The challenges
Nathan’s professional background as a high school teacher specialising in passion based learning means he wanted to provide his staff with the ability to study topics that genuinely interested them and progressed their careers. Prior to signing up with Perkbox, Nathan offered staff a $250 budget for learning and development each year.
Nathan also wanted to retain his staff, “I've got good staff, I want to keep them around. I need to give them value and make them feel valued. For me it's about looking after your staff and putting their wellbeing at the forefront of what we do.”
Results
Nathan took the $250 per employee budget for learning and development and re-invested that into Perkbox after seeing our Perks product.
“I was more interested in the online learning platforms where people could go on to, say Magpie, and do personal learning [in line with] our company [goals]. It personalises their professional learning and satisfies their professional requirements. So that was a big thing. Even Blinkist as [a form of] personalised learning, if they're interested in a certain book, they can read [a version of] it.”
In addition to the learning perks, Define Fitness has saved employees almost half of the total contract value in just their first month of using the product. Nathan hopes staff will take these personal savings and reinvest back into themselves with any additional personal development they’d like to do on their own.
“Catch people doing the right thing”
Nathan says the reward feature has been great for functional use, such as getting Christmas gifts for staff through the platform, and also for sending spontaneous rewards. One particular reward stands out for Define Fitness staff - the Hey You vouchers, as they have a local cafe where they not only get lunch but also take clients there for coffee. Because it was already so ingrained in their routine, being rewarded with Hey You vouchers that they’ll actually use has had a big impact on usage rates.
On using Recognition
The way Nathan sees it, “more recognition means a happier environment” and “having happy staff in the community you create as a small business is really impactful. And that brings more people in. It grows your business.”
On getting great results
Define Fitness’ results came thanks to Nathan dedicating time and effort to promoting Perkbox to his staff. He said he often looks up articles, podcasts, or videos through the Magpie learning platform and will recommend them to staff.
He also sends out reminders to redeem perks that accumulate even if they’re not used straight away.
On being an award winning business
The feedback Nathan received from judges in the Telstra Small Business Awards and ACT Local Business Awards was that their focus on staff wellbeing stood out amongst their competitors. Not only that, but it was a winning factor amongst the larger corporate business categories.
“Staff wellbeing is really important. We are a small business in the ACT but we can still lead the nation with certain things.”
He says it’s also a key element in the success of the business. By focusing on making staff happier and healthier, it improves the business and brings in more customers.
