With the launch of Perkbox’s brand new Global Reward tool, it’s easier than ever for employers to build a simple and equitable reward strategy, giving people the power of choice anywhere in the world – whether in an office, on a site or fully remote.

As the world of work continues to evolve, businesses are adapting to a number of changes. One of the biggest is the changing nature of the workforce.

National borders and state lines are not the barriers they once were. Workforces are becoming more dispersed, and it’s not uncommon for businesses to have team members based in locations ranging from Brisbane to Berlin, Melbourne to Manchester.

This is a positive development, allowing businesses to open up their talent pool – especially useful at a time of skills shortages. At the same time, it can create some major HR headaches.

Making reward work in a borderless business

As the old saying goes, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” And as every HR professional knows, a culture of appreciation can drive motivation, engagement and productivity.

But how can you build a strong culture of appreciation when you have a dispersed workforce? More specifically, how does the concept of a reward work?

There was a time when a manager could thank employees by taking them out for lunch or drinks. This isn’t an option for those who have global teams.

How about sending individual gifts to employees? It sounds good in theory, but the delivery costs alone may blow your budget. And how do you know what works for people in other countries? You could try and navigate this by working with local suppliers, but the admin this creates could lead to an even bigger headache!

Empowering employees with true choice

Within each location — whether it’s regional, national or international — each individual will have their own wants and needs. Many businesses have up to four generations of people working for them, so your offering should be just as diverse.

We recently conducted research on Australian Gen Z employees and nearly 9 in 10 (88%) said it was important that benefits were tailored to them as individuals. However, over a quarter (28%) said that everyone in their workplace receives the same benefits, while 26% don’t receive any benefits at all.

Just as important as meaningful benefits is an emphasis on reward and recognition. This had an 87% net importance amongst Gen Z employees when asked what they valued in a job. Given that this group is the future of the workforce, there’s no doubt employers need to take this seriously.

That’s why here at Perkbox, we’ve just launched Global Reward. It’s a currency-agnostic, fully borderless, points-based reward system. Employers simply allocate reward points to employees in a matter of seconds. The employees then choose how to spend these points – it could be anything from a takeaway voucher, to an exercise class, to a cinema ticket and a whole lot more.

It doesn’t matter where in the world they’re actually based, as they can each pick something that’s meaningful to them. This creates equity and appreciation across locations – leading to a stronger culture and a more engaged workforce.

The days of one-size-fits-all reward are long gone. It’s now about empowering employees to choose what works best for them.

Instant engagement

Just as important is the speed of offering rewards. We live in a world where people expect immediacy. Whether it’s getting information on your phone or ordering something online, speed is key. It makes sense for this to be mirrored in the way you reward employees. A ‘thank you’ has its strongest impact when it’s done as soon as possible.

Before we launched Global Reward, we tested it out with a few of our global customers, and this ability to give rewards instantly was one of the most valued features.

One of them was Fanuc, an automation products and services company with employees in three countries. Its Head of HR Kerry Booth said:

“Before this innovation there was no way of offering a reward instantly in recognition of great work. We would often have to wait for a one-to-one meeting to thank employees. Rewards are integral to our people strategy and motivating our people – Perkbox is now a central part of us recognising and celebrating our teams.”

A powerful reward system is crucial to engaging employees in this new world of work. This means moving away from old school thinking, and using tools that offer maximum choice to every employee, in every location.

Click here to find out more about Perkbox.