Five steps to follow to successfully tie recognition to corporate goals
The science behind recognition programs harkens back to Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov’s dogs. When an employee is rewarded for a desired behaviour, he is more likely to repeat that behaviour in the future, even when there’s no reward. By rewarding employees for behaviour or outcomes that are tied to corporate goals, a company can increase its chances for success.
When done properly, a recognition program tied to corporate goals sends a message about what’s important and what the organization values. When developing such a program, it’s important to take the business and employee needs into consideration to make it effective and long lasting. There are five key steps to developing a recognition program that aligns with the corporate goals.
Ask questions
First, start by clarifying what the organization wants to recognize. Ask the CEO and other potential stakeholders the following questions: What are the goals? Where will value be created in the organization? What will give the organization a distinct competitive advantage? What behaviours will make the difference between good and outstanding performance? If the answers form a laundry list of results, group them into themes like service excellence, teamwork, sales performance and bottom-line orientation.
The people factor
Second, find out what type of recognition people value and test how they may react to different forms of recognition. There is nothing worse than implementing a new recognition program that misses the mark culturally or that employees find trite.
For example, a Vancouver high-tech firm provided employees with gym bags to recognize employees who went above and beyond project expectations. The recognition backfired. Employees complained the bags were an insult because they felt like they did not have the time to go to the gym because they were working too much. To avoid this poor outcome, conduct interviews, focus groups or survey employees to find out how they would like to be recognized. Ideally provide some cost parameters to ensure recommendations are realistic.
The business factor
Third, clearly articulate a business case for recognition efforts. Before designing a program, be clear about what the potential return on investment for recognition efforts will be. Is this worth the organization’s investment? How will executives know recognition programs are successful? What tangible qualitative and quantitative business improvements are anticipated? Once these questions are answered, decide what data to use to measure results and track it throughout the year.
The nitty gritty
Fourth, design the specifics of how the recognition process will work. This includes defining who will be recognized, who will provide the recognition and how, eligibility requirements and supporting policies and practices. Focus on aligning recognition practices across a number of HR and cultural practices including the performance management system and leadership development initiatives.
Blast Radius, a global technology firm with Canadian headquarters in Vancouver, realized that service excellence and teamwork were critical to achieving corporate goals. To reinforce this message the CEO and the HR department defined these behaviours and included them in the performance management process. In addition, project managers provided feedback on these behaviours at the end of each project and provided cash rewards to employees who demonstrated high levels of performance. To further support integrated recognition messages, employees nominated their peers and teams for awards in these areas.
Keep it going
Lastly, keep the momentum going. Many HR professionals introduce a recognition program and then consider the work done. This doesn’t work. People need ongoing reinforcement about what the business values are. There also needs to be mechanisms in place to ensure recognition is happening on an ongoing basis.
One way to do this is to have managers submit a quarterly recognition form outlining who has been recognized (formally and informally) on their team and how. Another way is to put recognition on the agenda for management meetings to verbally reinforce recognition priorities.
To reinforce that recognition is a priority, senior executives could ask their direct reports, “How did you recognize that person?” when they hear stories of performance excellence related to corporate goals. If managers are expected to provide recognition, provide them with guidelines and reinforce how important it is to their success as a manager.
To ensure recognition is motivating, communicate frequently and as close to the event deserving recognition as possible. Always start with a focused dialogue about the business and corporate goals and describe how the person or team has made an impact on the business. Provide tangible examples that demonstrate the performance standard or behaviour deserving of recognition. This will ensure the people receiving the recognition understand what they did to deserve it and clarify to other people how value is generated in the company.
Where possible, use technology to support communication efforts. Intranets can provide information on the corporate goals and recognition parameters. They can be used to nominate colleagues, select award recipients and communicate key messages. Streaming video or podcasts can be used to send messages to employees in a geographically dispersed workplace.
To be effective, recognition does not have to be expensive or particularly sophisticated. Recognition practices should be relevant to the individual and the company goals, and messages should be delivered clearly, consistently and with sincerity.
