Recognition isn\u2019t a new concept in the workplace however, with the Covid-19 pandemic, it\u2019s extra worthful to bring this topic to the attention. But before going into details about the added value in 2021, let\u2019s take a look at the best practices to make your program a successful one and let\u2019s tackle an important question first: why in general advise implementing such a recognition program?<\/p>\n
I have to admit that I\u2019ve always been quite sceptical about such programs, but I\u2019ve learned in the meantime that it\u2019s worth implementing as long as it\u2019s part of a broader holistic strategy to reach business goals (first condition) and that the design (second condition) is well thought out (even agile) to be future proof and last but not least that you can measure the impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If your program meets these conditions, it\u2019s a valuable tool to drive change<\/b> by promoting desired behaviour and fostering positive attitudes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Besides change, your company might encounter other needs that might be a good reason to consider a recognition program. Workforce budget and salary restrictions could be an underlying factor to envisage recognition tools to retain talent,<\/b> and once having installed such a plan it will help your organisation attract new talent<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is also a need for<\/b> more innovative methods to recognize<\/b> best performers while company structures tend to become less hierarchical on the one hand and to promote cross-team functioning on the other hand. Not to forget the vital need for feedback amongst the millennial population in your workforce. A simple \u2018employee of the month\u2019 gesture won\u2019t be sufficient anymore.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s zoom in on the second condition to make your recognition program a successful one: the design<\/i>. Recognition programs should always be tailor-made as no company DNA is identical, nor are the business goals or applied strategy, but this doesn\u2019t mean that we cannot have a closer look at critical key elements while offering some tips & tricks for reward (points\/gift card) offering recognition.<\/p>\n Make sure your design is aligned with other HR programs such as feedback culture-related ones, talent retention plans, local practices to offer small bonuses and so one\u00a0 <\/span>It might be helpful to work with a framework or inventory before drafting your design. You might even conclude that some local practices should be given up or replaced by the new system.<\/p>\n How is your program going to support key goals, change behaviour or performance? Let me share some ideas. Nominators might have to address a motivation linked to a clear business goal; all monitored in your tool. By organizing communication campaigns during the different implementation phases (pre, launch, post), you prepare and support the behavioural change. By offering training sessions, people get familiar with the system while explaining the expectations & repeating the business goals for your audience. Managers & HRBP\u2019s follow multiple guidance sessions etc. And finally, to make sure the circle is complete, you put a validated governance model in place.<\/p>\n Who benefits? What\u2019s your audience? Are you implementing a global, local, multi-country, multi-level or all-level system? Can you quickly adapt if you decide to add an extra country\/region? What about external staff? Be careful when deciding on external staff. For monetary-based awards, it\u2019s often impossible to make external staff eligible from a tax (and benefit in kind payroll impact) perspective, or legislative restrictions prohibit you to do so. An alternative could be making them eligible for a non-monetary award such as a \u201cthank you\u201d level only while making them nominators for other levels.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t add too many levels of awards and try to find the best balance when deciding on approvement levels, especially when facing cultural differences. It\u2019s easier to be more strict at the start and to remove an approval level afterwards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What about cash awards? In my opinion, you\u2019d better not add any pure cash awards in the system unless you can reallocate the cash towards a flex income plan to make it more beneficial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Define a mechanism of control and a straightforward process. What\u2019s the risk if your program becomes too popular? Could additional funding be an option, or will you have to review your design, or do you decide to freeze the program if needed?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During your preparation, make sure you put enough attention to the back-end payroll related processes. What are the BIK applicable rules for gifts in your country? What\u2019s the cost impact? (This article will become too long when going into detail but trust me, it can be worth to check the gift value and vendor mark-up rates correlation to make sure you don\u2019t declare any type of fees in your BIK)<\/p>\n In the end your design should help you strive towards multiple awards offering. Best recognition impact is achieved by offering a high number of small(er) awards. Frequency is key combined with monitoring & transparent reporting on recognition results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Business Goal -Award Reason<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Award Level<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Award Type<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Approval<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Eligibility<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n Frequency<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n New Leadership\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Non-monetary award\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n NA<\/p>\n<\/td>\n All staff eligible + externals\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 6 times yearly, 98% of the target population<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Transparancy in communication<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Low-value points-based award<\/p>\n<\/td>\n No approval<\/p>\n<\/td>\n All staff (=on company\u2019s payroll)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 4 times yearly, 85% of the target population<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Ownership<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Medium-value points-based award<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Manager\u2019s approval<\/p>\n<\/td>\n All staff (=on company\u2019s payroll)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2 times yearly, 75% of the target population<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \u2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n High-value points-based award<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Manager\u2019s approval and manager\u2019s manager approval\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n All level 1 & level 2 functions in Benelux only<\/p>\n<\/td>\n Once a year, 65% of the target population\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>In the first part of this article, we answered the \u201cwhy to implement\u201d question.<\/p>\n Here, in this final paragraph we will briefly describe why recognition should be part of your HR strategy for 2021 based on recent publications and against the background of today\u2019s new reality of accelerating organisational transformation.<\/p>\n According to recent surveys, e.g. Deloitte\u2019s 2020 Talent Survey, recognition is among the top 3 most effective non-financial retention factors. With an expected post-Covid increase of job shifts, an extra argument to add recognition to your HR agenda.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The current change in HR priorities even shows that 58% of the Belgian HR leaders are rethinking productivity & performance measures in the light of the shift to increased remote working. (KPMG 2020, HR New Reality Pulse Survey). In my opinion, the introduction of a recognition program sounds like an interesting journey here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to Workhuman\u2019s research, recognition can be the link to create a human workplace during and after the pandemic. Their research shows that words of appreciation helped ease anxiety during the pandemic when employees felt lonely and stressed. Moments of recognition even motivated to work harder. Furthermore, companies are built on relationship infrastructure with critical moments of relationship building (hiring, onboarding, team building, coaching\u2026) that have -by necessity- become remote. The little gestures of relationship we took for granted are gone too. Using technology to spread positive emotions and recognition can restore those relationships for now and when we return to our workplaces. Or, to put it in Workhuman\u2019s words: \u201cRecognition serves as the human connector to create a great remote work culture.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recognition isn\u2019t a new concept in the workplace however, with the Covid-19 pandemic, it\u2019s extra worthful to bring this topic to the attention. But before going into details about the added value in 2021, let\u2019s take a look at the best practices to make your program a successful one and let\u2019s tackle an important question […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDesign Key Elements to make it successful.<\/span><\/h2>\n
Alignment with HR programs.<\/i><\/h3>\n
Desired behaviour aligned with business goals.<\/i><\/h3>\n
Eligibility rules.<\/i><\/h3>\n
Award levels.<\/i><\/h3>\n
Budget & budget control<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Simplified Design Example<\/i><\/h3>\n
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\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Added value in 2021<\/span><\/h2>\n