Creative thinking, employee feedback drive recognition at Doctors of BC (National HR Awards)

Winner: Best Recognition Program

Creative thinking, employee feedback drive recognition at Doctors of BC (National HR Awards)
Doctors of BC’s recognition programs are successful because they are inspired by creative thinking, developed with integral employee feedback, and supported fully by the C-suite. Courtesy: Doctors of BC

 

 

 

 

On any given day, Amanda Corcoran, CHRO at Doctors of BC, has overheard employees trying on the company’s branded clothing line, located in the HR office.

“They talk about how many points away they are from getting the tights or the vest,” she says.

Workers trying on the clothing are not planning to buy the items, but rather hope to earn them as rewards in the Manager Recognition Program — one of three innovative recognition programs rolled out in recent years at the non-profit, Vancouver-based organization.

“The clothing line is really a huge hit. We launched it with an employee fashion show. People were applauding and it’s really taken off,” says Corcoran. “This form of recognition does so much for us. It’s a way to reward employees, it offers subtle branding, and it provokes a lot of pride in the recipients.”

In fact, all three of Doctors of BC’s recognition programs are successful because they were inspired by creative thinking, developed with integral employee feedback, and supported fully by CEO Allan Seckel, she says.

“Allan did question how much employees would like clothing as a recognition reward,” she says. But then he saw the line — designed with a Lululemon look and quality — and was instantly sold. Plus, the HR team chose it knowing it would appeal to all ages, especially millennials, who compose roughly 50 per cent of Doctors of BC staff.

The high-end branded sportswear features imprinting on the clothing that showcases Doctors of BC branding, and discretely celebrates its values (“better together,” “pursue excellence,” “courageous” and “seriously fun”). For example, the women’s yoga pants are form-fitting stretch workout tights, imprinted with the Doctors of BC logo and the value “Courageous.”

The clothing was a risk because it was expensive, says Corcoran, “but I said, ‘We’re a health-care organization, this ties into health and wellness, and it’s branded in a very subtle way with our key values.’”

Employees clearly love the recognition program, which works in a simple six-step manner after a manager nominates an employee. A recognition approval team reviews the nomination, and once it’s given the green light, the manager hand-delivers a thank-you note containing a corresponding colour code, which lets employees know which category of clothing (tiered by price) they can shop for in the LookBook (clothing catalogue).

Since the program rolled out in the spring, it’s already exceeded use and employee enthusiasm targets, says Corcoran. The organization was aiming for two manager recognition submissions per month and, instead averaged seven per month in the first three months of the program.

Thanks a latte

Another indicator of the program’s success is how clothing has become the reward preference in a second recognition program developed by the HR team in 2014. The “Thanks a Latte Program” is a peer-to-peer recognition where anyone in the organization can nominate anyone for a $5 coffee card, redeemable at four different coffee shops locations nearby or a points card that can be redeemed for the clothing merchandise.

“Thanks a Latte” cards are printed in four versions, each displaying one of the organization’s values (like the clothing line).

In a company of 212 employees, 780 cards were handed out during the first half of 2017, compared to 421 in 2014.

“We do a lot employee surveys and our scores are really high, but a few years ago we saw that employees wanted a way to exchange feedback in a timely and meaningful way,” says Corcoran, on why they eventually created three recognition programs.

“What sets my HR team of eight apart is our creativity. So we put our thinking caps on.”

Celebrating milestones

Out of those initial brainstorming efforts, the HR team identified one other way to recognize employees — length of service. In the Milestone Program, employees who reach one, three, five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service receive increasingly valuable rewards. And there are two unique twists to this program.

“When you look at the average tenure of employees, it’s not 10 years, it’s three to five years,” says Corcoran.  “So we made sure those at one year were recognized (generously).”

For example, after one year, managers deliver a bouquet of flowers to the employee’s desk. At year three, employees receive a $100 credit towards dinner, and by year five, they get a $150 dinner credit, plus a $500 gift card and an additional day off that year.

In developing all three recognition programs, the  human resources team held focus groups with the employees.

“We always involve employees. One thing HR needs to be successful is not having a top-down approach but to listen to what employees are saying and involve them in order to get them excited,” says Corcoran.

Also, they have an extremely supportive leader who cares a lot about employees, she says. “Because we have the full support of the CEO, we have way more latitude, and he trusts us to do our best work.”

All three programs are set up to be easy-to-use, and carry a low administrative burden, taking up only three to five hours each month to manage. There are intangible results from the programs, says Corcoran, such as employees increasingly sharing personal stories on the intranet, and attending company events.

Qualitatively, employee engagement is climbing every year, from 80 per cent in 2014 to 88 per cent in 2016, while absenteeism and turnover are slowly declining, says Corcoran.

“This shows me that even small organizations can do amazing things. I would say to other HR departments: ‘Don’t let your budget limit your creativity. You can create recognition programs with virtually no money that are still meaningful to employees, as long as you are in tune with who your employees are.’”

Lesley Young is a freelance writer based in Edmonton.

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