A little festive cheer from our Reward Experts

Twas the month of Christmas, and at company: Tatum-Grace.
No keyboards were tapping, it was quiet at the workplace.

The usually conscientious and punctual workers,
Had somehow been replaced by a team full of shirkers.
Plates of mince pies sat in the tea room,
tempting workers from desks and off to the staffroom.

And the very next day more of the same,
They sat at their desks without goal or aim.

The managers swanned off to parties and drinks
Dressed up in their best to enjoy their high jinks.
Partners and customers were wined and dined
But this mattered nothing to those left behind.

Kept time till Christmas Eve, doing as little as poss’
Uninspired, demotivated, by their disinterested boss.
Productivity fell to well below par,
The standard set by a very low bar.

And yet at company: McCreedy’s across the road,
An entirely different story was told
No hiding in corners or playing games on their phones,
Everyone there was kept on their toes.

Through advent, computers carried on whirring,
A buzz and a chatter as the wheels kept on turning.
No sneaking off early, no pulling sickies,
No one would dream of taking the Mickey.

“But how do they do it?” Tatum cried out,
“Get over there Grace,” she gave a shout

So Mr Grace sauntered over behind

And what did he find as he opened the door?
A warm welcome rang out as he crossed the office floor.
A calendar marked with the days workers had selected,
as a half-day of leave to do whatever they elected.

And what was this here? A tally of rewards?
Vouchers for dinners, film nights, and hampers,
At the top of the list: a week away in a VW Camper?!

When from the lobby there arose such a clatter,
And Grace went off to see what was the matter.
A team going out for Christmassy coffee,
The kind topped with cinnamon, creamy and frothy.”

“For coffee?” sneered Grace? “How is that a treat?”
And who’ll do their work whilst they’re away from their seats?,
But he looked around and could see it was working,
No one was hiding, no one shirking!

And then, in a twinkling, it hit him face-on
His workers weren’t lazy, but their sparkle had gone,
Unrewarded, unnoticed, demotivated,
At the end of the year they felt deflated.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his lips turned to a smile!
As he wrote up ideas for a Rewards Scheme Trial
To start nice and simple, he wrote personal cards,
A heartfelt “thank you,” and Christmas regards.

He sprang from his desk, to his team gave a whistle,
But they weren’t used to this, and they started to bristle.
Until they heard him exclaim, without any delay,
“Happy Christmas to all, now take a half day!”