Lyft

• Through The Hub, Lyft created an open and inclusive platform for the measurement and improvement of employees (drivers) engagement. Drivers can share their experiences both positive and negative with their colleagues and the company. Lyft also encourages its drivers to attend special events that are organized to improve employee engagements and make them care about the job.
• One such special event was a female-only get together for female Lyft drivers in Las Vegas. The event was organized to build a connection between drivers in the city. They share their stories and their dreams.
• Lyft drivers share their stories, experiences, achievements, and others on The Hub.
• Furthermore, Lyft recognizes and honor special acts of service such as a Las Vegas driver — Paloma — for saving the life of a passenger during the Las Vegas mass shooting in October and other achievements from drivers.

Airbnb

• Airbnb created the Airbnb Meetups platform to measure and improve the engagement of its employees (hosts). On the platform, host in a particular city or state creates a meet-up event in order to connect with each other.
• An example is a meetup for hosts in Miami and Broward areas. They converge at the property of the particular host of the event each month to "chat, network, and exchange ideas."
• They put aside any form of scheduling or presentation talks and just tour the property of the host. The community portal has 687,042 members were hosts explore new tips and tricks of hosting a guest and share advice with other hosts.
• Furthermore, they created the One Airbnb which is a company-wide conference or meetup that was developed to create a sense of belonging among their employees.
• At the conference, they get to discuss the future of the company, the people and their development, and also understand and learn about how to work with each other. They get to experience "what it’s like to belong anywhere, through the eyes of the host and the guest."

Etsy

• To measure and ascertain the engagement level of its company, Etsy created a completely anonymous engagement survey which allows its employees to comfortably express their feelings.
• With about 85% of employees participating in the survey, Etsy was able to know what their "hot spots or problem areas are."
• The results of the survey are "presented in an all-hands meeting where the themes, participation, and main takeaways are discussed." The result is also accessible to every employee on an online portal which helps to encourage the employees to participate in the survey in the knowledge that they are being heard.
• Based on the feedback from this survey, Etsy gets a clear "insights about their collective challenges and successes."

Employee engagement by gig company employers

Healthcare benefits

• Providing benefits such as healthcare is critical and beneficial to the company in the long run. Care.com has created a platform whereby their remote employees can have access to caregivers, and the company contributes to healthcare and incurred expenses.

• Companies such as Uber provide healthcare insurance through Stride Health, a third-party startup. For Etsy, Stride Health is an insurance broker they avail to their remote employees, who then cover their own expenses.

Leave opportunities and transportation subsidies

• Leave days per year, paternity, medical and sick leave are options that can be availed to a contract or remote worker.
• Survey Monkey published a statement stating that they would create an opportunity for remote workers to receive health benefits, improved time-off options, and reduced transportation fees.
• Uber also plans to ensure that drivers get compensated for going off their way when picking a passenger.
• Uber offers its drivers in Europe various benefits such as parental, medical, and sick leave, and plans to implement these in the US as well.

Rewards for high performance

• The rewards awarded by each company differs from the next.
• Uber Pro categories for driver ratings are gold, platinum, and diamond.
• Some rewards include cash back on fuel purchase, 24/7 roadside help, and distance and time rates increase.
• Other benefits are educational opportunities they can also transfer to another family member. They can take these classes online from Arizona State University.

Make your gig workers feel welcome and valued

• Improving working conditions by addressing their concerns is critical for remote workers.
• Digital Ocean offers annual meet-ups and in house events for their remote teams.
• They organize Digital Ocean’s meet-ups to encourage the entire team of remote workers and enhance their relationships. 

Perks for remote workers

•  Perks are short-term benefits for employees. These are easier to implement for full-time employees in a physical location, but need to be availed for remote workers as well.
• Digital Ocean ensures that random activities that would be limited to physical location are also shared on a social platform.
• Although they cannot share benefits such as transportation, they cna help cover other costs such as Internet cable connection and transportion needs for office visits. 

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