Recognition and Rewards Program

Logo & Brand Identity Guidelines

 Whats inside?
Concept 2
Goals 4
The P.A.T. Program 6
Newsletter & Zine 11
Research & Rationale 13
Communication Plan 19
Budget 21
Evaluation 24
Resources 31
Appendices 33
1 Concept
 People Advance Together
Introducing the P.A.T. Program
The Renewergy management team is exceptionally proud of the growth
the company has seen over the past few years and would like to reward
its employees for all of their accomplishments. As part of the HR/Employee
Communications Department, we have developed a recognition and
rewards program to celebrate our employees achievements.

We have developed a three-tier program, entitled The P.A.T. Program, which

emphasizes rewards for exceptional employees and allows employees to
celebrate and recognize one another. The program involves methods of
daily and monthly recognition on both an individual and team-based scale,
such that employees can constantly feel the extent of their value. Each year
will finish with a party to commemorate the company-wide successes of
the year.

Recognition and Rewards Team

Andi Wollin, Bianca Esposito, Dana Pieper, Mikayla Lydon, and Sabina Leybold
2 Goals
The purpose of this program is to celebrate and recognize our
employees devotion and accomplishments. By highlighting their
efforts and achievements, we want our employees to feel valued and
encouraged to continue their hard work.

Additionally, our secondary research revealed that implementing

a recognition and rewards program can have a positive effect on
employee happiness, retention, and organizational performance. As
such, we will be including the effect The P.A.T. Program has on these
factors in our evaluatory process.
3 The P.A.T.
Program
The P.A.T. Program has been organized into three
tiers, each of which recognizes both individual and
team efforts.

3 The third tier recognizes the daily, small wins

of each department using the Win Wall and

2
the Share the Sun sunflower.

The second tier focuses on the larger, monthly

departmental accomplishments with the Super

1
Office and a group outing.

The first tier celebrates yearly/company-wide

achievements at the end of the year Office Bash.
The following pages will discuss each
of the three tiers and their elements more in-depth.
Tier Three
One wall of the office will be transformed into a
Win Wall using a large whiteboard sticker decal. This
wall is intended to encourage employees to
recognize each others good deeds, ideas, and
achievements. Win Wall recognition can span from
bringing in donuts for the office to receiving a
promotion and anything in between. The Win Wall
allows opportunities for immediate recognition that
the entire office can see.

Share the Sun is the individual component of Tier Three. In

order to incorporate Renewergys mission and goals of
sustainable living and green positivity, the Share the Sun
incentive involves passing a sunflower from employee desk
to employee desk as a way to recognize daily accomplish-
ments. The flowers will first be given out by each depart-
ment head at the program launch meetings to one notable
employee, who will pass it on to a peer the next day, and so
on (flowers will be replaced if need be). Share the Sun has
the dual benefit of rewarding individual employees and
fostering a sense of community because it requires the team
to work together to keep the plant alive.
Tier Two
A Super Office will be granted to one employee per
department each month as a reward for exceptional
performance. The Super Office is an enticing reward,
because this special space is fully equipped with three
computer monitors, a couch, white board, mini fridge,
microwave, coffee maker, bean bag chair, snack closet,
office supplies, heat/air conditioning, couch and much
more! In order to win this monthly prize, the employee
must be voted by his/her peers in a monthly drawing.
The winner of the super office is only able to win this
prize once a year. It is our hope that this aspect of The
P.A.T. Program will not only motivate our workers, but
once the prize is won, the winner will have the ability
to perform their best.
As a group reward, The P.A.T. Program wants to recognize the outstanding teams working at Renewergy. We
recognize that the backbone of this company is the teams that lift our company culture and succeed at fulfill-
ing our mission. Therefore, we have created a Group Outing incentive to be awarded to those teams that go
above and beyond in their daily performance. These teams will be rewarded with a team lunch from a restau-
rant of their choosing, fully subsidized on us. The winning team will be chosen by department heads based on
objective performance measures.
Tier One
The first tier of The P.A.T. Program involves rewards and com-
pany superlatives. Our research indicated that an effective
form of employee recognition is highlighting the over-achiev-
ers and stand out workers, by allowing employees to vote. In
other words, awards are more valuable when they come from
co-workers instead of management; employees are supporting
each other and are simultaneously motivated to work harder in
order to win. With this in mind, we have decided to run a Goo-
gle poll about a week before the end of the year Office Bash, in
which all employees will have the opportunity to vote for their
co-workers under categories like Outstanding Service,Hard-
est Worker, Outstanding Team Leader, (within each depart-
ment). Sillier categories like Office Mom, Dwight In Real Life,
and The Energizer Bunny may also be available. Departments
will also have the opportunity to write in awards if they collec-
tively wish to recognize somebody on their team. The award
recipients will be recognized at the Office Bash and be provided
with prizes such as a gift basket from Lifes So Sweet Chocolates
or a Spa Treatment from La Tourelle. The prizes will remain non-
cash and experience-based as our research showed that these
rewards are more valuable for employees. The Office Bash will
also serve as a form of recognition for all employees. Food and
drinks will be provided and a video featurette of this years ac-
complishments will be screened (see Appendix B).
4 Newsletter
& Zine
As an additional form of employee recognition, a zine and an e-newsletter will be released on the
first and third Mondays of each month respectively. The e-newsletter will highlight individual and
team accomplishments at Renewergy across all departments. The Communications Writer/Editor
will produce the 4-6 page newsletter which includes thorough descriptions of upcoming projects,
impressive sales numbers, etc. and will be sent out electronically. You can find a sample newsletter in
Appendix A.

