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u s O Kd Ideas and Information for The Recognition Experience
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Rich Rewards How a frozen foods’ leader turns up the heat on recognition results BUFFALO, NY
— Maria Grimaldi comes to work these days with a new attitude.
Not that it was bad to begin with. But as a recipient of Rich Products’ ultimate performance recognition, Grimaldi wants to live up to the high expectations associated with a recipient of the Robert E. Rich Spirit of Innovation Award. As honors go, it’s a doozy. Grimaldi and her team of nine co-workers and their guests were invited to select an award from the company’s recognition Web site (think flat panel TVs and posh jewelry) and take the corporate jet for a weeklong vacation to a destination of their choice. “The prize is absolutely surreal,” says Grimaldi. “But even without that, I’ve been surprised how much the recognition has meant to me.” After acting as a key marketer for an acquisition team that moved a newly acquired company to a new location, integrated its processes and systems into Rich’s, while increasing sales and making the change transparent to customers, Grimaldi and her team earned corporate kudos. But add to that the fact that they delivered the project early, under budget and added millions to Rich’s bottom line, and you have the making of a gold-medal endeavor. Now, says Grimaldi, “I feel a need to live worthy of the recognition I’ve earned. Recognition leaders nominated our team and then ultimately asked all Rich associates to vote on the project they felt made the most impact for the company. I cannot sit at my desk and look at the memento of my recognition and not work that much harder to live up to the ideals and expectations associated with it. I feel driven to consistently display the kind of work ethic I am capable of, do the right thing and go the extra mile.”
Deb Gondek, GEM Program Creator and Director of Organizational Effectiveness and Communications
Creating a real GEM And Going the Extra Mile (GEM) is what Rich’s recognition program is all about. As an industry pioneer in frozen food, Rich’s has expanded its food products to become one of the biggest companies you’ve probably never heard of. As a privately owned, $2.5 billion dollar enterprise, the company sells more than (continued on page 2)
RECOGNITION SPOTLIGHT
INSIDE this issue
The Decision Makers
A recent survey reveals a wide range of
people responsible for making decisions regarding reward and recognition programs. When asked, “Who has the most responsibility for selecting a reward and recognition program in your organization?” respondents answered: Source: National Association for Employee Recognition study, Strategic Guidelines to Managing Cash and Non-cash Employee Reward Programs.
Upper Management: Human Resources: Department Heads: CEOs: Operations: Sales Management: Customer Service: Marketing Management:
65.4% 64.2% 38.3% 23.5% 18.5% 12.3% 9.9% 6.2%
Rich’s recognition
enhances employee engagement
Creating coveted awards O.C. Tanner and Olympic gold
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RICH REWARDS (continued)
2,300 products in 85 countries and employs more than 7,000 associates worldwide. With a successful and generous history, why did the company wait until 2005 to implement its first formal performance recognition program? “We had a lot of informal recognition going on,” says Deb Gondek, GEM program creator and director of organizational effectiveness and communication for Rich’s. “But several sources led us to the realization that we needed a more corporate, more formal recognition program. One of those indicators was our associate engagement survey. General feedback told us that recognition was something that we could improve upon.” Although well versed in celebrating employee and corporate accomplishments, Rich’s had yet to develop an enterprise-wide approach to recognition as a strategy for motivating associates and improving business results. “In the past we implemented a program where we gave a $10 certificate to recognize extra effort and say thank you,” says Shari Rife, manager of creative process and facilitation for Rich’s. “It was very informal, without much criteria surrounding it. It caused some frustration with associates because an associate who cleaned
“There is a huge tie between recognition and associate engagement and engagement has become a major source of competitive advantage for us.” Maureen Hurley, Executive Vice President of The People Network
out the supply cabinet was recognized in the same way as someone who implemented a huge project. Because they both got the same $10 gift card, it actually became a little demotivating.” In 2004, Gondek and her team went to work formalizing a program for Rich’s and creating the recognition pillar of the company’s Total Rewards strategy. In addition to compensation, benefits and work experience, Rich’s set out to create a recognition strategy that would foster associate engagement and turn in solid business results.
Establishing Credibility “We took a step back from worrying about how the recognition program should work and said, ‘How does recognition fit into our philosophy as a company?’” says Gondek. “That strategic approach has made all the difference because we put company priorities and goals at the center of the program and then decided on the best method for inspiring associates to achieve the behaviors that would most benefit the company.” The result was Rich’s Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Performance Recognition Program. A completely Webbased performance program launched in January 2005 that offers six levels of recognition ranging from a simple e-mail to a valuable top-tier “Five-Carat” award and a nomination for the Chairman’s Spirit of Innovation award. The program uses a nomination wizard to walk nominators through a series of questions in order to help them determine the appropriate award level. It also requires that they tie the nomination to one of the company’s core competencies.
