Ensuring that employees are engaged and feel recognised and rewarded is key to employee retention. Or so the theory goes. One way that companies attempt to do this is through ‘voluntary benefits’ schemes, offering discounts and deals from various retailers and brands. However, uptake of such schemes isn’t always as good as it could be, and therefore nor is staff retention, something that UK startup WorkAngel is aiming to tackle.
The London-based company has built a mobile-first “employee reward and recognition platform” that couples an inter-company private social network where employees can communicate and, specifically, call each other out for recognition, with a points-based voluntary benefits scheme.
The more recognition points employees earn — the platform also includes a leaderboard — the greater access to benefits, which includes cashback at 1,200 UK online retailers, and discounts and cashback at 6,000 UK restaurants, as well as 50 per cent off for cinema tickets at VUE and Cinewold.
Managers can also apply recognition points to employees and gift them specific rewards, and, in addition to the point-based system, users of the app are able to access the company-wide voluntary benefits scheme, so they can see what kind of discount offers are available for them and access them through the app.
Meanwhile, WorkAngel — which is founded by Jamie True, who previously founded and sold mobile tech agency Grapple for $50 million — has picked up a reward of its own. The company has closed a $5 million Series A funding round as it readies a public launch of the platform after being in private beta for the last twelve months.
Funding comes from former Tesco CEO Terry Leahy, who is leading the round, along with participation from Bob Willett, Chairman of MetaPack Ltd & Eagle Eye PLC, Bill Currie and Iain McDonald of William Currie Group, and Lord David Alliance.