Incentive - September 2008 - (Page 22) COVER STORY “Our company is stronger today than our competitors because of this Best of the Best [employee recognition] program. ” 22 | Incentive | September 2008 | incentivemag.com Photo: Zave Smith MetLife Auto & Home’s first “Our company is recognition chairperson, develstronger today than our oped Best of the Best in 2003. competitors because of this “In order to build it as part of program,” says Rhody. “If our culture, the leaders had to this remains part of our buy in and believe in it,” says culture, which we intend it Hayes-Brown. “At the same time to, it will give us an advanwe realized for it to be effective, tage over our competitors it couldn’t be anything that was forever more.” mandated or pushed down in order for it to be really successful. So we count on the experts, The Best of the Best prowhich are the folks out there, our gram is broken into three associates.” Even the budget is tiers. The first is On the left to individual offices. Spot, which Hayes-Brown While he gave up the title in describes as “your immedi2006, Hayes-Brown still actively ate recognition, your pat mentors his successor. He is, after on the back, thank-you” all, the company recognition from a manager or superviexpert and a member of the sor on a day-to-day basis. board of directors of RecogniNext is the more struction Professionals International tured middle tier, known (RPI), an organization he discov(perhaps somewhat confusered while looking for advice on ingly) as “informal.” This is how to create the Best of the a Web-based system with a Best program. nomination process based MetLife Auto & Home Recognition Chairperson Ronnie Brennan believes that a good recognition “When I got this new role of around four corporate program will show results on the bottom line corporate recognition chairperson, objectives. Nominations I went out on the Web looking for some are vetted by each office’s committee of program is showing solid results in the help,” Hayes-Brown says, noting that two to five volunteer recognition champiform of steadily rising employee satisfacons, generally on a monthly basis, and while MetLife Auto & Home had long tion and retention. Looking at the largest winners can choose a gift from an online tried to foster a culture of recognition and department in MetLife Auto & Home, the catalog. employee engagement, it had not had a claims department, employee satisfaction Finally, there’s the “formal” level, an formal program of any kind, except the scores rose from 3.89 to 4.43 on a one-toannual selection of a few names from five scale between 2003 and 2006. In that standard sales-force-only incentive plan. “I every business unit (up to five from the largest office) will be sent to Brennan’s corporate recognition committee, which will choose 33 winners—one percent of the 3,300 employees—to be recognized at the corporate level and travel to a ceremony hosted by the company’s president. This award is handed out by the recognition champions committee, overseen by –Marge Rhody, V.P. of customer service operations the recognition chairperson. All of those period, customer satisfaction and retention saw their Web site [RPI was then called nominated by their local recognition rates grew at roughly the same rate as the the National Association for Employee champions are honored, whether they are increase in employees who said on the Recognition] and saw that there were selected or not, Hayes-Brown says. company’s job satisfaction surveys that “One thing that I love about our recogniother folks like me out there looking for tion program is that while there are certain they felt recognized. At the same time, jusbest practices and wanting ways to sharpcriteria—our key recognizable behaviors tified customer complaints fell at approxien their skills for recognition.” that you nominate people under that [are mately that same rate. Five years later, the Best of the Best The Details http://incentivemag.com
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