Rewards and Recognition, Reviewed!

Every employee seeks recognition at the workplace, right? The modern-day employee seeks more than just a pat-on-the-back. Sheetal Srivastava profiles the evolving state of the Rewards and Recognition (R&R) policy.

 Today's workforce is exposed to the developed world, is articulate about their needs, and wants the best of everything – competitive salaries, comfortable lifestyle, job security, career enhancement options, work-life balance, etc. Acknowledging this fact, companies now have well-defined philosophies, which have helped them develop innovative, intrinsic ways of motivating and engaging with their employees; they are taking a step further to restructure their rewards and recognition (R&R) programmes.

"Most organisations have a variety of R&R initiatives that are not just related to performance but are of a wide range. It should have elements of spontaneity, consistency and ease of application," says Thiruvengadam P., senior director, HCAS, Deloitte in India.

While pay-for-performance is here to stay in corporate India, the concept poses a challenge to HR professionals who have to formulate a policy that will reward performance and boost employee morale in the right manner. The recently held National Summit on ‘Recent Trends in Compensation & Rewards: Managing from Design to Delivery', organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA), emphasised that while retaining talent in companies is a major challenge for HR professionals, one must not go overboard with rewards and incentives.

"R&R is not only an HR policy, but also should be looked upon as an essential part of a company's business strategy. Talent management is a key challenge for any organisation. Compensation and rewards are key parameters for attracting, nurturing and engaging talent," notes P Dwarakanath, director - group human capital, Max India.

"Another area, which most companies miss out on while designing their R&R policy, is the element of ‘emotional connect'. While it is important to reward the employee, it is more important how we reward him/her. Our rewards and recognition formats cover recognition at an individual as well as team level. The penetration level (departments, business formats) as well as employee coverage of all our reward categories is evaluated on a monthly basis. Practical tangible action plans (read: greater focus on communication, increased awareness on award parameters, etc) are chalked around these data points," tells Sandeep Banerjee, managing director and CEO, Edenred India.

Intelenet Global Services has implemented a programme called ‘I-versity', an internal promotion programme, designed to incorporate a growth path for employees, supported by performance and strategic inputs. Under the I-versity umbrella, the following programmes are run as a part of the first phase: 1) STEP: Strive Towards Excellence programme (for agent to team leader promotions); LEAD: Leadership Excellence Accreditation & Development programme (for team leader to team manager promotions). Some of the other programmes include performance-based incentives; transparent promotion policy; accelerated career growth; employee development programmes; incentive programmes,; pay-for-performance; fun at work and employee appreciation week.

Speaking of some of the most preferred rewards and recognition policies of the modern-day professional, Banerjee states, "In today's competitive talent market, employees want organisations to personalise as well as customise the R&R philosophy to meet not only organisational goals, but also their personal needs and motives. This could range from engaging in projects of their choice that provide ample learning opportunities to making a contribution towards the betterment of the society at large through a planned CSR initiative or having greater autonomy at work."

Here's how organisations can put in place good rewards and recognition programmes, according to Banerjee: The essentials of a good R&R programme would start with an adequate budget that provides meaningful rewards to their employees; There also has to be an appreciative culture within the organisation for R&R programmes to be effective; The R&R programme should drive the values of the organisation among the employees by rewarding them for exhibiting/living these principles; Rewards, which employees can redeem for the points that they receive through the R&R programme, need to be relevant and meaningful to excite them suitably.

Courtesy : http://www.itsmyascent.com