Technological Innovations: Amplifying the Power of Personalized Rewards

Rewards and recognition are important tools for keeping employees happy and satisfied. When a personalised touch is added to such programs, where employee needs and preferences take the lead, it further boosts employee morale as they feel valued, leading to improved retention rates. 

Continuing from our previous article, we will unwind some of the panellist's perspectives on how and why the personalization of reward is a key element. Let’s understand why personalization is important while designing award programs and how organizations are doing this ‘personalization thing’ the industry way.

Vinisha Shree, AVP & Cluster HR Head, Hexaware, highlighted how personalization of rewards allows acknowledging the employees and respecting their unique needs and preferences. It makes them feel valued and cherished. She also focused on the importance of 3 E’s. 

• Emphasis

To emphasize how one wants to personalize the rewards, one must know their audience. This is a multi-generational workforce with varied needs and expectations, and the emphasis should be on knowing the audience.

• Empower

The second E is Empower. It's important to recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. If we can empower employees by giving them to choose from a variety of options, we can ensure the recognition is meaningful to them.

• Ecosystem

One must create a sustainable ecosystem that employees drive. It should not be managed solely by leaders but supported and enabled by the employees. With this collaboration, one can witness remarkable results. Aligning the organization with ever-changing dynamics and preferences of the workforce company can attract a more engaged and satisfactory workforce

Anupama Sachdeva Singh, VP- People Solutions- Concentrix, shared her perspectives on breaking the code and getting to know who wants what. With a large workforce, diversity is present in every way imaginable. Whether it's gender, culture, or age, every element is there. Over the years, three trends have significantly taken a front seat.

• Recognition has evolved with changing times. From conventional recognition methods, calling out to employees and giving them white goods, to modern methods of rewarding with redeemable vouchers or reward points. The meaning and expectations of recognition are changing quite dramatically. A very important thing to do is to continue to talk to people and ask, what does recognition mean to them?

• If gratification is not instant, it loses its meaning and impact. It is important to understand that if somebody's done a good job the recognition should be now and not at the end of the quarter or the year, even if it means just to applaud and acknowledge the achievement in front of a small audience. Time, as always, is vital for recognition to be effective.

• The linkage between reward and recognition should be is clear and evident. People now see recognition as something that doesn't have to be monetary, but it has to be personalized to say, ‘it's about me,’ something that acknowledges them as individuals.

The Evaluation of What Employees Want?

An important point of discussion is to evaluate and understand how HR professionals or rewards professionals know what employees want.

Smiti Bhatt Deorah, Co-Founder & CEO, AdvantageClub.ai, gave insights on how technological platforms can be leveraged to achieve the desired results.

She highlighted that creating a mechanism and using technology to identify what people really want and what they are searching for should be the priority. While the survey is one very push-based mechanism, taking data from users while actively looking for something is a pool-based and more real-time mechanism.  As emphasized, enabling employees to be the drivers of these programs and asking them their preferences is a great way to know the requirements and customize the programs.

When creating a performance-led award, it is important to identify what the company wants to achieve as a result. Create rule engines based on the organization's performance metrics. Most organizations already have these metrics in place, which define the rules for rewarding employees based on their targets or KPIs. From a KPI management perspective, employees must accomplish multiple tasks to achieve their goals. Digitizing these pieces on a platform can streamline this step, effectively linking real results with rewards.

From a technology perspective, Alok Luthra, Director Total Rewards (Global Delivery Centres) & Global Rewards COE Leader, DXC Technology, resented his take on how organizations leverage technology to enhance their recognition programs, sharing some best practices to ensure these programs are truly impactful and engaging.

First and foremost, the strategy, design, and framework of the program are important. All organizations flourish within their own ecosystem, distinct from other organizations. Organizations sometimes make the mistake of adopting practices and programs from other organizations, but these may not always prove worthy. Hence, an organization's ecosystem is important to understand what would work and what wouldn’t.

Technology plays a major role in enhancing this whole process. It has brought in the right virtue of globalization in an organization, making everyone available on a single platform, irrespective of location. Furthermore, technology helps personalize reward and recognition by promoting a sense of belongingness and feeling valued and motivated. It gives a sense of pride to showcase achievements to the world basis their good work or contribution. It significantly boosts the engagement level. Technology also assists in measuring all metrics effectively, with AI taking the lead in transforming them further.

Concluding Remarks

Thus, tailor-made rewards, supported by technology and a sustainable and consistent recognition culture, nurture an environment where employees feel valued. As the workforce evolves, personalized reward is of the utmost importance. It will continue to grow, making it a vital focus in the context of work, workers, and the workplace.

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