The workplace has evolved. So has the rewards and recognition system. It has moved from being extrinsic to more intrinsic, thus creating a bond between an employee and the organisation. Rewards, which were long-drawn and time-bound, have become concise. For instance, loyalty bonuses are showered annually by many companies. Rewards have also moved beyond production and business targets to even include values exhibited by individuals and the team.
Rewards are a strategic tool for any organisation and must be managed well. In fact, one third of an organisation’s expense is spent toward employee compensation.
At Episource, we follow many best practices to keep employees motivated. The total reward system is designed in such a way that it is aligned with the expectations of the employee. For instance, we place a lot of emphasis on the employee’s potential to ‘humanise data’, that is his/ her ability to recognise, acknowledge and appreciate people — be it employees, clients, partners and service providers.
We also offer short-cycle retention bonuses, project-based allowances, productivity-linked incentives and recognise best employees. Even trainees are considered equally for such incentives.
Robert Inniah
Vice President –
Human Resources,
Episource India
***
Salary hike is a motivation factor for a majority of employees but competitive salaries alone are not enough to stimulate employee development. It requires a motivating work environment to improve the skills, talents and abilities of employees.
But, it is essential to recognise the employee from time to time as it develops the employee’s job satisfaction and long-term commitment towards the company.
We reward and appreciate our associates aptly with respect to their individual or team efforts.
Maximus Naepoleon. J
Assistant Manager,
HR,
Bahwan CyberTek
***
In any organisation, rewards and recognition programmes are established for two reasons: To recognise and celebrate outstanding performance or attributes of exemplary performers and to communicate what the organisation truly values and to reinforce those positive behaviours or performance among the rest of the employees, thereby creating aspirational value. Therefore, rewards and recognition programmes need to ‘reflect’ what the Company values and also what the employees value (while designing the rewards).
Additionally, it is also important that reward and recognition programmes are communicated transparently. Having the reward and recognition policy communicated via the Company intranet, through Company townhalls and periodic sessions by the HR business partners is key to ensuring strong awareness.
At AGS Health, over 95% of our global workforce is below the age of 30. And over 47% of our workforce comprises women colleagues. Rewards and recognition programmes have evolved to become a compelling blend of both monetary and non-monetary components, offering a holistic recognition to high performers, that addresses different motivators. Even the delivery mode of rewards and recognition programmes have changed. It is no longer just an announcement and an award. It is an ‘experience’ of celebration, bringing the entire organisation together and communicating success stories. HR now plays the role of a friend, an advisor, a consultant and a confidante.
During onboarding and new hire training, we have awards for best debut and highest training scores. In operations, we have a quarterly rewards and recognition programme called ‘Pinnacle’ where we celebrate our top performers from each business vertical across various categories such as consistently high performance, attendance, talent retention, innovation, teamwork and quality. We have also instituted spot awards so that colleagues going the extra mile can be immediately recognised and rewarded by their leaders for extraordinary achievements. We have a unique frontline leader selection programme called “Aspire” where top performers automatically receive an email from HR about their eligibility to apply for first time manager positions for vacancies across the organisation. This form of career progression, as a reward and recognition for top performers, ensures guaranteed fairness, meritocracy and transparency where top performers know they will grow within the Company.
Smita Venkataraman,
Executive Director –
HR and Corporate Communications,
AGS Health
***
Attracting and retaining good talent will continue to be a challenge for companies unless they actively find people doing the right thing and recognise them. In an industry which mostly attracts GenY professionals, it is important to reinforce that learning is more important than what one earns in the initial phase of their career. Companies should have defined career paths offering exposure to multiple domain opportunities and should constantly develop potential with training and coaching interventions.
In most progressive companies like ours, HR is no longer seen as a support function but an active stakeholder in the business.
Our employees are our most valued asset. We provide a culture of inspiration, career development and advancement for employees that leverages globally dispersed top talent, giving employees a variety of opportunities to work on interesting projects ranging from minimally skilled projects to deep technology assignments.
All our reward and recognition programmes are implemented uniformly across our 60 global locations.
Our Global Online Recognition tool also provides a platform for social recognition where employees can appreciate their peers, post their own accomplishments, interact with not just their teams but with the rest of Sutherlanders worldwide. In addition, we have our esteemed clients who partner with us and sponsor attractive rewards for our employees.
The managers are empowered to do spot monetary recognition and for the employee, the recognition point earned can be converted to gift vouchers from leading brands.
Anil Joseph, Head of HR, Sutherland
