HR responsibility had previously been spread across other roles rather than owned by a specialist. That's common, she explains, in family-run businesses where one person ends up doing several jobs instead of each person focusing on their own. 

“One of the first things I identified when I started was the lack of employee engagement around reward and recognition.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager 

Claire describes a clear gap between employees across different seniority levels. 

That gap showed up in the basics too. When Claire reviewed the company's job adverts, the benefits on offer were thin, often just free parking, and even that wasn't guaranteed. 

The wider culture needed attention as well. Claire describes it as steady rather than struggling: “everyone was happy”, but with real room to build more energy and communication. 

“What we really want to work on is getting a bit more ambition back, and getting more into the communication side of things.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

Retention was another pressure point. Long-serving colleagues gave PTH Group stability, but younger employees weren't staying for the same reasons. 

“People don't want to just stay an extra five years because they get extra annual leave. They want to feel valued and appreciated, and that's why we really need to encourage this kind of employee benefit.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

On top of all this, a difficult trading year meant KPI-linked bonuses had to be paused, right when the business needed a way to keep recognising its people. 

Making recognition part of the routine 

With Perkbox in place, Claire built recognition into the rhythm of the business rather than treating it as a one-off initiative. Every month, she writes a dedicated Perkbox section into the company newsletter, highlighting seasonal savings (back-to-school offers in September, for example) and celebrating the colleagues who've received the most recognition that month, building towards an annual reward for whoever tops the leaderboard by December. 

The same content also runs on digital screens across the Cardiff site, so it reaches colleagues who aren't checking email day to day. 

Claire also shares real employee savings stories internally. After noticing one colleague making significant savings through Perkbox, she asked her to share a breakdown, then rolled the story out to other teams. 

“I include employee stories to really show the value. It's not just taken from someone you don't know. These employees know this person, so it's a bit more real for them.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

Claire practises what she promotes, too. Comparing prices for her daughter's school shoes recently, she found a saving with M&S over Next, and switched retailers on the spot. 

Bringing managers on board 

Claire's building manager confidence in recognition, one step at a time. With lean teams across departments, she's leading by example for now and putting the structures in place to bring managers with her. 

“I think it's really important to understand that everyone, no matter how long they've been here, would want some kind of reward or recognition. Even if you've been here for 20 or 30 years, just getting that little notification to say you've been recognised on Perkbox really helps. It's about changing the mindset of managers to really go for that.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

To build on that, PTH Group now runs two manager sessions a year, a chance for managers to get up to speed on the value of recognition, backed up by regular reminders in the monthly newsletter. 

Recognising the extra mile 

The PTH Group also trialled giving managers a quarterly reward budget, so employees going above and beyond could be recognised directly by the people who see their work every day, not just through a company-wide scheme. 

“We assigned managers budgets at the start of each quarter for rewards. It wasn't just recognition: they were actually providing rewards for employees going above and beyond.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

When KPI-linked bonuses had to pause altogether, Perkbox gave the business another way to reward people at Christmas instead. 

“We were still able to provide a reward to employees at Christmas time. It was just all done through Perkbox. It gives you another avenue to go down.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

Effortless to manage 

On the admin side, Claire says managing Perkbox is straightforward compared with other benefit providers she deals with. 

“It's so easy. We've got a health cash plan with another provider and their platform can be a bit tricky to navigate. The fact that yours is so easy (onboarding, offboarding) is just a piece of cake.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

Reporting gives her a clear view of where engagement is strong and where it isn't, so she can target support rather than repeating the same message to everyone. 

“I can see where the most usage is coming from with the teams, and the fact that I can tailor the teams if I need to is really helpful. Then I don't have to keep repeating myself to the people that are utilising it. I can really focus on the other groups.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager

Each of The PTH Group colleagues receives a quarterly Flexi points allowance to spend on freebies of their choice, a small, no-cost boost that Claire builds into her messaging throughout the year. 

Approaching two years in, Claire puts The PTH Group's continued investment in Perkbox down to one thing: it works for everyone, regardless of role, age or how comfortable someone is with technology. 

“We've got such a variety of employees. What Perkbox offers is something for everyone. It's easy to use, both as an admin and employee. The reports are very helpful and clear. Overall it's just been such a positive initiative to roll out to everyone across the group.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager 

The results 

• 98% activation rate 
• 100% engagement rate over the last 12 months 
• £7,269.81 in employee savings over the last 12 months 
• Quarterly engagement consistently above 80% 

Beyond the numbers, Claire has seen a genuine shift in mood across the business. 

“You can see the difference from when I first started doing it to now. There is a bit more optimism, and it's really improved our employer strategy.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager 

And for Claire personally, one small perk has made a lasting impression. 

“I love the fact that Zara is now on there. I always purchase their perfumes, so I don't go through my more expensive perfumes as quickly.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager  

The PTH Group's next focus is reinstating manager reward budgets and building manager training into the role permanently, so recognition doesn't rely on Claire alone. 

“Going forward, we really want to focus on that side of it. We're not just focusing on annual KPIs. We're looking at real-time wins across the company to really maintain engagement and motivation from our staff.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager 

Her advice to other Perkbox customers is simple. 

“Communicate and advertise it wherever you can. It doesn't take a lot out of your workload if you build it into something regular. Champion it yourself: behaviour breeds behaviour.” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager 

The PTH Group has gone from having no dedicated HR function and a handful of benefits to a genuine reward and recognition culture, one that works across clinicians, production teams, office staff and everyone in between, and one built to recognise effort as it happens, not just once a year. 

“It's been such a positive change, and the feedback in general has been great. We're excited to continue to build on our culture and maintain our focus to appreciate and value our employees with the help of Perkbox..” Claire Batchelor, HR Manager