Natalie Michael is a lead consultant and coach at Vancouver-based HR consultant firm Caliber Leadership Systems. She can be reached at [email protected].
When done properly, a recognition program tied to corporate goals sends a message about what’s important and what the organization values. When developing such a program, it’s important to take the business and employee needs into consideration to make it effective and long lasting. There are five key steps to developing a recognition program that aligns with the corporate goals.
Ask questions
First, start by clarifying what the organization wants to recognize. Ask the CEO and other potential stakeholders the following questions: What are the goals? Where will value be created in the organization? What will give the organization a distinct competitive advantage? What behaviours will make the difference between good and outstanding performance? If the answers form a laundry list of results, group them into themes like service excellence, teamwork, sales performance and bottom-line orientation.
The people factor
Second, find out what type of recognition people value and test how they may react to different forms of recognition. There is nothing worse than implementing a new recognition program that misses the mark culturally or that employees find trite.
For example, a Vancouver high-tech firm provided employees with gym bags to recognize employees who went above and beyond project expectations. The recognition backfired. Employees complained the bags were an insult because they felt like they did not have the time to go to the gym because they were working too much. To avoid this poor outcome, conduct interviews, focus groups or survey employees to find out how they would like to be recognized. Ideally provide some cost parameters to ensure recommendations are realistic.
The business factor
Third, clearly articulate a business case for recognition efforts. Before designing a program, be clear about what the potential return on investment for recognition efforts will be. Is this worth the organization’s investment? How will executives know recognition programs are successful? What tangible qualitative and quantitative business improvements are anticipated? Once these questions are answered, decide what data to use to measure results and track it throughout the year.
The nitty gritty
Fourth, design the specifics of how the recognition process will work. This includes defining who will be recognized, who will provide the recognition and how, eligibility requirements and supporting policies and practices. Focus on aligning recognition practices across a number of HR and cultural practices including the performance management system and leadership development initiatives.
Blast Radius, a global technology firm with Canadian headquarters in Vancouver, realized that service excellence and teamwork were critical to achieving corporate goals. To reinforce this message the CEO and the HR department defined these behaviours and included them in the performance management process. In addition, project managers provided feedback on these behaviours at the end of each project and provided cash rewards to employees who demonstrated high levels of performance. To further support integrated recognition messages, employees nominated their peers and teams for awards in these areas.
Keep it going
Lastly, keep the momentum going. Many HR professionals introduce a recognition program and then consider the work done. This doesn’t work. People need ongoing reinforcement about what the business values are. There also needs to be mechanisms in place to ensure recognition is happening on an ongoing basis.
One way to do this is to have managers submit a quarterly recognition form outlining who has been recognized (formally and informally) on their team and how. Another way is to put recognition on the agenda for management meetings to verbally reinforce recognition priorities.
To reinforce that recognition is a priority, senior executives could ask their direct reports, “How did you recognize that person?” when they hear stories of performance excellence related to corporate goals. If managers are expected to provide recognition, provide them with guidelines and reinforce how important it is to their success as a manager.
To ensure recognition is motivating, communicate frequently and as close to the event deserving recognition as possible. Always start with a focused dialogue about the business and corporate goals and describe how the person or team has made an impact on the business. Provide tangible examples that demonstrate the performance standard or behaviour deserving of recognition. This will ensure the people receiving the recognition understand what they did to deserve it and clarify to other people how value is generated in the company.
Where possible, use technology to support communication efforts. Intranets can provide information on the corporate goals and recognition parameters. They can be used to nominate colleagues, select award recipients and communicate key messages. Streaming video or podcasts can be used to send messages to employees in a geographically dispersed workplace.
To be effective, recognition does not have to be expensive or particularly sophisticated. Recognition practices should be relevant to the individual and the company goals, and messages should be delivered clearly, consistently and with sincerity.
Natalie Michael is a lead consultant and coach at Vancouver-based HR consultant firm Caliber Leadership Systems. She can be reached at [email protected].
