How to Focus Recognition and Incentives on Core Organizational Purpose and Goals for Greater Impact
An article in Forbes on economic engagement and a UK survey of employees on their level of engagement in sustainability efforts point to new ways to make incentives and recognition a core part of an organization’s value creation strategy.By Bruce Bolger
Economic Engagement and Sustainability
The Supportive Role of Rewards and Recognition
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Incentive and recognition solution providers seeking to create tangible value would do well to focus on two current organizational imperatives—engaging employees in the achievement of key economic and sustainability objectives.
Writing in Inc. magazine, Bill Fotsch, Founder of Economic Engagement, an advisory firm, advocates for the competitive advantage of engaging employees in the economic mission of the organization. The same approach applies to sustainability: a recent survey of 1,727 professional in the UK by AimHi Earth, a London-based organization that aims to empower the entire organization in sustainability efforts finds that “93% of workers don’t know how to apply their company’s sustainability strategy to their work, 77% are unhappy with employers’ lack of climate action, and 52% think their employer is likely to greenwash.”Economic Engagement and Sustainability
In the article, Fotsch makes a strong case for the competitive advantage of having employees fully engaged in the organization’s economic goals. Dusting off the wisdom of Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and consultant who advocates for partnering with employees to better serve customers, Fotsch goes one step further: partner with employees for economic success. By creating a culture based on involving all employees in economic success, he argues, Southwest Airlines has consistently outperformed competitors such as American and United Airlines that have failed to do so.
When it comes to sustainability, there’s a similar disconnect between an organization’s sustainability goals and the engagement of employees. According to AimHi Earth’s survey, employees generally do not feel confident “when it comes to understanding and talking about the climate and biodiversity crises — with over half (55%) acknowledging they only have a surface-level knowledge of sustainability. Over two-thirds of these employees (70%) don’t believe their individual actions at work can have an impact on reducing emissions and protecting nature.”
Nearly all workers (93%) don’t know how their company’s sustainability strategy applies to their day-to-day jobs, the survey finds.
The Supportive Role of Rewards and Recognition
While recognition and rewards alone are not sufficient to address these issues, both can play a tangible role in encouraging economic and sustainability engagement when included as part of holistic approach. This means addressing the need for stakeholder buy-in and involvement; an understanding of how individuals can support economic or sustainability objectives; fostering a culture of voice, innovation and collaboration across the enterprise; availability of related skills development, and clear communications and metrics.
When properly aligned with the holistic approach required to achieve any goal, both recognition and rewards help keep stakeholders across the enterprise focused on the actions and outcomes that count toward the achievement of concrete goals consistent with organizational values.
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