The zine (pictured below), designed by our Graphic Designer, will highlight small wins
company-wide and spotlight employees individual successes. It will be printed and laid around all
departments as easy reading that also serves as a source of pride for Renewergy employees.
5 Research &
Rationale
 Implementing The P.A.T. Program will go beyond just recognizing our employees for what
they do; the program will boost their morale, dedication, and productivity. Research has shown
that rewards and recognition programs have a profound positive impact on individual employees
as well as whole businesses:

-50% of employees believe increased recognition would reduce voluntary turnover

(Tinypulse.com)
-40% of employees who dont feel meaningfully recognized will not go above their formal
responsibilities (Tinypulse.com)
-82% of employed Americans dont feel that their supervisors recognize them enough for
their contributions (Novak, 2016)
-40% of employed Americans say theyd put more energy into their work if they were
recognized more often (Novak, 2016)

With the low implementation cost of the program, we know that P.A.T. will have a profound
positive impact on Renewergy as an organization.

When looking at formulating a rewards and recognition program, its important to first
understand the difference between rewards and recognition, and how the two terms work
together. As defined by Meredith Meja (2015), recognition is a discretionary act - employee
A sees employee B doing something great and decides to recognize her, where as rewards
are items, gift cards, cash, or perks such as time off or discounts earned through receiving
recognition. Our goal in designing The P.A.T. Program is to combine both tangible rewards and
intangible recognition. The P.A.T. Program involves installing a Win Wall in every department,
where employees have a chance to display the great work their coworkers are achieving. Our
Win Wall provides an instant recognition opportunity; as soon as an employee sees their
coworker accomplish a small win, the employee can write it up on the wall. The Win Wall also
helps build community as it allows the company to share successes.

This instant recognition also helps Renewergy address our millennial employees unique
needs. A majority of companies spend 87% of their recognition for tenure-based rewards,
however realizing that Renewergy has a large millennial base, we knew a different model would
be necessary in order to achieve the goals of our program (Bersin, 2012). Millennials ages 25-34
spend on average of three years at a single company, so giving five- and ten-year rewards means
that they often go unrecognized for their efforts (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Keeping
this in mind, we have decided to space out recognition to include opportunities to get recognized
daily (Win Wall and Share the Sunshine), monthly (Super Office, Group Outing, and e-newsletter/
zine), and yearly (Office Bash with superlatives and video).

