Milton Keynes (UK), October 2015 - P&MM, an award-winning rewards and recognition company that specialises in performance improvement, has helped Talarius implement an employee-suggestion programme to encourage and reward staff ideas that will make a difference to the company and its customers.
Talarius is the UK’s largest operator of Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs), with over 1,000 employees. The company wanted to demonstrate that feedback is encouraged at Talarius and makes a genuine difference to the company. The senior leadership team also wanted employees to see that their ideas came to life and to know that their suggestions could have a positive impact to the business.
The "Call the Slots" programme is an online portal where staff can input their ideas against core company values. The site uses Las Vegas-style colours and imagery combined with elements of gamification to link to the brand and drive engagement. Ideas are evaluated on a monthly basis and staff are rewarded with points that can be redeemed against a suite of merchandise or vouchers.
Employees are encouraged to put forward as many suggestions as they wish, with winners publically announced each month. Colleagues can be rewarded even if their idea is not accepted – due to strict legislation in the industry some ideas cannot be implemented – but the company sees the importance of rewarding a good idea despite perhaps not being able to use it based on this restriction. This approach has resulted in over 100 ideas that have been accepted and implemented to date.
Beth Jones, Internal Communications Manager at Talarius explained, "We are really pleased with how the system works, and it’s very easy for all our colleagues to use. Employees can access this from their home or via our intranet, making it accessible 24/7. We hold a national conference once a year and have now incorporated a ‘call the slots: best idea’ award into the evening awards ceremony, which shows just how much this scheme means to both the company and our employees."
John Sylvester, Director at P&MM, added, "Employees are at the heart of every business, and Talarius wanted a means to encourage idea generation and recognise the impact every individual can make. Great care has been taken to ensure that employees know the status of their ideas, and regular communications are sent at every update. Every idea is carefully considered by the Talarius team, and staff are asked to spin again if it’s deemed not suitable, thereby ensuring that staff continually help drive the business forward."
