Incentive - July 2008 - (Page 40)

MOTIVATION @ WORK How is Your Company Spending its Recognition Dollars? Here are some tips from Scotiabank recent research study found recognition programs account for 2.7 percent of payroll. According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, payroll costs were $3 trillion, so we’re looking at $81 billion spent on recognition. That’s a lot of recognition. How is your organization spending your 2.7 percent? Are you randomly handing out recognition to your employees for showing up to work, breathing and not dying on the job? If that’s your recognition strategy it’s time for a change. Decide what is important to your organization and align your recognition program to the positive behaviors your organization wants to promote. These positive behaviors will then advance your company’s mission. The study also found 89 percent of companies use recognition programs as part of their human resources strategy, and 96 percent reported their recognition strategy aligns with their organization strategy. So how does an organization set up a winning strategy? Let’s take a look at one organization’s successful approach: Every year, my organization, Recognition Professionals International (RPI), a not-for-profit trade association, selects award recipients who excel in one or more of our defined Best Practice A standards of recognition program excellence. The seven standards are: 1. Recognition Strategy 2. Management Responsibility 3. Recognition Program Measurement 4. Communication Plan 5. Recognition Training 6. Recognition Events and Celebrations 7. Program Change and Flexibility This year, Scotiabank was awarded the 2008 Best Practice–Best in Class Award for three noteworthy facets of its outstanding employee recognition program. One of its winning categories was Recognition Strategy. And, although the very established Scotiabank is huge in both stature and size, its successful programs can be duplicated by other companies big and small. But before we discuss the program, here’s a little on the company. Scotiabank (the Bank of Nova Scotia) is a 175-year-old Toronto-based financial institution that offers a broad range of products and services, including retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking. It employs a team of 60,000 and serves 12.5 million customers in 50 countries. The company operates nearly 1,000 branches and 2,700 banking machines. The most CHRISTI L. GIBSON Executive Director of Recognition Professionals International, formerly known as National Association for Employee Recognition (NAER), has been with RPI since 2001, and has been published in newspapers and periodicals, and interviewed on both ABC and FOX News. She can be reached via e-mail at Christi@recognition.org 40 | Incentive | July 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - July 2008

Incentive - July 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Accentuate the Positive
In The News
Cover Story: Three Profiles in Good Corporate Citizenship
Case Study
Incentive Interview
Senior Secrets
To Thine Own Self be True
Incentive Primer
Motivation@Work
Travel News: Where To Go and What To Do
Take the Spa Home
Not the Only Game in Town
Here and Now
Writing and Desktop Gifts
Watches and Clocks
Gift Cards: Health and Wellness Incentives
Good Health Is Not Its Own Incentive
Advertiser Index
Last Word

Incentive - July 2008