When deciding what kinds of rewards and recognition to offer, we felt it was important
to promote both individual and group recognition. In our research, we discovered that 70% of
employees feel that gamification rewards the wrong type of behavior, focusing on competition
rather than reflection (Globoforce, 2014). When only individual rewards are provided, employees
within a company are encouraged to fight over the rewards, creating a competitive mindset.
Teamwork is an essential part of Renewergy and we want our employees working together
to achieve great things, not trying to outdo one another. Therefore, to combat this idea of
gamification, each tier of The P.A.T. Program offers group rewards--the end of year Office Bash,
Group Outing, and the Win Wall elements.

Managers tend to think that money is the driving factor behind employee motivation.
However, we found in our research that there is not enough [money] spent on simple employee
recognition and support (Horton, 2011). In other words, companies should be spending money
on simple, tangible rewards for employees, as opposed to directly rewarding them with cash.
Big cash rewards sound nice in theory, but in reality they cost more and resonate less with
employees who receive them (Jakobson, 2012). When you give an employee a cash reward,
it often goes to their everyday expenses and they will not remember exactly what they did
with it. There is a missed opportunity for the company to form a deeper connection with their
employee (Ayub, 2015). If you offer an employee an experience-based reward, like skydiving or a
super office, they will always fondly remember the company for providing them with the memory
(Ayub, 2015). Millennials especially tend to feel more valued by non-cash rewards, which stood
out to us because a large portion of Renewergy employees fall into this category (Della Cava,
2015). Additionally, offering some sort of choice was a key component in designing a recognition
program. While there is a common culture within any company, it is made of complete individuals
who have a variety of wants and desires. Value is different for everyone, so it has become integral
to offer diverse, appealing ways to be recognized through The P.A.T. Program (Ayub, 2015).

Continuing with our rewards and recognition design, we found that employees form deeper
allegiances with coworkers than brands, and in turn recognition should not primarily originate
in upper-level management (Della Cava, 2015). As other organizations move away from tenure-
based rewards, they have begun focusing on recognition that has a direct impact on the business,
specifically superior performance, peer-to-peer and behavior-specific programs (WorldAtWork,
2013). Each of these were taken into consideration as we formulated The P.A.T. Program. The
most important aspect for us to include was peer-to-peer because management does not always
get to see the things their employees do on a regular basis and having employees recognize
their peers leads to better work relationships (Bersin, 2012). Almost every reward in The P.A.T.
Program is peer-based, from the superlatives at the end of year Office Bash to the Share the Sun
program.

We also found that public praise and thanks are often more meaningful than something
tangible, which is why we included various items within The P.A.T. Program that allow for just
this, i.e. the Win Wall (Yakowicz, 2015). Employees quality of work is increased by the presence
of green plants which is why we incorporated the passing of the sunflower in our recognition
program to improve productivity in the office through recognition and greenery (Nieuwenhuis,
2014). Storytelling is a powerful way to get any message across which is why we also offer
recognition in the form of our zine, highlighting different employees and telling their stories in a
fun and creative way (Bersin, 2012). These rewards are designed to recognize employees who
stand out and acknowledge qualitative achievements. They also work to show that rewards are
delivery based and encourage adaptation, collaboration, and innovation within the company
(Incentive Research Solutions, 2012). Lastly, tying recognition back to our own company values
and goals helps make the recognition more meaningful, and we will include those aspects in our
end of the year celebration and zine.

While our goal first and foremost in establishing a rewards and recognition program is
to show employees that Renewergy values their hard work, our research has revealed that
successfully making employees feel rewarded acts as positive reinforcement. This happens because
feeling appreciated produces oxytocin and people working under oxytocin perform better and
are more trustworthy at work (Krob, 2016). This feeling of gratitude also leads people to be less
resentful towards one another and grateful for each others accomplishments (Morin, 2014).
When people are recognized and shown gratitude for the work they do, they are more likely to
continue doing good work or be motivated to do even better due to the psychology of positive
reinforcement (Harrison, n.d.). Companies who have successfully implemented recognition
programs, similar to P.A.T., have seen increased levels of productivity and job satisfaction, lower
employee turnover, better safety records, better teamwork, and increased customer loyalty
and satisfaction (Whitney & Bombard, n.d.). These improvements directly correlate to the
implementation of a rewards and recognition program, showing that the program will add
significant value to the organization as a whole. Renewergy already has a very family-oriented
culture, so we believe The P.A.T. Program will be embraced by our employees.

