As specialists in the recognition and rewards industry, we're convinced of the power of employee engagement and meaningful recognition to transform organisations and spur growth.
When our company and employee base began to grow back in 2000, we knew it was time to “walk the talk”. We wanted to introduce a recognition programme for our employees that was designed with their input. So we formed an employee-driven, internal recognition team and branded our programme ‘Bravo!’ – a universal name that could be understood worldwide. Today, more than a third of our overall employee base work internationally with offices in London, Sydney, Jordan, Singapore, Mexico City and San Francisco.
Two of our ‘Bravo!’ committee members (Philip Daly, Director of Infrastructure & Information Security and Edessa Dakji, Client Service Manager) share how our programme is structured and how we’ve been successful in creating an engaging programme that says ‘Bravo!’ to all our staff for a job well done.
Our ‘Bravo!’ programme objectives
- Provide consistent recognition for our employees
- Offer multiple ways to earn rewards
- Reward individual and team performance
- Reward specific behaviours and values that matter to our company
- Make the rewards meaningful, achievable, and desirable
- Keep the programme fun and interesting
Our recognition structure
We run ‘Bravo!’ on our own Power2Motivate recognition platform. There are multiple ways within the application to recognise employees and keep them engaged. Our awards are broadly broken into three award families:-
Peer to Peer recognition
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Manager Awards
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Monthly Awards
- Power2Motivate All Star – Awarded to the "employee of the month" who has consistently showed exceptional effort and attitude on the job.
- Trailblazer – Awarded to a staff member who has forged ahead in improving a process, created new technology, or opened up a new line of business.
- Better Your World – Awarded to an individual who is helping to make their world a better place. i.e. charity work, life style improvements, community involvement, etc.
- Team Power2Motivate – Awarded to a team who demonstrated exceptional team spirit in meeting and exceeding their project goals.
Provide numerous ways to be recognised
Having different ways to win awards and earn points encourages ongoing participation in our programme, so we also offer other points-earning opportunities:-
Anniversary awards - points for continued years of service.
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Birthday awards – birthday bonus points!
- Special events/holidays – points for participating in themed challenges like the best Halloween costume, the most creative holiday decorations, or making the best chili at our annual Chili Cook-Off.
- Employee Referral – A successful employee referral and hire can earn staff a bundle of points. We’ve had some amazing hires come in through staff referrals.
We noticed early in the game that “Top Performers” tended to get more recognition because they work on high profile tasks so we trained our managers to turn recognition into a daily event with the launch of instant "Gotcha" e-rewards cards. Managers can give out instant spot recognition awards to individual employees and teams for a job well done. "Gothca" recipients are displayed on our ‘Bravo!’ scrolling news banner and in the company lunch room monitors. Instant "recognition" is quickly becoming a very engaging and appropriate tool for our mostly younger workforce because it combines personal and peer recognition.
Another tasty perk is the company $5 lunch plan. Staff can opt into a delicious array of healthy, hot meals prepared and served by an onsite chef, which includes breakfast and lunch daily.
Spreading recognition around the globe
Power2Motivate has been growing at 100% annually for the last four years and we’re creating many new international positions, which have formed a new dynamic for the ‘Bravo!’ Rewards Team – how to effectively recognise our global team members. To keep them involved, we ensure they’re enrolled in the ‘Bravo!’ Programme and receiving regular updates. We do a live web-feed of the monthly awards ceremony luncheon so they can tune in and see what’s happening. We also remind their managers and colleagues to keep them in mind when it comes time for nominations. Instant "Gotcha" e-codes have also really helped to connect their global achievements with the rest of the Carlton team back home.
Amp up the fun factor with social events
When staff meet their quarterly KPI targets, we stage offsite social events and take everyone out to celebrate. It’s a great way to stay in touch with each other and what’s going on in the company. Outings like concerts, boat cruises and Blue Jays games have all proven popular, as well as team building events like laser tag and bowling.
Offer desirable and achievable rewards
There are so many ways to earn points throughout the year that small amounts can quickly add up. Some people save up their points for flights and trips. Others will redeem more regularly for smaller rewards. Topping the list are prepaid Cards ($50, $100, $200) and Retirement and Child Education contributions ($250, $1000). Retail gift cards for clothing, food, entertainment and fuel are also popular.
Our merchandise redemptions run the gamut: Apple iPad's, Samsung Galaxy tablets, Bose headphones, Hamilton Beach Broom Vacuums, KitchenAid appliances, Nikon Coolpix cameras, Taylormade golf gift packs, Runtastic Heart Rate Combo Monitors, gifts for kids, and so much more. Our staff has literally millions of reward options to choose from.
Monitor your programme’s effectiveness
We track our programme’s effectiveness and success in several ways. We review the Power2Motivate user participation and redemption reports. We also regularly survey our team to gauge their satisfaction with the programme.
For example, in a recent company survey we were delighted to discover that 82% of our employees are inspired to meet their goals at work, 68% are confident they'll be recognised for excellent work, and more than two-thirds feel the company is dedicated to their professional development and career growth.
As a company we recognise there's always room for improvement. So we use our survey feedback to enhance our internal programme... in the same way we leverage survey results to improve our offerings for our clients.
The results are our reward
When we review the results, what do we find? The programme works … big time! Our award winners are genuinely motivated and inspired. They feel recognised by their managers and peers which provides a powerful boost in morale. This all makes for a happier, engaged, and more productive team. What's probably most telling is that company attrition rates have fallen to near zero levels in the last five years while engagement scores have risen each year.
It’s a win all around – ‘Bravo!’
Author: Rob Purdy is the Founder and CEO of Power2Motivate (P2M), the world’s leading solution for employee recognition, sales incentives, loyalty, training and rewards.