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Sacke & Associates in the News
From the May 20, 2003 issue -- Financial Post
by Suzanne Wintrob
Awards can bring rewards
Employee recognition: Public recognition helps attract, retain and motivate people
An off-the-cuff remark set Anika Chabra's mind racing.
"Wouldn't it be great if we could own the cold weather?" asked Philip Donne, president of Toronto-based Campbell Soup Ltd. during a brainstorming session for the company's winter advertising campaign. "Whenever it's really cold people reach in their cupboards and dust off their cans and eat soup."
Within minutes, Ms. Chabra and her team at Toronto advertising firm BBDO Canada got busy. It was already January, during one of the harshest winters in years, and they were given just seven days to pull together a winning campaign.
But they work for a company that counts creativity and client passion among its core values, so it was not surprising the simple, yet innovative, campaign was delivered on time to rave reviews.
Whenever the temperature dipped below 5C, the slogan "It's cold. Eat Soup" was touted on Campbell-sponsored radio weather reports, on the Weather Network television station, in newspapers and in e-mails to Weather Network subscribers.
"Values are something that we're expected to walk and to talk every single day," says Ms. Chabra, who won BBDO Canada's quarterly Client Passion Award for her zealous efforts.
"There was a bit more sweat involved for this campaign because it was done in seven days. Usually we have months and months to plan. To be rewarded for that was very nice."
Employees appreciate being noticed for a job well done or for an idea that saves time or money, and today's organizations realize they can improve their business and boost team spirit by giving employees a public pat on the back.
This will come as news to many companies, however. Two recent studies show today's work experience is largely negative. The 2002/2003 survey Strategic Rewards, published by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt, reports top performers generally leave a company because of dissatisfaction with pay, dissatisfaction with management, inadequate promotion opportunities, inadequate opportunities to develop their skills, conflict with managers and unease with the general work environment.
The 2003 Work Experience Study, conducted by consulting firms Towers Perrin and Gang & Gang, also reports a negative work experience. What employees really want, the study reveals, is to feel good about their abilities, to have confidence in themselves at work, to be rewarded fairly, to see the results of what they do, to make a contribution and to be recognized for that contribution.
That's why Peter Saulnier, senior consultant, Human Capital Group, at Watson Wyatt Worldwide in Vancouver, advises companies to ARM -- attract, retain and motivate -- people.
Rewards can be given for just about anything an employee values in the relationship with the employer, he says. This can be something as ephemeral as effective management or visionary leadership, in addition to benchmarks that are easier to measure, such as cost saving. "Think as holistically as possible because your employees are."
BBDO Canada has been acknowledging the hard work of its 400 employees for the past several years with a $500 award presented at the company's Christmas party to the employee with the best overall creative idea, insight or strategy. Employee recognition got a lift last year with the launch of a new program that emphasizes five core values.
Gerry Frascione, president and chief executive of BBDO, says the company's mission is "client success through great work." That's why everyone must live up to the values: creativity, client passion, accountability, collaboration and enthusiasm. Awards go to employees who exemplify these values daily, with awards given biweekly, quarterly and annually. And an annual award recognizes initiatives that lead to cost savings, with winners sharing those savings up to a maximum of $5,000.
A one-year-old staff suggestion program at RBC Financial Group has created a real buzz among 40,000 employees across Canada, who can earn as much as $25,000 for an idea that saves RBC Financial money or generates revenue. Over the past year, RBC Innovations has awarded more than $65,000 to 76 winners, ranging from $450 to an employee who noticed misleading wording on a health insurance brochure to $25,000 given to a team of eight employees who designed an automated system for RBC's service centre to process transactions. About 550 ideas are submitted each month. The program will be rolled out to another 50,000 employees early next year.
Some firms, such as ATI Technologies Inc. of Markham, Ont., link rewards to company performance, with ATI's 900 professional engineers getting their public pat through bonuses, stock options and merit pay.
Even firms with small budgets are seeing value in motivating employees. Alan Thompson, a senior network administrator at Markham-based Delphi Solutions Corp., recently clocked many hours of unpaid overtime installing a sophisticated firewall product at a client site. While the modest 13-year Delphi veteran says he "just helped out because that's the type of person I am," he admits it felt great (although a bit embarrassing) to be recognized with the firm's Wow Service Award and $100 on his Delphi American Express points card.
John Sacke, president of the five-person Toronto public relations firm Sacke and Associates Inc., rewards good ideas with Zareinu Dollars. The gift certificates support a Toronto school for Jewish children with disabilities and can be redeemed at more than 100 participating stores.
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