In addition to the increase in morale and productivity, implementing a rewards and

recognition program will be a low fiscal cost to the company. Time will be spent in the design and
implementation process, but beyond that, money will only be spent on the physical items/
experiences used in the recognition process or as a reward (Harrison, n.d.). However, these
physical costs are far outweighed by the benefits of implementing our rewards and recognition
program. According to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, an employer may deduct the cost of
achievement awards given to the same employee up to $400 in any year. Only certain rewards
fall under the definition the IRS provides for employee achievement award, but keeping this
definition in mind, we designed our program to maximize of the benefits of the tax returns.
Therefore a majority of our program may be covered based on the tax break we would receive
for rewarding our employees (Tax Treatment of Awards).
6 Communicating
the Program
In order to inform employees about the Recognition and Rewards
Program, all department heads will hold a general meeting with
their respective departments to communicate the elements and
expected engagement of employees within the program. We will
send out a memo to each department head, detailing what they
should be covering in the meeting and we will emphasize the
importance of showing enthusiasm for the program.

We will send out a memo to department heads with all the perti-
nent information about the rewards and recognition plan, so
they are well informed. This meeting will be the beginning of Share
the Sun; the department head will be the first to select the
sunflower recipient.
7 Budget
8 Evaluation
In order to evaluate the impact of The P.A.T. Program, we will use a handful of methods. The first is pre- and post-
implementation surveys. The pre-implementation surveys will be rolled out a week before P.A.T.s launch and will
cover topics such as workplace satisfaction and fulfillment and workplace relationships. Six months after P.A.T.s
launch we will send out the post-implementation survey which follows up on the pre-implementation feedback
and asks P.A.T.-specific questions. Changes and updates to the program will be sent out in the e-newsletter.
Another method of evaluation we will be utilizing is measuring involvement, including the number of items written
on the Win Wall each week and number of opens for the monthly e-newsletter. We will track media mentions
and social media analytics for earned, owned, paid, and shared media surrounding The P.A.T. Program to evaluate
the spread and awareness of the program within Renewergy and beyond. Lastly, we will measure how The P.A.T.
Program impacts Renewergys bottom line by tracking employee retention rates and onboarding costs before and
after implementation. Given the research on how employee appreciation helps to boost productivity and retention,
as well as attract top talent, we anticipate a high return on investment for the P.A.T. Program.

You can find the rest of the surveys in Appendix B.

