AAA – Auto Club Enterprises Reimagines Recognition Through Total Rewards
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6%
increase in “My team takes time to celebrate our successes”
90%
award redemption rate
82%
of employees say they feel successful in the organization
AAA – Auto Club Enterprises won the Breakthrough Award for Elevating Impact
Auto Club Enterprises (ACE) is the largest member club of AAA, serving more than 18 million members in 22 states. Over 16,000 employees proudly deliver legendary service and beneficial products that provide members peace of mind and value. ACE cultivates that same culture of care and service for their employees through recognition.
Situation
“Care for our employees is at the heart of our Total Rewards strategy,” says Andrew DeCaminada, Vice President of Talent. The company wanted their Total Rewards offerings, including recognition, to attract and retain talent, so they engaged O.C. Tanner to help create Live Legendary.
“We engaged with O.C. Tanner’s Culture Consultants to go on this journey and figure out how we could really reimagine and transform recognition at ACE. They helped us understand how employees wanted to be recognized, get executive buy-in, create a platform and process that was meaningful for employees, and put together a change management plan to launch our new platform.”
—Renee Maas, Lead Partner, Internal Communications.
Solution
Live Legendary, powered by Culture Cloud®, provides leaders and employees the opportunity to give points and eCards and celebrate. Recognition is connected to ACE’s company values, and employees can order an award that is meaningful to them. The look, feel, branding, and communication of Live Legendary align with the new overall brand of Total Rewards.
The company works closely with their Internal Communications teams to develop creative campaigns for email, digital signage, Total Rewards Expos, etc. “We want to take the time to acknowledge, recognize, and reward employee efforts and behaviors continuously,” says Jennifer Shanley, Manager of Employee Engagement & Internal Communications.
The team finds opportunities to celebrate employees throughout the year. “The O.C. Tanner team taught us to think about the momentum of recognition and find regular times to celebrate. We look at the calendar to think about how we can be creative to make special recognition moments for our people,” says Maas.
“A big part of our success is working with the O.C. Tanner team to create meaningful moments of appreciation. They can be small everyday gestures or peak pinnacle events. We work with O.C. Tanner to elevate recognition, maximize the impact, and maintain consistency across the organization.”
—Andrew DeCaminada, Vice President of Talent
ACE’s tips for success:
1. Listen to employees. Regularly survey and understand how employees prefer to be recognized. Use those insights to continuously evolve recognition.
2. Work closely with business partners. Understand their unique needs and customize recognition while keeping a cohesive approach.
3. Build consistency. “By using Live Legendary as the singular unified platform for recognition, our employees universally know the value of the award and leaders know the standards by which to recognize their people,” says DeCaminada. “By staying consistent, intentional, and employee-focused, we ensure recognition is top of mind and every award, big or small, is meaningful.”
4. Integrate recognition. Live Legendary is used for wellness initiatives, holiday celebrations, teambuilding activities, sales, and the prestigious President’s Elite event. Employees learn about Live Legendary on their first day, and all new leaders receive training on how to genuinely give appreciation.
Results
“We’ve seen some measurable, impactful results around engagement, development, and overall organizational success. That goes back to the consistency in recognition that Live Legendary provides,” explains Shanley.
With this success, ACE is not done yet. “To keep our Total Rewards strategy fresh, we continuously consult with O.C. Tanner and rely on their Global Culture Report to determine the latest trends and how we can keep recognition top of mind and relevant to our employees,” says Maas.
“Beyond the metrics, Live Legendary has created a lot of memorable moments. Employees love to share when they’ve been recognized, which exemplifies our legendary service, culture, and who we are as an organization. Live Legendary has transformed our scattered, disparate recognition programs into a consistent, exciting platform that employees believe in and see as a benefit of being part of this organization. They take care of our members, and so we take care of them.”
—Jennifer Shanley, Manager of Employee Engagement & Internal Communications
