Early on, in my HR career, I was Assistant Personnel Manager, for a Plastics Company. We made components for the Automotive Industry and Household Goods. Our method of manufacture was, essentially, injection-moulding.
It was a time of full employment in the UK. Consequently, it was difficult to hire people, who were suitable for the work that we had to offer. It was, also, quite an investment to train people to a level of job competency. It was essential therefore that, once we had hired and trained suitable people, we managed to retain them. I was assigned the task of devising a scheme that would encourage people to stay.
I decided that we had to introduce the ‘fun’ element into coming to work. We needed some activity that would, consistently, engage the interest of our employees and that would create a talking point, both inside and outside the organization. On that basis, I devised an activity that I called ‘The Game’.
In essence, ‘The Game’ entitled every employee to take part in a weekly draw, during a six week draw cycle. Each employee had their own draw number and, every Thursday, during a draw cycle, took part in a draw for the chance to win one of a number of valuable prizes. They included kitchen appliances, TVs, high value shopping vouchers to local department stores, holidays and many other attractive prizes. The draw cycle climaxed, during week six, with a draw for the star prize, which was a really desirable automobile.
But the draw didn’t mean that employees were, just, allocated their own draw number. Much of the fun of ‘The Game’ was the ‘pizzazz’ that surrounded it.
- We ran an imaginative poster campaign, within the factory and offices, promoting the introduction of the scheme.
- Before each draw cycle, employees had to enter their registration cards, for inclusion in the draws. Registration took place in a candy-striped marquee, situated on the factory lawn.
- There were daily announcements, over the public address system, into the factory and offices. As well as informing people on ‘Game’ news, the announcements, often, included references to known personalities in the company (“We’ve heard that Mary Foster, in Fabrications, is taking driving lessons. Does she know something that we don’t know?”).
- Announcements were introduced by an original signature tune, which had been written by a musician friend of mine. We, even, ran a competition for employees to name the tune. The successful ‘namer’ won a cash prize.
- The winning numbers weren’t just ‘drawn out of a hat’. The Engineering boys developed and built a ‘Game’ machine, which provided a ‘bells, whistles, flashing lights and spinning wheels’ method for selecting the winning numbers.
- ‘Game’ draw presentations took place each Thursday, during the lunch period, in the canteen, for the six week draw cycle.
- The star prize draw was, always, made by known personalities. For instance, one star prize draw involved members of England’s 1966 winning football world cup team. They really entered into the spirit of the event and, significantly, added to the excitement.
What was the effect on our ability to recruit and retain staff?
In recruiting staff, as well as our, already, established reputation as a fair and considerate employer, we, also, became known as a ‘fun outfit’ to work for. People wanted to join us.
So far as staff retention was concerned, our staff turnover rate, which had been running at an average monthly rate of 6%, before the introduction of ‘The Game’, dropped to an encouragingly low 0.5%, during the first cycle, rose to, a still acceptable, 2%, during the second cycle and 3.5%, during the third and final cycle. When the scheme’s, initially, planned ‘life’ came to an end, our turnover rate flattened out and stayed at 5%; still, marginally, better than before the scheme, but not yielding the return on investment that was envisaged.
A later staff survey confirmed that everyone enjoyed and appreciated the scheme. However, it further showed that, once ‘The Game’ had been running for a while, it just became part of everyone’s day-to-day experience, thereby, lessening its impact.
Like all improvements in material conditions – salary, bonuses, holiday entitlement, working conditions, the ‘Game’ etc; once you have got them, they become part of your accepted ‘norm’.
They, effectively, ‘self-zero’
The ‘Game’ contributed to the DNA of the following Training Package.