5 Steps to ignite passion.
Late last year I met with a company that had attempted to deliver a recognition and reward program, but which had failed to inspire staff, despite their best efforts.
On investigation, the reasons for the lack of success were clear.
As a result, we worked with our client and developed a list of 5 steps to give any business the greatest opportunity to deliver a recognition program that drives passion, and motivates and inspires staff, while delivering a measurable return on investment.
When considering any recognition program, it should have two clear aims:
- To build a culture to inspire your staff and increase engagement.
This will deliver improved productivity, reduce employee absenteeism and turnover, and increase guest or customer experience.
- To deliver a positive return to the business, so that any rewards are funded out of business improvements, so the program needs clear “deliverables” that can be measured.
You wouldn’t purchase a piece of machinery and not know the cost or return on investment for the life of the machine, so why treat a recognition program any differently?
These 5 steps will help any organisation to implement a successful recognition program.
Step1. Promote your program.
Maximise the effect of your program by announcing the reasons for implementing and clearly define the behaviour criteria that you are focusing on before you start tracking performance.
Organize a company meeting to promote the reasons for the program to build enthusiasm and desire to participate, put posters around the office, and advertise on the intranet. Many clients get staff buy-in early on by running a competition to name the program and come up with realistic reward ideas.
Step 2. Make recognition real time. This is crucial.
Utilizing technology to deliver instant recognition will motive and inspire your team. It will make the feedback meaningful, and as colleagues see the results it is likely that these behaviours will become the norm. What gets recognised gets repeated.
Step 3. Make the rewards achievable.
For the team to be motivated by the rewards, all participants should have a fair chance of achieving them. If you set the bar too high, you’ll be seen as out of touch with reality–and your employees will wonder why they should even try. Remember too, to offer rewards to reflect the gender, ethnicity and the age of your employees so as not to alienate anyone.
Step 4. Celebrate success.
When an employee receives an award, celebrate their success. Announce it at a team meeting or send out a company-wide email promoting the success. Better still, use an online platform that has a Notice Board or a Wall of Fame to promote the positive feedback. The best technology platforms will have noticeboards where achievement can be posted for all to see. This will build the enthusiasm among the rest of the team.
Step 5. Make the program transparent.
There’s no faster way to destroy morale and motivation than to let the tiniest bit of favouritism creep into a recognition and reward program. If your team believes you’re playing favorites, they will quickly lose interest. To prevent this, make the feedback criteria clear, consistent, transparent, and quantifiable. Having Peer to Peer recognition focused on your corporate values is a powerful motivator and can be effective and low cost if it is simply feedback given rather than points.
Your goal should be to have everyone thinking “I can achieve that.”
Giving positive feedback that is SMART (sincere, measurable, appropriate, relevant and timely) while aligned to your corporate vision, is a proven and powerful motivator.
Why not aim to ignite the passion in your employees by establishing a culture of appreciation that will maximise the investment in your team?
At a time when staff turnover is high, this is a great way to retain your talent. After all, if you don’t look after your stars, your competitors certainly will.
Tony Delaney, CEO, Brownie Points
To learn how we can help you ignite the passion in your employees contact us today at info@browniepoints.com.au
