CEO Nick Burns talks to BBC World News about employee priorities for 2023

On January 9th 2023, our CEO Nick Burns had the opportunity to talk to Sally Bundock on BBC World News and share with their 15 million viewers why financial wellbeing, reward and recognition, and dialling up communications is what employees are prioritising as they look to what they want at work.

Tune in above to hear the conversation that Sally said she could "talk for hours about!" or read on below...

Sally: Are you disengaged at work, or do you sometimes feel like you are not thanked enough for your hard work? Well, you're not alone. New research from the employee engagement company, Reward Gateway, has found a quarter of UK employees say they are no longer going above and beyond at work, and almost three-quarters believe their workplace wellbeing would improve if they were simply thanked for their hard work. It's fairly simple, isn't it? Let's talk to Nick Burns, global chief executive of Reward Gateway. Nick, you know, it's early January, post-Christmas. We're all feeling a bit of flu, aren't we? Is that not really why you've got this outcome in your research?

Nick: I think it's a bit more than that, Sally, actually, definitely post-Christmas. Everybody feels a bit in the doldrums, I think. Still, the research that we have done shows that top of employees lists now, beyond fair pay, are flexible working and employees having a manager who cares about them and their wellbeing. It feels like we've gone a little bit back to pre-covid times. During covid, I think it's fair to say that employees felt that wellbeing was high up on the corporate agenda, and I think it was, but maybe we slipped back a little bit.

Sally:  So what needs to be done?

Nick: I would suggest employers invest in financial wellbeing, and that's not just pay rises. On the Reward Gateway platform alone, we've seen a 25% increase in people's savings on groceries. That's about £750,000 a month that they are saving. That's equivalent across our platform of about a 3% pay rise. So employees could take control, that's one thing. The second thing is I would suggest investing in time, for managers to be aware of the amazing things their employees are doing and recognize it. Say thank you, as you were saying earlier. And if you have the budget, perhaps reward it. And thirdly, communicate. Invest in communications, and over-communicate, just like we did during covid. Shout out about all the amazing things and the great stories that people do.

Sally: Sometimes, though, those emails, they don't feel that genuine. You get umpteen emails saying, "Thank you, this is great, that's great, wonderful." And yet you feel like you're not engaged with those people. Does that make sense? And I think if you're working from home, that becomes even harder, doesn't it, in some ways?

Nick: You are completely right. We all get far too many emails in our inboxes, and a one-line email doesn't feel genuine. During covid, the number of managers I know, and people who work for me, pick the phone up to people and have a proper conversation with them, something far more authentic and meaningful than just a one or two-line email. Equally, if you recognize people for what they do, there are platforms now that will enable that to be shared across the broader employee base so other employees can see that their colleagues are doing great things, which becomes quite infectious.

Sally: It adds to the momentum you hope for as a manager. Nick, we're out of time, I'm afraid. We could talk for hours about this. Nick Burns from Reward Gateway. But we haven't got hours, and many of you might be breathing a sigh of relief for that very reason. Have a lovely day today, and I will see you soon.

Do you prioritise wellbeing, flexible work and recognition as things you want from your employer? Take a look at rg.co/careers to learn more about how we provide this and so much more when you join us on our mission to make the world a better place to work.