Re-energizing your recognition program.

• Author: Nelson, Bob
• Position: Rewarding Employees

Every recognition program will need to be re-energized--sooner, more often than later. Perhaps the incentives have lost their thrill. Perhaps nominations have dwindled. Perhaps no one remembers the purpose or criteria for your awards. Following are some guidelines for revamping your recognition program. They can help make the most of your successes while learning from your mistakes.

Step 1: Reassess Program Effectiveness

Take stock of what is working well and what needs to be fixed. Tap into the people you are most trying to motivate through an employee survey, select interviews and focus groups.

A few years ago, BankBoston (now FleetBoston) created an informal recognition program in which any employee could give an embroidered gold star to any other employee or team. A letter of praise accompanied the star. After the program had been in operation for a while, the bank organized a team to examine how employees perceived it. Among other things, management discovered that employees thought the program was expensive, was not adequately supported by management and that the award was no longer special since so many stars were being distributed.

Step 2: Prioritize and Focus on Improvements

From the data collected, list changes that seem to be the most needed and prioritize those recommendations. In some instances, a program may need to be expanded; in other instances, certain awards may need to be deleted. Employee perceptions may be inaccurate, in which case, additional information may need to be dispersed. This was the situation at BankBoston, where employee perceptions differed from the facts in several instances. For example, a survey showed that the award's special nature had not been diluted by the number of stars distributed. Ninety percent of honored employees reported that the recognition had been the most meaningful moments of their careers. In addition, the team learned that the program was not as expensive as thought and that management energetically participated. (It cost the bank only $1.33 per star, and the average executive spent an hour each week personally delivering service stars.)

Other data collected from employees was useful for making recommendations for improvements. Employee input revealed that the existing Service...