Q&A: Reward and Recognition – Is this the best you can do?

This webinar from The HR World featured a strong and practical discussion around Reward and Recognition in the workplace.

With insights and ideas from Cindy Rubbens, Chief People Experience Officer at global chauffeur company Blacklane and Sharath Jeevan, Founder and Executive Chairman of Intrinsic Labs, the webinar explored the task of rewarding people and getting the best from those rewards against a backdrop of competition for the skills and talent. The discussion is worth a listen (on the podcast) or view (video on demand). However, there wasn’t time to answer all the questions from the audience , so here are a couple more issues raised by the audience and addressed by our panelists.

1: Extrinsic employee rewards are now so commonplace (employee benefits, EAPs, spot awards, etc) to the extent that they are seen as a ‘given’ and thereby potentially less valued. Therefore, our focus needs to be on the ‘intrinsic’ i.e. recognition. How do we build this into our line managers’ default activity?

Sharath: I fully agree. I think the trick is to make the intrinsic more explicit and upfront. For example – as we discussed, really helping ensure each employee sees the link between their own roles and focus and the overall company mission, giving more autonomy to staff and helping them develop new areas of mastery, particularly around human skills. I would make this an explicit part of the recruitment offer and also frame the employee ‘package’ very explicitly in these terms.

Cindy: To integrate intrinsic recognition into our line managers’ default activity, we advocate for regular and meaningful conversations and giving feedback ‘coaching-style’. To achieve this we are developing at Blacklane a concept called ‘Continuous Conversations’. The idea behind it is that feedback should not just happen once a year, instead, it should be given regularly and in a way that makes it valuable and helps our Crew to learn and grow. The key focus of the program is to help our managers to step back and ask: Does my current performance management approach add real value to our organisation? Are my team members learning or am I just telling them what to do? Do they feel I am interested in their development and is it aligned with our company’s goals?

It’s important to prioritise regular one-on-one focused time to acknowledge and appreciate employees’ efforts and contributions. Through this, managers can cultivate a culture of this intrinsic recognition, with open and honest dialogues. These ongoing conversations create opportunities to highlight achievements, provide meaningful feedback, and foster a sense of value and belonging among team members. In turn, this will boost employee engagement as a stronger sense of value within the organisation develops.

2: How effective are peer reward and recognition programmes and do you have any tips on how to make these work?

Cindy: Peer reward and recognition programs are effective in enhancing morale and encouraging teamwork within a workplace. To ensure their success, establish clear criteria for employees on how to praise their peers, encourage active participation and maintain timely and visible recognition of achievements – this links back to the concept of Continuous Conversations that I outlined above. Additionally, seek feedback to refine the programme and celebrate successes to reinforce its importance.

Sharath: They can be helpful in getting peer feedback as well as top down feedback and ensure that a ‘kiss up, kick down’ culture doesn’t hold. But ultimately what matters is that each employee feels likely they are growing and developing in terms of their own progress. I would focus on that.