Double the Value of Employee Rewards Without Increasing Spend | Founder Blog

Double your team’s rewards value with GoJoe Incentives

And why doing so will drive higher engagement, activity and impact.

For years, workplace rewards have suffered from the same structural problem: high cost and low impact.

Employers invest in employee rewards programmes, but the value that actually reaches employees is often diluted by complexity, limited choice, or unused budget. Research from the CIPD and Deloitte consistently highlights that poorly designed reward schemes are one of the least effective tools in an HR leader’s arsenal. Not because the intent is wrong — but because the mechanics don’t work.

That’s the problem we set out to fix with GoJoe Incentives.

Most reward platforms are built for procurement, not people

The typical model goes like this: an employer allocates a budget per head, employees get access to a portal of discounts and perks, and usage quietly drops off after the first few weeks.

Engagement rates for these platforms tend to hover around 5–15%. And the ROI case? Hard to prove, because the link between “signed up for a coffee discount” and “became a more engaged, healthier employee” is tenuous at best.

Part of the reason is structural. Most platforms front-load the reward. The employee doesn’t need to do anything meaningful to receive it. There’s no behaviour change loop, no feedback mechanism, and no connection to the employer’s broader health and wellbeing strategy.

What if the value of the reward increased based on what employees actually did?

GoJoe Incentives flips the model. Instead of giving employees a static perk, we let them earn more value through activity — physical, social, and wellness-related.

It works like this:

• The employer sets a base reward (e.g. £1 per employee per month).
• The employee moves — walks, runs, cycles, does yoga, swims, whatever works for them.
• The platform multiplies the value. A £1 stake can become £2+ through activity-linked incentives, funded by GoJoe’s brand partner network and the employer’s own rewards budget.

That’s real value, earned by the employee, funded without increasing the employer’s per-head spend.

Why earned rewards drive more engagement

There’s a reason this works — and it’s rooted in behavioural science.

GoJoe’s methodology has been developed in consultation with Stanford University’s Behaviour Design Lab. The core principle: rewards that are earned through effort are perceived as more valuable than those given freely.

This isn’t theoretical. On the GoJoe platform, we see engagement rates that dwarf industry norms. In a recent client programme with Coutts, 43% of the entire workforce actively participated — not signed up, participated. Compare that to the 5–15% typical of traditional perks platforms, and the gap is stark.

When employees earn a reward, they remember it. They talk about it. They come back for more.

The ROI case for behaviour-linked rewards

We often hear from HR leaders that their biggest frustration isn’t budget — it’s proving impact. GoJoe Incentives is designed to make that case simple:

• Participation rates: 40–90% vs. 5–15% (industry benchmark)
• Activity uplift: Users average 400–600% more activity during GoJoe programmes
• Habit formation: 1 in 3 users maintain increased activity levels after the programme ends
• Budget efficiency: Double the perceived reward value from the same per-head investment

For employers navigating benefits reviews, this is a compelling story: more engagement, more measurable outcomes, and no increase in per-head cost.

What this means for 2025 benefits strategy

The trend is clear: employers want benefits that do more than tick a box. They want tools that improve health outcomes, reduce absenteeism, and connect to a broader wellbeing agenda.

GoJoe Incentives sits at the intersection of all three. It’s a reward mechanism that drives preventative health — which, as Deloitte’s research shows, returns £8 for every £1 invested.

If your current rewards programme is costing more than it’s delivering, or if you’re struggling to prove ROI to the board, this is worth a conversation.

We’re not asking anyone to rip out what they’ve got. We’re saying: add GoJoe, and watch what happens when rewards are earned, not just given.

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That’s what it looks like when employee value goes up and employer cost stays flat. No gimmicks. No gamification for the sake of it. Just a smarter model where effort is the multiplier — and the reward actually means something instead of disappearing into the system.

That’s the rewards model we believe in.
And that’s why we’ve doubled down on value.

Phil Steele
Founder & CEO, GoJoe

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