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Compensation & Benefits

Speedy Employee Recognition

Rob Schmitter

The Corporate Leadership Council suggests a world-class rewards or recognition program should offer rewards that are immediate, proportional, desirable, visible and focused on personal or meaningful selection.

When evaluating whether an employee recognition and rewards program meets these criteria effectively, companies should look no further than the employee population the program serves. Canadian-based Nortel Networks did just that last year, when it analyzed feedback from its 26,000 employees in 60 countries to find out if employee rewards were backfiring and why.

A global leader in delivering communications capabilities, Nortel had a history of ad-hoc, homegrown recognition programs in different divisions across the company. Company leaders found that each one had its own challenges. These included limited opportunities to recognize peers, inconsistent guidelines and programs across business units, lack of ongoing appreciation for a job well done, limited communication and marketing of existing programs and tools, lack of flexibility to provide different types and levels of awards, limited ability to accurately capture and report on all recognition activity and spend and — as one employee pointed out when asked what he wanted to see addressed with a new program — lack of timely recognition.

The employee said he knew Nortel was actively focusing on this aspect of its reward program, but improvements required more than new processes. They required a managerial culture change because a lack of recognition can turn a positive, motivated employee into someone who wants to leave if he or she feels taken for granted.

A key consideration for Nortel’s new strategic recognition program was speed. Another astute Nortel employee pointed out the recognition moment should closely follow the act being recognized to ensure the recipient has the achievement top of mind.

Frequency of recognition is equally important. When more awards are given, the program gains visibility and thus creates more recognition moments. This ensures a majority of employees are involved, interacting on behalf of the company values and receiving critical company messages through the recognition program.

Early and frequent recognition were top priorities for Nortel’s new program. With employee recognition program provider, Globoforce, the company developed an on-demand program called Excellence@Nortel. Launched companywide last April, the initial results showed the organization quickly achieved faster award delivery while broadening the program’s reach. Prior to the launch of Excellence@Nortel, award delivery took an average of six weeks. With the new program, 70 percent of awards were approved and delivered to the recipient within three days of recognition.

Further, nearly 35 percent of Nortel’s global employee population received an award through the new program just six months after program launch. In a Nortel employee survey about the new program, 91 percent of respondents said the program met its goal to enable timely and personalized recognition.

A strategic recognition program that links awards to company goals and values can positively impact a global organization’s culture and business. Excellence@Nortel provides Nortel employees with a user-friendly, noncash program that accommodates the company’s language and currency needs worldwide, allows for a simple process to ensure tax compliance while minimizing financial impact on employees, and gives company leaders a centralized budgeting and reporting mechanism to track all program activity. Most importantly, it gives Nortel employees what they want: timely and appropriate recognition.