Incentive - December 2008 - (Page 31) CASE STUDY journey, Cargill’s financial results are a good indication that its recognition program is working. In fiscal 2008, revenues rose 36 percent to $120.4 billion. Cash flow from operations increased 77 percent to $7 billion. Food and the Food Chain The company started from a simple grain storage facility on the American frontier, opened by W.W. Cargill in 1865. Today its operations include grain, cotton, sugar, petroleum and financial trading; food processing; futures brokering; health and pharmaceutical products; agricultural services like animal nutrition and crop protection; and industrial products. This diversity created communications challenges for the recognition strategy, but the latest survey shows they’re on the right track. To overcome language differences, the strategy relies on graphic representations of goals. “As a diverse company, we need to ensure that our individual recognition is culturally appropriate. But while we are diverse, we have a single, global definition of recognition,” says Buckner. Its internal recognition Web site says, “Recognition is more than a A happy employee at Cargill’s grain and oil business in Romania plaque or statue. It can be as simple as greeting someone by name or remembercreating distinctive value for customers, ing to say thank you.” The site offers communities, shareholders and employees. information about the Chairman’s Awards When Cargill created its formal program criteria and winners, gives ideas to recognition program, the ribbon of help employees contribute to Cargill’s culCollaboration was added to the three ture of recognition, and allows them to pillars to symbolize the fact that all have send e-card thank-yous in English, Chinese, to work together to be successful, and Spanish, Portuguese, German or Dutch. recognition is a big part of that. “Efforts around recognition are imporWhen launching the program, the tant, because they will allow us to grow company held three global recognition conand be our customers’ partner of choice,” ferences to explain what the recognition prosays Buckner. “Regular recognition and gram would entail. These were large-scale praise leads to lower turnover, better safety events that highlighted the need to focus on records, higher satisfaction scores from cusrecognition, especially as it relates to Cargill’s tomers and increased overall productivity. goals around employee engagement. Today, Cargill has many recognition teams in place at the business-unit level. Depicting Recognition The company’s business model is depicted The company celebrates top corporate by a graphic that every employee knows honorees for outstanding achievement and and understands. “Embedded into the accomplishment at its bi-annual awards graphic illustration of our corporate ceremony. The most recent was last strategy is recognition. This is key, since month in Minneapolis, where distinctions every single employee can see that recognition is a ribbon tying critical business practices together,” explains Karen Sachs, manager, global diversity and inclusion, and a member of Cargill’s global recognition steering team. At the base of the graphic is Leadership, referring not to management but instead to behaviors, knowledge and the ability to learn and take action. The leadership foundation supports the pillars of High Performance, Customer Focus and Innovation. And all of that supports the goal of included Chairman’s Awards for High Performance; for Customer Focus, for Innovation; for Leadership; and for Business Excellence. In the alternate years, most businesses and functions award their own top performers. “This can include a handshake, a bow or a short note delivered in a timely fashion,” says Buckner. “You can demonstrate courtesy and respect by the simple things, like noticing the efforts and accomplishments of people, getting to know the other person, listening, greeting A Cargill rep and customer examine a cacao pod in Brazil people by name and smiling. Informal high fives and notes are important too, but only proportionately,” he says. “Yes, we have award ceremonies, but the least amount of effort should be on these formal programs. There is a distinct connection between recognition, valuing each other, and engaging every mind and heart.” I Send comments to feedback@incentivemag.com incentivemag.com | December 2008 | Incentive | 31 http://www.incentivemag.com
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