According to a study conducted by NAER titled “Trends in Employee Recognition 2005”, in the modern corporate world, human resources departments are also in charge of communicating and administering reward programs. Without a dedicated person to ensure that each employee is aware of the program, many companies are forced to distribute information in company newsletters and hope that everyone gets covered. However, the more effort put towards the communication, the more effective the employee award program will be. All parties involved should understand the program basics to ensure participation. With the right tools and some administrative help, companies can achieve the goals of the reward program.
There are several ways that companies try to communicate what the reward program is and how employees can take advantage of it. In addition, organizations should try to provide a sense that employees are valued in these communications. The following bar graph shows the most common communication methods that organizations use, as cited in the same NAER study as above. Interestingly, many companies that were surveyed did report to use some of these methods simultaneously, which I would highly recommend.
A careful evaluation of the reward program audience will give the company a clue as to what types and how many forms of communication to use. The key is that each individual learns differently, therefore using multimedia to reach a heterogeneous audience is essential to effective communication.
For example, one of my larger clients has an online point bank incentive program and on an ongoing basis they use different posters in each plant to generate excitement about the program and earning rewards. This client also uses emails to inform a newly hired person they have a new reward account and allows users to opt-in for emails that will notify them when they are awarded points. In addition, they send out paper statements that are distributed to employees at work, showing the points balance and account summary. Finally, for on the spot recognition, supervisors will distribute award cards that communicate the number of points they just earned for an outstanding performance.
Smaller organizations may choose to use just email communications for employees who have work email addresses. For companies that have an audience that might prefer paper communications then I would recommend paper statements for incentive programs and some sort of package that can be presented for recognition programs. Posters may be used for both programs to communicate the program and the types of rewards that can be won.
When the type of communication is matched to the recipients' preferences people will be more involved-it's really that simple. Reward programs can provide effective employee awards; all you need is the right communication for the right audience.
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