Recognizing Achievement

Two companies win accolades for their recognition programs at the National Association of Employee Recognition's fifth-annual Best Practices Awards

By: Tina Benitez

SEPTEMBER 01, 2002 - -- This summer two companies, Telus and CalPers, won top honors for their recognition programs from the National Association of Employee Recognition (NAER). The awards ceremony, held at the Sheraton Northwest Hotel in Chicago, celebrated organizations whose recognition programs met three or more of NAER's criteria. Of the 17 nominations, only two won.

Telus, a telecommunications company, based in Edmonton, Canada, took the award in recognition and communication strategy process/program change and flexibility for its "Team Machine" program. CalPers, the retirement and health benefits company, based in Sacramento, Calif., won for behavior-based processes, process/program management, goal alignment, celebrations and events as well as employee participation and satisfaction. Other NAER categories included management and responsibility and overall recognition system.

Here's a closer look at this year's Best Practices award winners.

Teamwork at Telus
Last summer Norman Shier, a technician from Nanaimo, B.C., dangled out of a helicopter 150 feet above water to untangle a fiber-optic cable from hydro-power lines. But it's just part of the job for Shier, who is responsible for maintaining his company's network of fiber-optic cables.

Shier is just one example of how far employees at Telus will go to get the job done. Thanks to "Team Machine," managers now get full reports on employee performance, and they are able to better recognize heroic employees like Shier or other workers' everyday good deeds, no matter how big or small.

Since "Team Machine" began, paying more attention to individual performance and rewarding it appropriately have been the major benefits of the program, especially since Telus' switch from a regional to national organization. "The program is tied to corporate values," says Kendra Innes, director of performance enhancement at Telus. "We determined the kinds of things that we wanted to use as recognition measurements. Behavior that supports corporate values and strategy is key."

Better intraoffice communication between the Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Quebec and Edmonton sites was the primary goal. "We wanted to provide a tool for someone in Quebec, for example, to be able to recognize someone in Vancouver," Innes says. "The title, 'Team Machine,' supports our approach at Telus, and our multi-tiered program supports informal and formal recognition."

All 30,000 of Telus' employees can earn points toward merchandise in an award catalog each quarter. Points are then redeemed in Telus' online catalog for merchandise, gift certificates or travel services, starting at 100 points for a key chain and ending at 35,000 points for a home entertainment system. Weekend hotel stays and Telus products will also be added to the catalog by the end of next year. "We really looked at the demographics of our company and wanted to meet different ages and interests," Innes says. "We have a variety of awards that meet the needs of everyone."

A race-car theme and logo support the Telus desire to keep communications, values and hard work rolling. E-cards, messages sent via E-mail or by company Intranet, are given on a daily basis for a job well done.

If a manager sends a "Spark Plug" award, the first award in the Telus program, employees also receive an E-card thanking them for their hard work. Managers can also add up to 300 points as an extra thank-you based on performance. "There are a lot of things that go on between peers that help them do their jobs better that a manager may not be privy to," Innes says. "It brings them into the loop and engages them in the process."

The "Accelerator" award, the next award level, recognizes employees who demonstrate at least one of the Telus values and go above and beyond their everyday responsibilities. Winners get 1,000 points to be redeemed or saved for a gift of higher value.

Lastly, "Turbo Charge" awards 3,000 points to individuals demonstrating all four values, which include contribution to strategy and cost savings. A cross-functional group of managers scores each individual "Turbo Charge" award winner based on their demonstration of the core values and their ability to exceed them.

Finally, the top prizes are awarded. "Pace Setter" winners are invited by an executive member, or judge, to a "Pace Setter" event at the quarter's end. To commemorate their achievement, "Pace Setters" receive a glass sculpture and card designed by the Inukshuk Indians, a wine-and-cheese party and mention in the CEO's weekly newsletter. Acing it

Acing It

The goal was to make the 1,700 employees of California State and Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the retirement and healthcare provider, realize that they are just as important as their clients, the active and retired employees of school districts and state/public agencies in California. The solution was simple: Reward each employee with everything from a personalized note to the top award.

"Internal service to one another and camaraderie are just as important to your organization as any other corporate objectives," says Heidi Evans, recognition program coordinator at CalPERS, when describing her company's winning formula. "People are what drive those objectives."

The "Achieving Communications Excellence" (ACE) program, first developed and implemented in 1998, is a low-key approach to employee recognition that works. The "You're a Rock" theme, complete with a pass-around rock, die-cut rock notepaper, E-mails, gift certificates as well as verbal and written peer recognition keep the program top of mind. Each employee completes a "Get to Know" form, which helps management find the most effective reward for each employee.

"We do team recognition, but we also focus on more individualized recognition," Evans says. "We empower our staff and management to take recognition down to the basics. We didn't want our staff to think that this was the flavor of the month."

Nominations are open annually from January through March for the "Apex" award, a more formal award given to individuals for their outstanding performance. Peers and supervisors can then nominate each other as employees who have honored the core values of the organization: quality, respect, accountability, integrity and openness as well as customer service principles--convenient, accurate, learning, pro-active, efficient, responsive and service-oriented. This year 24 employees earned the "Apex" award. Winners attended a special luncheon and received a crystal award, a place on the Apex marquee wall for a year and $500, awarded either as cash, investment in CalPERS supplemental savings program or as a gift certificate.

Rewards help keep the company's base together, Evans says. "You have to have foundational pieces before you have a successful incentive program," she says. "Otherwise, people don't make those ties, they're not committed, loyal or feel pride in the organization, and rewards just become stuff."

--By Tina Benitez