Stop Creating Second-Class Corporate Citizens

On Monday this week, I wrote about Symantec’s incredible success with peer-to-peer recognition programs that span departments and teams. But the only reason Symantec is able to allow employees from any department to recognize each other is because they launched their employee recognition program globally – to all employees – on the same day. They didn’t do a “staged roll-out” to the employees in the US first, as so many solutions usually are – which leaves employees outside the US feeling like second-class citizens.

But the benefits of going global don’t stop at peer-to-peer recognition capabilities. The cost savings and program governance abilities are greatly enhanced, too, as Bill McCullough, senior compensation analyst at Symantec explained in this recent Workforce Management article:

Companies with operations scattered around the world believe centralized reward plans reach more people and their value can be assessed more easily. Multinationals also reap financial benefits from a global approach.

“Our employees love it,” says Bill McCullough, senior compensation analyst. “Now, approximately 65 percent of employees are touched by the program, and it has impacted our employee satisfaction scores.”

Now, with its centralized program, Symantec says it can track the return on investment in employee recognition, as well as use job performance metrics to ensure that outstanding workers receive the appropriate kudos.

As discussed in more depth in our upcoming book, Winning with a Culture of Recognition, these results strongly reflect Symantec’s ambition for their recognition program, including: “One global strategic recognition solution” and “Local impact and relevance for all employees globally.”

What’s your employee recognition strategy say about your company and what you really think of your employees?