What do you do if your company's employee recognition program is not driving social impact?

Employee recognition programs are designed to motivate, reward, and appreciate your team members for their contributions and achievements. But what if your program is not aligned with your company's social impact goals and values? How can you ensure that your recognition efforts are not only meaningful for your employees, but also beneficial for your community and the environment? In this article, we will explore some ways to improve your employee recognition program to drive social impact.

Key takeaways from this article

Evaluate your current program:

Regularly assess your recognition program to identify its strengths and weaknesses. Use surveys and feedback to ensure it aligns with both employee expectations and social impact goals.### *Integrate social impact rewards:Offer rewards that promote social responsibility, such as volunteering opportunities or donations to causes employees care about. This encourages a culture of giving back while recognizing employee achievements.

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1 Assess your current program

The first step is to evaluate your existing recognition program and identify its strengths and weaknesses. How often do you recognize your employees? What criteria do you use to select the recipients? What rewards do you offer? How do you communicate and celebrate the recognition? How do you measure the impact and outcomes of the program? You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or data analysis to gather feedback from your employees, managers, and stakeholders. You can also benchmark your program against best practices and industry standards.

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Leo Gutson

Sustainability | Impact Investing | B Corp leader | Associate Professor at IE Business School
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Lo primero es definir e identificar mediante un análisis del tipo SWOT o DAFO para analizar y tener un diagnostico de situacion sobre el programa con el objetivo de trazar un plan de acción de mejoras.

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2 Align your program with your social impact strategy

The next step is to align your recognition program with your social impact strategy and vision. What are the social and environmental issues that your company cares about and supports? How do they relate to your core values and mission? How do you communicate and integrate them into your culture and operations? You can use these questions to define the purpose and objectives of your recognition program, and to align them with your social impact goals and indicators. You can also involve your employees in the process and solicit their input and ideas.

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Michael Sheldrick

Co-Founder, Global Citizen | Author of “From Ideas to Impact” (Wiley 2024) | Professor, Columbia University | Speaker, Board Member and Forbes.com Contributor
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The first question to ask is does your organization have a clearly defined social impact strategy with clear goals? That is the first thing to identify. Then don't try and create a whole new employee engagement program yourself. Chances are there are other nonprofits already in this space doing great work and know how to leverage your employees. At Global Citizen for instance we often give away tickets as a reward specific to employees that engage in the issues a company cares about. But in some cases employee recognition also meant simply providing updates to the employees on the impact their contribution would have. Don't treat social impact as a one off engagement but an ongoing process. Consistent storytelling and updates are essential.

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Leo Gutson

Sustainability | Impact Investing | B Corp leader | Associate Professor at IE Business School
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Una vez que se cuenta con un diagnostico, es importante trazar una estrategia de impacto social en los programas y en toda la organización. La misión, visión y valores debe ir en linea con el proposito de la organización. Esto impacta directamente en la cultura de la organización y todos deben estar alineados

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3 Choose recognition methods that support social impact

The third step is to choose recognition methods that support social impact and reflect your values. For instance, you can recognize employees who demonstrate social responsibility, volunteerism, philanthropy, or advocacy in their work or personal lives. Additionally, you can reward employees with social impact experiences such as learning opportunities, mentoring, coaching, or exposure visits to social causes or organizations. Furthermore, you can offer employees the option to donate their recognition rewards to a charity or cause of their choice, or even match their donations with a corporate contribution. It's also possible to celebrate recognition events with social impact activities such as community service, fundraising, or awareness campaigns. Finally, you can showcase recognition stories and achievements on your internal and external platforms, such as newsletters, blogs, social media, or annual reports.

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4 Evaluate and improve your program

The final step is to evaluate and improve your recognition program on a regular basis. How effective is your program in motivating, rewarding, and appreciating your employees? How successful is your program in driving social impact and creating positive change? How can you improve your program to make it more relevant, engaging, and impactful? You can use quantitative and qualitative methods to collect and analyze data on your program's performance, outcomes, and impact. You can also solicit feedback from your employees, managers, and stakeholders, and use it to make adjustments and enhancements to your program.

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Leo Gutson

Sustainability | Impact Investing | B Corp leader | Associate Professor at IE Business School
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Es importante medir, gestionar y evaluar los programas de manera continua. Definiendo roles en la organización, estableciendo metas cuantitativas y cualitativas para poder escalar el impacto social en la organización

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What do you do if your company's employee recognition program is not driving social impact?

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2

3

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1 Assess your current program

2 Align your program with your social impact strategy

3 Choose recognition methods that support social impact

4 Evaluate and improve your program

5 Here’s what else to consider

Social Impact

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What do you do if your company's employee recognition program is not driving social impact?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Assess your current program

2 Align your program with your social impact strategy

3 Choose recognition methods that support social impact

4 Evaluate and improve your program

5 Here’s what else to consider

Social Impact

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