A Five-Star Program

Two years ago, TriWest wanted to implement a recognition system that wentbeyond the cookie-cutter “employee of the month” programs, but managementwasn’t sure what it should look like. “It had to be something employeesthought would be useful and valuable,” says Mary Skor, executive director ofhuman resources. To be certain that what they came up with would appeal toemployees, Skor put together a team of people from across the company to createthe new program under the guidance of reward and recognition expert Pat Zingheim.

&nbsp   They created the Five Star Program, a multi-tiered reward system with a themebuilt around the company’s star logo. Each star represents a separate program,Skor says. The first two, which were already in place, are the bonus program andemployee service awards. The team added three programs that reward employees forexceptional customer service and teamwork, internally and externally.

&nbsp   The first, called the Shining Star, is a peer-to-peer certificate program.When employees experience or witness great service or teamwork, they giveShining Star certificates to show their appreciation. Employees can give thecertificates to anyone in the company, regardless of their title or location.One copy is delivered to the employee and another goes into a fishbowl forbimonthly drawings for gift certificates, logoed prizes such as T-shirts andcoffee mugs, and other small items.

&nbsp   About 10 percent of certificate recipients win fishbowl gifts. The teamconsidered giving every Shining Star recipient a small gift, but they wereconcerned that the program could be abused. With a drawing, there is no way toknow who’ll win.

&nbsp   “Employees like the Shining Stars because it’s not a top-down system,”Skor says. “They have a tool to thank each other.” Employees frequently posttheir Shining Stars in their offices or the common rooms, and Skor lists all thewinners each month at the company’s intranet site. “Our people are proud toget those certificates.”

&nbsp   The second program, called the Super Star award, is given by directors toemployees in recognition of great performance. As part of the program, each yeardirectors are given a pot of “Starbucks” coupons equaling roughly $40 peremployee in their unit, which recipients can use to buy logoed merchandise orexchange for gift certificates.

&nbsp   When directors see employees doing excellent work, such as going out of theirway to help customers handle claims problems, they can give them up to 50Starbucks on the spot. “The point is for directors to be able to reward greatbehavior the moment it happens,” Skor says. Directors are also encouraged touse the money at least once a year to throw a party in honor of team successes.

&nbsp   The final program, called the All Stars Award, is in recognition ofperformance above and beyond the scope of the job description. It’s based on acash incentive that allows directors to give up to $750 to an employee who makesmajor contributions to the corporation as a whole. To win this award, employeeshave to do something truly exceptional, Skor says. For example, if an HR persondoes great work during open enrollment, she might receive 50 Starbucks, Skorsays, whereas if a technical employee works late and comes in on the weekends tobe sure the new phone system is up and running on schedule, that would be worthan All Star. The awards have been given to teams that have improved companyproductivity, and to units that have been recognized by the government for doingexceptional work in the field of health-care management. “It’s a big deal towin an All Star,” she says.

&nbsp   It was the development team’s idea to make the All Star program cash-basedwhile keeping the other programs gift-based. “We didn’t want people toexpect payment for doing their jobs,” Skor says. And the development team didn’tthink cash was necessary for the other programs to be successful. “Employeeslike to be told they are doing a good job. It doesn’t have to be a large sumof money; they just want the recognition.”

Workforce, June 2002, p. 88 — Subscribe Now!