Left to right: Tom Hauser, Director of Information Systems Maria Grimaldi, Marketing Manager, Donuts Jim Hagelberger, Systems Analyst Jay Rich, Director and Team Leader Doris Hanson, Director of Bakery and Deli Marketing
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“Our O.C. Tanner recognition consultant Jim Vincenzi helped us put a lot of credibility into the program,” says Janice Horn, director of human resources sales and marketing. “Grounding the program in the company’s core competencies is one of the reasons the program has been so successful. It gives it credibility. It’s not just recognizing people who are favorites. It’s people recognizing people for very specific things that have results attached to them.” Maureen Hurley, executive vice president of The People Network at Rich’s agrees, “Before this program there was a good percentage of associates who didn’t know what a corporate competency was or didn’t have any reason to think they applied to them. This recognition program gives us the opportunity to reinforce the importance and applicability of Rich’s competencies and priorities at every level of the organization. It reinforces the kind of behavior you want to see people engage in day after day.”
A Clear Line of Sight In order to provide ground level resources and education on an ongoing basis for each department and plant, Rich’s designated 32 “Recognition Champions” — associates trained to act as recognition leaders and coaches for their areas. “Recognition champions have to be enthusiastic about the program,” says Tom Hauser, director of information systems and IS recognition champion. “One of our most important roles is coaching nominators who submit vague nominations. We don’t just rubberstamp a GEM award. It’s important that we maintain a consistent quality in the nominations so that you don’t devalue the impact of the program.” And the program has made a difference for Hauser’s team. “Once someone knows their job makes a difference, they say, ‘What can I do better next time,’” says Hauser. “For our team, this program means that managers and associates talk more. It means associates are recognized for outstanding work from users outside our department. It means my people, who normally work behind the scenes, make a better connection to the end product of their efforts. “The performance program has had a direct impact on associate engagement,” continues Hauser. “It has created an awareness and engagement because my associates are paying more attention to what company priorities are and how they relate to what they’re doing.” And that type of engagement is exactly what program designers like Gondek were hoping for. “In past years associates would get an injection of business priorities once a year in the January business plan launch, but they didn’t have the clear line of sight to, ‘This is what I am doing to support our key initiatives,’” says Gondek. “By building a direct link between corporate priorities and recognition of the behaviors that support those priorities into the GEM program we are definitely seeing a clearer line of sight.”
Getting Engaged That line of sight makes for a competitive advantage according to Hurley. “There is a huge tie between recognition and associate engagement and engagement has become a major source of competitive advantage for us. When you talk to other giants in the food industry the big issues are always around how to get and keep the best talent.” And keeping the best talent at Rich’s may be as simple as helping them realize their role in the big picture of Rich’s success. “We have found the real power of recognition to be in the energy it creates, both for
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COMPANY individual associates and the organization as a whole,” says Horn. “There is a renewed energy around work priorities for many associates now. I don’t think we even realized that some of that was missing before.”
One Stop
Janice Horn, Director of Human Resources, Sales and Marketing
Program administrators also discovered new power in overseeing a centralized program. “By centralizing and formalizing our performance recognition efforts we are better able to recognize areas of inactivity, of improvement,” says Gondek. “We have centralized reports that give us every detail; we can talk to our recognition champions about how the program is really being received on the ground. Ultimately, we have finally been able to put our arms around how much recognition is going on and how much we are investing in it as a company. It’s much easier to have the formal program.”
What to Give? Being able to put their arms around awards from the program has been important to recipients as well. “There is something about objects that live beyond just the awarding of them,” says Hurley. “There is something about the tangibility of a recognition award that triggers certain memories. And we want these objects to trigger positive feelings of not only the behavior, but the fact that my company recognized me for it. There is a memento quality that lives well beyond any paycheck or gift card you might use as a monetary reward.” Managers agree. “The easy part is to recognize that someone needs recognition,” says Grimaldi. “The hard part is finding an appropriate reward. This program makes it so easy. All you have to do is write the GEM nomination, and select the right award level and then that individual gets to go and select a gift that’s meaningful to them. It really takes the guesswork out of the process. I feel confident recognizing people with the system because I know it’s corporate sponsored and it’s always going to provide an appropriate award.”
A Tool for Leaders Jay Rich, director and team leader for the Robert E. Rich award-winning project, says, “The GEM program really helped us as leaders to make the project work. There are people that had very small, but critically important pieces of the project and the program gives us an opportunity to thank them so their work wasn’t lost in the big picture of the project. I really think that I am more proud of the 60 GEMs that were
earned by people from all over the organization for work on this project than my own recognition.” “Even better,” says Director of Bakery and Deli Marketing Doris Hanson, “this recognition program doesn’t solely rely on a manger to take action because anyone in the corporation can recognize anyone else. It makes it a lot easier to recognize cross-functionally and at different levels. The manager isn’t the only one with the responsibility to recognize. Other people often see things that you may not see. The program brings up the visibility of the small, but important things people are doing. Things others can learn from.”