 Pre-Survey
Renewergy Employee Recognition Survey Section 3: Workplace Relationships - Coworkers/
This survey will be used to gauge your satisfaction Peers
and recognition at work as well as your interpersonal For the purposes of this survey, your coworkers/
relationships at Renewergy. It will guide the Employee
Recognition and Rewards Team to continue to recognize peers are other Renewergy employees who are at or
our employees in the most effective way possible. around your same job level, regardless of department.
Section 2: Workplace Satisfaction
1. Rate your level of connection with your coworkers/
1. How long have you been working for Renewergy?
peers. (1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
0-12 months
2. How appreciated do you feel by your coworkers/
1-3 years
4-6 years
peers? (1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
7-9 years 3. Please describe your interactions with your
10+ years coworkers/peers. (ex: How often do you interact?
2.Which Department at Renewergy do you work for? How do they show appreciation? Do you feel like
3. How excited do you feel to come to work each day? they listen to your input? Are your relationships strictly
(1-7 Not excitedto very excited) professional or are they personal as well?)
4. What makes you feel excited to come into the office?
5. What do you dread about coming into the office?
6. How fulfilled do you feel at work?
(1-7 Not fulfilled to very fulfilled)
7. What makes you feel fulfilled or satisfied in your work?
8. When do you feel most rewarded?
9. What leaves you feeling unfulfilled at work?
10. How do you prefer to receive recognition for your
efforts? Are you currently rewarded in this way?
 Pre-Survey (cont.)
Section 4: Workplace Relationships - Supervisor(s)
For the purposes of this survey, your supervisor(s) are
other Renewergy employees who have supervisory or
managerial control over you.
1. Rate your level of connection with your supervisor(s).
(1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
2. How appreciated do you feel by your supervisor(s)?
(1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
3. Please describe your interactions with your
supervisor(s). (ex: How often do you interact? How do
they show appreciation? Do you feel like they listen to
your input? Are your relationships strictly professional
or are they personal as well?)
Section 5: Workplace Relationships: Subordinates
For the purposes of this survey, your subordinates
are other Renewergy employees who report to you
or who you have supervisory/managerial control over.
If you are not in a managerial/supervisory role, please
skip these questions.
1.Rate your level of connection with your subordinates.
(1-7 Not connected to Very connected)
2. How appreciated do you feel by your subordinates?
(1-7 Not at all appreciated to Very appreciated)
3. Please describe your interactions with your
subordinates. (ex: How would you classify them?
How often do you interact? How do they show
appreciation? Do you feel like they listen to your input?
Are your relationships strictly professional or are they
personal as well?)
 Post-Survey
Section 2: Workplace Satisfaction
1. How long have you worked for Renewergy?
0-12 months
1-3 years
4-6 years
7-9 years
10+ years
2.Which Department at Renewergy do you work for?
3. How excited do you feel to come to work each day?
(1-7 Not excitedto very excited)
4. What makes you feel excited to come into the office?
5. What do you dread about coming into the office?
6. How fulfilled do you feel at work?
(1-7 Not fulfilled to very fulfilled)
7. What makes you feel fulfilled or satisfied in your
work?
8. When do you feel most rewarded?
9. What leaves you feeling unfulfilled at work?
10. How do you prefer to receive recognition for your
efforts? Are you currently rewarded in this way?
Section 3: Workplace Relationships - Coworkers/
Peers
For the purposes of this survey, your coworkers/
peers are other Renewergy employees who are at or
around your same job level, regardless of department.
1. Rate your level of connection with your coworkers/
peers. (1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
2. How appreciated do you feel by your coworkers/
peers? (1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
3. Please describe your interactions with your
coworkers/peers. (ex: How often do you interact?
How do they show appreciation? Do you feel like
they listen to your input? Are your relationships strictly
professional or are they personal as well?)
 Post-Survey (cont.)
Section 4: Workplace Relationships - Supervisor(s)
For the purposes of this survey, your supervisor(s) are
other Renewergy employees who have supervisory or
managerial control over you.
1. Rate your level of connection with your supervisor(s).
(1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
2. How appreciated do you feel by your supervisor(s)?
(1-7 Not at all connected to very connected)
3. Please describe your interactions with your
supervisor(s). (ex: How often do you interact? How do
they show appreciation? Do you feel like they listen to
your input? Are your relationships strictly professional
or are they personal as well?)
Section 5: Workplace Relationships: Subordinates
For the purposes of this survey, your subordinates
are other Renewergy employees who report to you
or who you have supervisory/managerial control over.
If you are not in a managerial/supervisory role, please
skip these questions.
1.Rate your level of connection with your subordinates.
(1-7 Not connected to Very connected)
