Is There a “Sea Change” in Recognition Strategies?

A recent study by Baylor University suggests that employers who promote ethics should reward their employees who exhibit them.  They make the case that when you build the culture and reputation of the company from the inside out, and when employees rate the company highly as an ethical place to work, that it can promote a competitive edge. Along with this of course, you also need high quality products and services and a customer service attitude that second to none.

Is this really a “sea change” in how and why we should recognize our employees?  Is this much different from traditional strategies used to recognize employees using the companies “mission, vision and values”?  While company ethics has always been a fundamental precept of an organization, is it something that has taken center stage in your efforts at internal branding?  Or is ethics something that has just been “understood” as being a value, mentioned often but rarely defined as the fundamental building block of your company?

We have all seen where questionable company ethics, at whatever level, can destroy a company.  When employees don’t trust the management from the board room on down, when they see first-hand questionable customer dealings, when they see management looking like the three monkeys, ethics will erode.

This is a “sea change".  It is fundamentally a new focus on internal branding that will support your objectives and values. According to the study, when you tie the communications and training to honesty and respect and include it in employee awards and job performance evaluations, you can decrease turnover and improve performance.  Many companies are now looking at internal branding as a marriage between Marketing and HR with a more holistic approach that aligns corporate communications with all the elements that engage and inspire the employees.  Rewards should mirror that shift.

According to Baylor researcher Marlene Neill, Ph.D,

“If workers come to believe that an employer does not ‘walk the walk’ touted at orientations and in communications, they may decide that the company violated a psychological contract…That may lead to turnover, job dissatisfaction, distrust and reduced performance, despite good salaries, benefits and chances to advance.” 

The study offers the following Best Practices for including ethics in the entire onboarding process: 

• Employers should communicate ethics in a relevant way, such as employee testimonials and historical anecdotes. 
• Employers should review their core values to be sure they mesh with policies and reward systems. If not, they should make revisions. 
• Employers should review recruitment and orientation materials to include core values. 
• Employers should evaluate their ethics programs and see if they should add more resources, such as ethics audits or decision-making trees. 
• Employers should do routine surveys to see how employees rate the company’s performance in regards to core values. 
• Employees who model ethical behavior should be rewarded through positive job evaluations and awards programs.  

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