Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER NOVEMBER 2019 FEATURES 17 RECOGNITION Getting the most out of recognition Numeris reviews, revamps recognition program to see better results By Claudine Kapel G etting employees on- board with organization- al change isn't easy. Conventional wisdom says orga- nizations should look to reinforce desired behaviours and results by linking pay and performance. And many organizations try to forge these links through merit increas- es, striving to give slightly bigger salary increases to top performers. But budgets for salary increases have been lackluster of late. At best, top performers only get one or two per cent more as acknowl- edgement of their contributions. And those are annual increases, so they don't provide opportunities to recognize people going above and beyond in a timely manner. As a result, there is a growing interest in recognition programs as a means of delivering "just-in- time" acknowledgement. However, many employers could use recognition programs more effectively to help drive de- sired performance and results. Recognition programs lacking A recent study by WorldatWork, entitled Trends in Employee Rec- ognition, found that length-of- service programs remain the most common type of program, used by 72 per cent of survey participants. In contrast, significantly fewer organizations reported having programs aimed at motivating specific behaviours or outcomes such as customer service (34 per cent), productivity (27 per cent) and quality (27 per cent). Further, only 26 per cent reported using recognition to provide line of sight to company goals while 24 per cent said they use recognition to support a culture of change. Many employers feel there is room for improvement. Only 18 per cent of respondents to the WorldatWork survey felt their recognition programs were "defi- nitely" meeting objectives. So, how can employers lever- age recognition programs so they deliver deeper value to the orga- nization? And, even more impor- tantly, how do they encourage people to adopt the new actions and behaviours that the organiza- tion needs to remain successful? Revamping recognition at Numeris One employer that has revamped its recognition approach to better drive organization change is Nu- meris, an audience measurement organization. It does research on the television shows people watch and the radio stations people lis- ten to so they can provide insights into the Canadian broadcasting and advertising industry. is sector has been undergo- ing massive change as more and more people watch TV shows or listen to music online. This profound change is demanding a paradigm shift within Numeris itself. e organization needs to find new ways to measure what people are watching or listening to if they are to continue adding value to stakeholders. at means employees not only need to support organizational changes, they need to help cre- ate the organization of the future, according to Vita DiSerio, vice- president of people and culture at Numeris in Toronto. One major area of focus has been to encourage more "enter- prise thinking," says DiSerio. is involves "looking beyond the scope of what you do day to day to consider how you're part of the bigger picture and how you can contribute to that." As Numeris enters into the digital space of media measure- ment, the people and culture team is looking for ways to better encourage innovation, cross-col- laboration and the optimization of business processes, she says. To help encourage new ways of working together, DiSerio has im- plemented a number of changes, including reviewing and revamp- ing the approach to recognition. As part of the review, DiSe- rio and her team looked at the feedback they had about existing recognition programs from both employees and management. Here are some of the issues: • Some programs were compli- cated or not adding value. • ere was too much emphasis on recognizing employees who demonstrated company values and not enough focus on the new desired behaviours related to enterprise thinking. • Some of the potential recogni- tion awards had unduly low values and there were no major awards for acknowledging sig- nificant contributions that had a major corporate impact. • Leaders wanted more coach- ing and guidance with respect to how to recognize employees but also how to align the value of recognition awards with the level of contribution made. "Ultimately, we wanted more structure around the types of be- haviours that are important to the organization," says DiSerio. "And we also wanted a way to align the level of contribution with the level of reward." In response, the team: • reviewed and consolidated pro- grams down to a critical few • refined the main company-wide program to simplify the design and more clearly define the types of contributions and be- haviours to be recognized, with an emphasis on acknowledging employees who collaborate, in- novate and serve as role models for enterprise thinking • expanded the types of awards that can be used when recogniz- ing employees to include cash- based spot bonuses • developed tools and training for people managers that included both general training on how to recognize employees as well as a framework that defined poten- tial levels of contribution and the related award values that would be appropriate by level. The framework for aligning recognition awards with contri- bution levels has been helpful because it helps leaders develop more consistency in their recog- nition practices, says DiSerio. It presents examples of the types of contributions and outputs that could be recognized by level and offers guidelines on the dol- lar value of awards that would be appropriate. At the lowest level of contribu- tion, people managers are encour- aged to acknowledge and thank employees for their efforts. At higher levels, employees can earn points that can be exchanged for their choice of gift cards or they can receive gift cards chosen by their manager. At the highest lev- els, employees can be awarded with spot bonuses. Organizations seeking to en- hance the effectiveness of their recognition programs should start by considering the organi- zation's key performance indica- tors, says DiSerio. How does the organization measure success and what behaviours need to be cul- tivated or reinforced to move the organization forward? In addition, HR needs to ensure the program design is aligned with business needs and priorities. "If it's pie in the sky, it will just be an HR program versus a busi- ness program." Finally, HR needs to be open to making changes, say DiSerio. "It's important to get feedback from leaders, managers and em- ployees at all levels and to take ac- tion where needed." While it is still early days for the new recognition approach at Nu- meris, DiSerio is looking forward to recognizing organizational achievements as the organization moves into digital measurement. Claudine Kapel is principal of Kapel and Associates, a human resources and compensation consulting firm based in Toronto. She can be reached at claudine@kapelandassociates. com. CAREpath is the only Canadian Health Care navigation program of its kind offered in Canada. 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