Q.Tell us about the unique aspects of your R&R mechanism?
A. Our primary objective in giving away awards is to retain and nurture the passion of our technologists. We always look for ways to honour and celebrate our people, for bringing to life our values and behaviours both within and outside the organisation. It starts even before they join us. The ‘celebration toolkit’ for those offered position in the team helps create the right touch points before their joining.
Innovation is another key tenet of our R&R framework and we facilitate it through Labrats and Skunkworks. These forums enable employees to innovate outside their work sphere.
Q. Tell us how you refresh your R&R structure every year?
A. The framework has to align with the changing needs of employees and priorities of the organisation. Our annual ‘pulse surveys’ provide feedback to better understand the employees’ perception.
‘You Just Made My Day’ was designed to create a culture of appreciation within eBay Inc. and to help bring our shared purpose, commitments and behaviours to life.
Q. What other factors are important for employees besides rewards and recognition?
A. Freedom of opinion, creativity and innovation. Additionally, there is:
1 Startup culture with constant challenges that provide ample opportunity to grow.
2 Work-life balance.
3 Well-being factors such as compensation and benefits and health care.
4 Opportunity to learn, develop and grow.
Q. How do you take care of your average talent?
A. It is important the R&R framework clearly outlines what performance outcomes make an employee eligible for an award – this helps ensure rewards and recognition are not given out just because it has to be done and helps avoid mediocrity.
Our framework is designed to engage and motivate talent to strive for better performance. The multiple avenues for recognition and associated visibility it provides an employee, act as an incentive for all to make the effort to continuously enhance their performance.
Q. How do you keep the motivation levels high at the top level?
A. Leaders are measured on high employee delight and for creating an empowered ecosystem that fosters innovation and creativity. There are tailored leadership programmes from our first line managers to senior leaders to help them learn and use the tools that we have to make this happen.
Q. What are the dos and don’ts for an R&R structure?
A. It should have provisions to recognise both individuals and teams. There must be clarity on eligibility criteria for each award. Organisational values and behaviours should be built into the reward criteria. Finally, the R&R framework cannot be a standalone initiative. It has to be integrated into the overall rewards philosophy of the organisation.