2. How appreciated do you feel by your subordinates?
(1-7 Not at all appreciated to Very appreciated)
3. Please describe your interactions with your
subordinates. (ex: How would you classify them?
How often do you interact? How do they show
appreciation? Do you feel like they listen to your input?
Are your relationships strictly professional or are they
personal as well?)
 Post-Survey (cont.)
Section 6: P.A.T. Program Feedback
This section of the survey collects your feedback
about the P.A.T. program specifically, including your
feelings about each element of the program.
1. Have you used the Win Wall this year?
Choices:
Yes, wrote about somebodys accomplishments
Yes, somebody wrote about me
Yes, both
No
2. How appreciative/appreciated did the Win Wall
make you feel?
(1-7 not at all appreciative/appreciated to very )
appreciative/appreciated
3. Please elaborate on your above rating.
4. Did you receive the sunflower as part of the Share
the Sunshine activity?
Yes
No
5. How appreciative/appreciated did Share the
Sunshine (sunflower passing) make you feel?
(1-7 not at all appreciative/appreciated to very
appreciative/appreciated)
6. Please elaborate on your above rating.
7. What do you think of the Super Office program? (ex:
Did you receive this reward? Do you think this reward
enticed you to work towards higher performance?)
8. What do you think of the Group Outing program?
(ex: Did you receive this reward? Where was your group
outing? Do you think this reward enticed you to work
towards higher performance or helped you form stronger
bonds with your team?)
9. What do you think of the Company Bash? (ex: Did you
attend the bash? Were the individual prizes enticing and
reflective of the top performers at the company? Did the
superlatives make you feel appreciated as an employee?)
10. What do you think of the recognition e-newsletter
and Monthly P.A.T. zine? (ex: Do you read these
publications? Do they come out too often, not often
enough, or just right? Do they make you feel recognized
as an employee? Do they make you feel proud to work at
Renewergy?)
11. Do you have any other ideas about how we
can improve employee recognition and rewards at
Renewergy?
9 Resources
Ayub, C. (2015, May 2). Cash vs. Non-Cash Incentive Programs - What works best? Perks.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://resources.perks.com/incentive-blog/cash-vs-non-cash-incentive-programs-what-works-best-b-
Bersin, J. (2012, June 13). New Research Unlocks the Secret of Employee Recognition. Forbes.
Retrieved April 16, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/06/13/new-research-unlocks-the-secret-of-employee-recogni
tion/#c80308c52767
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016, September 22). Employee tenure summary. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm.
Della Cava, M. (2015, October 15). For millennial workers, rewards must get personal. USA Today.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/10/15/millennial-workers-rewards-must-get-personal/73880080/
Globoforce (2014). Workforce Mood Tracker spring 2014 report: Adapting to the realities of our changing workforce.
Retrieved from http://go.globoforce.com/rs/globoforce/images/Spring2014MoodTrackerGloboforce.pdf.
Harrison, K. (n.d.). Why employee recognition is so important. Retrieved April 16, 2017,
from http://www.cuttingedgepr.com/articles/emprecog_so_important.asp
Horton, Mike. (2011, December 13). #E2sday: The power of recognition in the enterprise. Socialcast.
Retrieved from http://blog.socialcast.com/e2sday-the-power-of-recognition-in-the-enterprise/.
Jakobson, L. (April 4, 2012). The Continuing Case for Non-Cash Rewards. Incentive.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://www.incentivemag.com/News/Industry/The-Continuing-Case-for-Non-Cash-Rewards/
Nieuwenhuis, Marlon; Knight, Craig; Postmes, Tom; Haslam, S. Alexander (2014, Sep). The relative benefits of green versus lean office space: Three field
experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xap0000024
Mejia, M. (2015, June 25). The Difference Between Recognition, Incentives and Rewards. WorkStride.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://www.workstride.com/the-difference-between-recognition-incentives-and-rewards/
Morin, A. (2014, November 23). 7 Scientifically Proven benefits Of Gratitude That Will Motivate You to Give Thanks Year-Round. Forbes.
Retrieved April 16, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-
you-to-give-thanks-year-round/#7a11cd7b183c
The Incentive Research Foundation. (2012). 2012 Trends in Rewards & Recognition.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://cdn2.incentivesolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/reward-recognition-trends-2012.pdf
Whitney, M. M., & Bombard, J. M. (n.d.). Strategies for Developing a Successful Employee Recognition Program. Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP.
Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://www.morganbrown.com/docs/Recognition%20programs%203-07.pdf
WorldAtWork (2013, June). Trends in employee recognition. Retrieved from https://www.worldatwork.org/adimLink?id=72689.
Yakowicz, W. (2015, November 16). Why Employee Recognition Is Even More Important Than You Think.
Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/the-importance-of-giving-recognition.html
Appendix A
Appendix A (cont.)
Appendix B
Below are a selection of thumbnails from the video featurette that will be showed at the end of
the year Office Bash.
2017