Tips for Engaging a Remote Workforce
Our second phase was the reimagination of our service award program. We had a pretty traditional, very manual service program. After working with Reward Gateway, we now have a flexible, automated program where our folks are recognized in real time and have the flexibility of the marketplace, including Amazon, to choose an award.
One of the things that I get asked a lot is how did I get buy-in from stakeholders. We had to present the proposal to the executive leadership team. So with the Engagement Council that I worked with, we put together a multimedia presentation that included audio clips from the focus groups and some video testimonials of what it meant to be recognized at work. We also had the executive leadership team participate in a couple of activities that allowed them to experience what it feels like to be recognized at work. Ironically, not a lot of executives take the time to recognize one another. They don't have the time. So that in of itself was novel. Then we said, "Hey, we have a solution." Reward Gateway helped us build a demo site that was branded, so that the leadership team could really be immersed and see and feel and touch, so much as you can touch virtually, what it will look like to utilize the platform — in order to get buy-in from the leadership team to move forward.
CT: When you were choosing a platform, what features were key to your decision?
LaFountain: Based upon the feedback that we heard from our employees, through all the discovery work that we did, we knew that we needed a platform that was completely and totally branded SNHU. It could not look like an external website; it had to look like an internal website, it had to feel like an internal website. So the flexibility and branding of the site was very, very important. We also knew that we wanted something that could support a phased approach for a long-term culture build. We didn't just want to send e-cards — we wanted the ability to send e-cards, and then eventually have an Excellence Award that could be hosted and implemented through the platform. We also wanted flexibility in the monetary awards. One of the big pieces of feedback we got from employees was, "I want flexibility. I want to choose what I get. I don't want to get a clock, just because I forgot to fill out the survey and a clock is the default gift." And then the last big piece for us was something we didn't anticipate in the beginning of the work. Because COVID happened, we needed a social component where folks were able to not just recognize one another, but share in the recognition of others. And for us, Reward Gateway's social feed does just that. No matter where you work, folks can see what good stuff is happening, which is really good, not just for acknowledging and recognizing and driving behaviors that you want to see in your employees, but also for that sense of openness, transparency, and community.
CT: Did you need to get buy-in from employees that this recognition was going to be meaningful and important to participate in?
LaFountain: Yes. I can't say yes enough. I want to say yes with a bunch of exclamation points. Yes!!! This is the part of the Shine program that I'm most proud of. Based upon our research, we found that one of the things that makes recognition/appreciation meaningful is that it's tailored to the person that you're delivering it to. And it turns out people have preferences. Not everybody likes to be called up in front of everybody else and told, "Hey, great job." So in the system, you can identify and share what your preference is. For example, I am a big fan of private praise. So I have put that in my Shine profile, and in the program, you can actually send someone private praise.
We have a group of dedicated Shine champions who come up with programming that we do around the system — so for example, in February, we do candygrams, special e-cards that are fun puns that you can send to one another. They also do road shows and education around why preference matters and how to have those conversations. These are all individual contributors who feel passionately about recognition, have volunteered to be champions, and have infiltrated our business operations to really make the program successful. And we continue to use them in fun, creative ways to help our adoption and utilization of the program.