Member Article

Specsavers: investing in both customers and employees with Reward Gateway

The importance of eyesight

For the majority of modern workers, eyesight is one of the top senses needed to get the job done; from checking over documents to putting together retail displays, many roles need good eyesight. It’s of great importance that our eyes are looked after, especially as the world of work continues into the digital sphere and more and more employees spend large amounts of their days reading screens, be it computer or smartphone.

This kind of care plays into the wider context of employee wellbeing, which is of paramount importance, not only to the productivity of employees but for the companies they work for. In 2017, employee engagement company Reward Gateway found that over half of employees agree that they would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing over a company that pays 10% more.

Caring for customers from the outside in

With 800 stores across the UK, each of which works as its own independent business, alongside 1,100 employees in its support office, Specsavers has its work cut out when it comes to employee engagement. However, the company knows that having high engagement levels among staff is critical to offering the high-quality customer service that the company is renowned for.

As such, Specsavers has been working with employee engagement company, Reward Gateway, since September 2012, offering its own employees benefits and wellbeing solutions via Reward Gateway’s employee engagement platform.

Known simply as ‘Specsavers Perks’, the hub helps employees to save money on a range of products and services from travel and motoring to health and leisure.

To date, 8,500 Specsavers employees have registered and spent £15.5 million through their perks platform, making savings of £1.3 million.

**Engaging employees beyond their own business **

Specsavers’ purpose is to passionately provide best value optometry, audiology and other healthcare services to everybody, simply, clearly and consistently, exceeding customer expectations every time.

As such, Specsavers Corporate Eyecare also saw an opportunity to help engage and provide a wellbeing solution for employees outside of their own business. In 2014, Reward Gateway and Specsavers Corporate Eyecare joined together as business partners to offer the Specsavers eVoucher at a discounted rate to over 1.5 million UK employees who access Reward Gateway’s, employee engagement platform. These eVouchers can be used across UK Specsavers stores, allowing employers to provide the eye care many employee’s needs.

A healthy relationship

Laura Butler, key accounts manager at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, notes; “It is very positive that so many employees are able and actively encouraged to access eye care. There are so many wide-reaching additional benefits to eye care; from helping to rid headaches and migraines, to early detection of serious conditions like diabetes and heart disease. The benefits are clear for employers and employees alike. We have a great relationship with Reward Gateway. They have similar aims to us in wanting the workplace to be a healthy and happy environment.”

Molly Barton, head of retail partnerships at Reward Gateway, adds; “Not only should employers care about their workforce being well and healthy, but they should be aware that candidates are actively looking for wellbeing perks and benefits from companies. By working with Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, we’re able to offer millions of employees affordable access to eye care whilst supporting on their engagement strategy for their own employees with Specsavers Perks.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Joey Green .