climate, to futureproof our programmes, we need to start planning for future audience expectations, and the return of more normal business landscapes.”
In 2020 the EU economy shrank by 7.4%, and the US economy shrank by at least 3.5% as a direct result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown, enforced stay at home orders and business closures had a disastrous financial impact across all industries, and reward & recognition programmes are no exception. In such times, history has taught us that such ‘luxuries’ are the first thing to go. As we enter the post-pandemic, it is clear there will be an uptake on reward programmes, and businesses will continue to innovate the traditional use of reward and recognition programmes and wider offering to colleagues.
