A Love Island superfan thought ‘that’s a bit of me’ after her firm started to send staff texts inspired by the show.
Helena Drake, a 29 year old learning and development floor coach at Love Energy Savings, religiously watches the show.
“I tune in every night to watch the show and always know the drama and the ins and outs. I watch every season and keep up with Casa Amor and all the re-couplings!
Talk of Love Island happens frequently in our lunch spot, the Love Shack, where someone will mention a name of a contestant and go into a whole conversation and we loved the idea of incorporating that happy feeling into work” said Helena.
As employees search for ways to be engaged in and out of the workplace, energy retailer Love Energy Savings, found a creative solution. The iconic “I’ve got a text” moments have inspired a new scheme to engage its staff where colleagues can send each other compliments over text message – without requiring a mobile phone number.
Since the launch of the Love Energy Island platform when the show first hit screens in June over a third over the 300-strong workforce have received a ‘Love’ message. Helena said “it gives a chance to shout out unsung heroes within the company and with this scheme you can give that person just that little thank you.”
It’s the latest example of why the Bolton-based business utilities retailer is increasingly renowned for the creative ways it engages with its mostly millennial workforce.
UX Lead Bradley Johnson received this ‘Love’ message: “Brad always gets behind everything I ask of him even though I know he’s hella busy. The only negative is that there’s only one of him.” He commented, “Receiving a ‘Love’ message really made my morning. And the best part is, I didn’t need solid abs.”
Compliance Checker Denica Carroll commented, “Great way to spread appreciation and cheer. Everyone needs a little LOVE”, after receiving this ‘Love’ message: “Constantly spreading cheer throughout the team!”
The ‘Love’ message sent to Business Sales Consultant Beth Kirwin hailed her “For being the best and most bubbly person! always there for everyone and being such a great friend!!”
“The Love Energy Island message pops up in the corner and the sentiment behind it makes it feel a bit more meaningful that someone has gone out of their way to send a text”, says Helena.
When working day to day, “everyone lives for the applause and this way you can keep it and read them. And it’s a good thing because sometimes people do the same kind of job day in day out, and it helps to just be able to pull that back and have a read from your friends. I store mine on my desktop when I need a pick me up actually.”
Helena admitted to being a bit of a serial texter and even to the team that she coaches as well to brighten up a bad day. Doing it from anonymous was a major perk as “everyone’s just gonna go well, of course, Helena is gonna say that. But it was nice and I could just see her smile from across the room!”
This young and forward thinking workplace has already ditched email in favour of social media platforms for internal communication, and it’s introduced the flexible flexible policy where everyone can work anytime, anywhere.
Phil Foster, CEO at LES, commented, “As soon as this initiative was suggested, I thought, ‘That’s a bit of me’” and off it went. Phil Foster praised the idea and said “We’re blessed at Love Energy Savings to have a youthful workforce. As a result, this time every year, talk often turns to Love Island.
We wanted to harness a bit of that spirit – and develop a fun way to salute the hard work, dedication and professionalism of all our colleagues from across the entire business.
It’s really important for us to demonstrate how highly we regard all our colleagues. It’s those values that are one hundred percent my type on paper.”
In the future, Helena and her colleagues hope to see “I’ve got a text” adapt and transform into a brilliant work platform to provide support and confidence within the team. That alongside flex flex and other benefits have created the coolest working environment in the North West.
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