Q.What role does rewards and recognition play in employees’ motivation?
A. Organisations are realising that there has to be a balance between the employees’ contribution and the organisation’s concern for the employees. R&R is a way of creating a subtle but strong connection between the talent and the company by demonstrating that ‘we care’. Employees are motivated when they see a sense of fairness prevailing at the workplace. At American Express, we imbibe this sense of fairness across the spectrum of rewards.
Our R&R programme looks at three pillars: praising effort, rewarding results and celebrating milestones. This has helped us to keep our employees motivated and position ourselves as a great workplace in the market.
Q. Do you think meaty incentives are the secret to engaged employees today?
A. We believe that employees are our most valuable asset and we are passionate towards taking care of them. The R&R mechanism is the biggest tool that we have in our organisation, which is designed in collaboration with people from all lines of service to make it more inclusive. They keep in mind the varied nature of our business entities and the diversity of roles in each of the business groups. Different groups of employees may have different motivations, so companies should try to customise the incentive policies and programmes according to the employees’ requirement that makes them happy and devoted to their work.
With the changing workforce demographics, it is imperative for any organisation to constantly reinforce the appreciation for the values that employees help create. Incentives is a good way to express this, while rewards help build a sense of team and camaraderie..
Q. How is your R&R strategy different and unique compared to other organisations?
A. Our R&R programme is based on the principle that ‘extraordinary people deserve extraordinary rewards’. Our rewards are broadly based on performance, potential, tenure, role and ability of the role to create business impact and enable growth. It is directed towards attracting, retaining and developing key talent to achieve business objectives. There are other reward programmes that help acknowledge the contribution of our employees.
Corporate awards honour employees for promoting specific behaviours and innovative ideas. Global business unit awards are given by business group heads to individuals and business partners who demonstrate exceptional leadership in the organisation and excellence in performance.
The American Express One India awards are for the excellence and outstanding contribution to the One India objectives. On the recognition side, American Express has online recognition platform called ‘Reward Blue’. The programme recognises a broad range of achievements. These awards are small and frequent that let employees know that they are on the right track.
At American Express, we gauge employees’ feedback on the program and how it is benefiting them. The Annual Employee Pulse survey is more than just a survey. It is a dialogue between employees and leaders. It gives employees an opportunity to express their views, their feelings, in their own words. They can talk about leadership effectiveness, business priorities and the overall workplace experience.
