(By Medlina Ligos)
F
irst, some bad news. Your top performers may be getting ready to jump ship. At least that’s what the results of a recent survey indicate. At the end of last year, Right Management, a career consultancy, asked more than 900 workers in North America if they planned to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010. Sixty percent said "yes." Another 20% indicated they would be updating their resumes and attending networking events "just in case" a better opportunity comes along. Those numbers don’t surprise Michelle Smith, vice president of business development for O.C. Tanner, an incentive management company. "Many workers are feeling underappreciated with their leadership right
now," Smith says. "As the job market thaws, they’re going to go somewhere they feel more valued."
One of the main sources of workers’ discontent these days, Smith contends, is the fact that their companies didn’t spend as much time – or resources – focusing on employee recognition last year. "Unfortunately, too many businesses pulled back on incentivizing employees last year and now businesses are going to feel the effect of that," she says.
Now, some good news: If you retool your recognition and rewards programs now, you’ll have a much better chance of keeping your best and brightest. Don’t fall into the trap of continuing to do what you’ve always done, Smith warns. "Your business has changed in the last 18 months. Make sure you update your recognition plan accordingly."
Here are three things to consider as you retool your employee recognition programs – and get the troops recharged for 2010.
Recognition Re-Do #1 - New Year, New Goals
Last year, Gavin Upton’s primary incentive program for his employees at a staffing firm revolved around cost-cutting. Those who came up with ways to save money got top pick from a variety of rewards, ranging from $25 gift cards to iPods, depending on the value of the savings. One customer service rep received a Bose stereo system for leading a paperless initiative that saved the company nearly $30,000. "We really cut our operations to the bone last year, so finding cost savings was a natural incentive," Upton says. Now, with expenses in check and business picking up, Upton says he’s revised his recognition program, as well. "This year, we’ve shifted gears and are rewarding people for finding new business." Staffers who exceed their monthly goals of bringing in new leads or closing new business are now eligible for a variety of spontaneous rewards, including logoed apparel and tickets to local sporting events.
Indeed, "Most of the clients I have spoken to are retooling their programs to align with new business goals," Smith says.
And while increasing sales is certainly a goal at most companies, it shouldn’t be the only goal that’s tied to a recognition program, says Roy Saunderson, president of the Recognition Management Institute. "Too many companies eliminate employees from recognition programs if they don’t directly contribute to revenue," he says. "That’s a big mistake. What about the people who deliver outstanding customer service? Or behave in an extremely ethical manger? Don’t these people deserve to be recognized?"
The bottom line: "Structure a recognition program to reward employees for all behaviors that contribute to the company’s goals – not just the revenue-related ones," Saunderson says.
Recognition Re-Do #2 - Involve Everyone,
Not Just Managers
Wells Fargo & Company recently completed a merger with Wachovia and is in the midst of developing a new recognition program for the 26,000 members of its technology and operations group. According to Lisa Massiello, group recognition manager, the new program will concentrate on the newly-merged group’s new shared goals, which include the following attributes: leadership, teamwork and customer care. "We’re refocusing on the attributes that are most important to our company’s mission," Massiello says. Through the program, a manager submits an electronic nomination for an individual who has excelled in one of these areas, and provides some brief examples to support the nomination. Once approved, the employee receives a certificate or other reward to celebrate his or her achievement.
Wells Fargo also plans to continue Wachovia’s legacy peer-to-peer recognition program, which allows any employee to recognize a peer, regardless of where they work within the company. The program, which was launched in 2000, hit a milestone in 2008: More than one million employees had used the program to recognize one another. "It’s been wildly successful," Massiello says.