Evaluating the Bottom Line “It would be impossible for us to know every impact this program is having on our bottom line because there are so many,” says Gondek. “But what we do know is this program is inspiring associates to go above and beyond to implement savings and improvement opportunities that have resulted in millions of dollars of revenue, reduced expenses, increased productivity and significantly improved gross margins that will continue for years to come.”
“This program is inspiring associates to go above and beyond to implement savings and improvement opportunities . . .” Deb Gondek, GEM Program Creator and Director of Organizational Effectiveness and Communication Indeed, the GEM program is becoming a bigger part of Rich’s culture than anyone expected. “I am most proud that recognition is starting to become more of a natural thing,” says Rife. “We constantly had to remind people to think about it. But over the last year it’s become a natural way of thinking. Recognition is becoming a behavior and that makes all the difference in the levels of engagement and satisfaction we’re trying to affect.” Overall recognition has become a tool Rich Products plans to use to its full potential. “Recognition will continue to be a major pillar for Rich’s in our journey toward engagement,” says Hurley. “At the end of the day I firmly believe those places that have more engaged associates are going to be successful no matter what the marketplace does; what any competitor does; or what challenge happens to Executive Summary come by. I believe you’re going to end up with people who will go the extra Rich’s crafted its recognimile every day. And that’s what makes tion program strategically any company successful. I’m convinced to further corporate the recognition piece tied into our priorities whole engagement strategy is going to Recognition at Rich’s help us achieve all our goals going forincreases employee ward. Our COO, Bill Gisel said it best engagement levels and when he commented, ‘Everyone knew yields bottom-line results the recognition program was a good thing, we just didn’t know how good Rich’s managers consider it could be.’”
the program a tool for motivating employees and meeting business objectives
www.octanner.com
Volume 10 Number 1
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ku-dos - It may sound a bit exotic to your ear, but it’s a great word. It’s of Greek origin, and means to acclaim or praise someone for their achievements. Kudos to Alice on her 15 years of service.
And the award goes to... Create a corporate award they’ll covet
When it comes to awarding trophies and plaques, there’s a lot that can go wrong. We all know honoring corporate achievement should look and feel different than winning a bowling tournament, but how do you avoid the tacky and find the triumphant? Now is your chance to select from O.C. Tanner’s newest collection of awards that your people will be proud to display. Whether you’re looking to add a custom logo or a few lines of carefully chosen text, these crystal trophies will become important remembrances of achievement and appreciation. At affordable price points with one-at-a-time customization available, these optically perfect trophies allow achievements to shine for years to come.
Kudos Volume 10. Number 1 Publisher
O. C. Tanner Recognition Co. Editor Adrian Gostick Managing Editors Mindi Cox B.J. Beckman Amy Skylling Design/Layout Janice Takagi Graphic Supervisor Shauna Raso Award Photographer: Rick Hayward
Create a custom look with this stunningly clear crystal plaque. Unique concave area accommodates your image or logo.
KUDOS is published by O.C. Tanner Recognition Company, 1930 S. State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84115.
Feel the star power of this diamond-cut prism. The unique cut of the crystal produces amazing color and impact. An unforgettable combination of classic design and modern elegance.
Olympic Gold O.C. Tanner sends every U.S. athlete home with gold
COMPANY
Copyright 2006 by O.C. Tanner. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission is prohibited. Not responsible for unsolicited materials. Second-class US postage paid at Salt Lake City, UT 84101 and additional offices. Postmaster send address changes to above address.
Achievements shine in the multi-faceted cut of this optical crystal cube.
FRONT COVER AWARDS: Woman’s Michele Watch Judith Jack Necklace, 16” Fuji Advanced Photo Camera
KudOs
USA
While the U.S. Winter Olympians were making their marks in the cold and snow of
Torino, O.C. Tanner was honoring them with a little fire and ice of their own—the gold and diamonds of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team rings. O.C. Tanner will create approximately 500 rings for the 2006 U.S. Olympians, Paralympians, staff and coaches. “Our company is thrilled to create and donate the U.S. Team Rings for these exceptional athletes,” said Kent Murdock, president and chief executive officer of O.C. Tanner. “As the world leader in recognition, O.C. Tanner is proud to honor the commitment of our Olympic athletes by creating this lasting recognition of their achievement.” The athlete rings are gold with an option for up to six full-cut diamonds. Each is personalized — engraved with the athlete’s sport and etched with the athlete’s last name. The top of ring resembles a medal platform, featuring either the Olympic Rings or the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games logo. O.C. Tanner has been the proud provider of U.S. Olympic Team rings for the 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 U.S. Olympic Teams.
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Volume 10 Number 1