Tag: employee skills growth

understanding the difference between recognition and reward

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECOGNIZING AND REWARDING YOUR PEOPLE

Written by Kai Donesa on . Posted in Resources.

When was the last time you acknowledged your people for a job well done?

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget to recognize the efforts of those around us. As leaders and managers, it’s crucial to understand the difference between recognizing and rewarding the hard work of our staff.

While recognition and reward are essential in motivating and encouraging employees, they are vastly different. Each word carries varying connotations and outcomes. Recognition is about acknowledging staff for improving at their jobs, while reward is about commending individual staff for their exceptional performance and achievements.

Knowing the difference between both strategies can transform your workplace dynamics. In this blog post, we will explore the nuances between recognizing and rewarding staff and how you can strike a balance to create a culture of appreciation and excellence in your organization.

Why you must distinguish between reward and recognition

Recognizing and rewarding staff are two distinct concepts often misunderstood and used interchangeably. Distinguishing between the two is critical because it informs how your organization appreciates and incentivizes its people. At the same time, recognition and reward complement each other in creating a balanced and positive workplace culture.

A common mistake in organizations is using recognition and reward synonymously. However, this mindset can lead to a skewed view of what motivates staff. Recognition and reward have different impacts, and implementing a balanced approach can significantly improve your human resources strategies.

Understanding recognition

At work, recognition can be a powerful motivator. Recognizing the growth in your people’s skills and knowledge boosts their morale and promotes a positive work culture. It’s an often-overlooked gesture that can significantly affect job satisfaction. When staff members feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to put in their best effort.

The role of employee recognition in fostering a motivated, satisfied, and high-performing workforce cannot be overstated. As we better understand what recognition focuses on, remember that each point holds unique value in shaping an employee’s job progression.

Valuing knowledge. The knowledge and expertise of your people are the driving forces behind your organization’s innovation, problem-solving, and decision-making. Recognizing and appreciating the depth and breadth of your staff’s knowledge can foster a culture of learning and growth. It encourages employees to continue expanding their knowledge base, contributing to their personal and professional development.

Appreciating skills growth. Skills are the practical application of knowledge. They are tools that enable staff to work effectively. Recognizing the skills of your people, from technical prowess to interpersonal abilities, is important. By acknowledging the growth in your staff’s skill sets, you confirm their value to the organization.

Recognizing capacity. Capacity refers to a person’s ability to meet the demands of the job. Recognizing an employee’s capacity is acknowledging their potential and ability to take on challenges. You trust their abilities and are confident in their growth potential. This recognition can empower staff to push them beyond their limits and strive for achievement.

Focusing on professional development. Professional development is important in an employee’s career progression. Recognizing your staff’s commitment to continuous learning and improvement shows you value their drive to better themselves.

Managing fair and objective pay increases. When your staff feel that their hard work and dedication are recognized with appropriate compensation, it boosts their morale. Additionally, fair pay increases demonstrate that your organization values and appreciates their contributions, encouraging staff to continue improving their skills and knowledge.

Recognizing and appreciating employees’ efforts creates a positive work environment where everyone feels valued. The Birches Group approach to recognizing employees is rooted in skills growth. Managers and staff members collaborate and have equal ownership of measuring and growing their skills. Providing your people with a framework that objectively measures and recognizes their skills growth, you enable the following opportunities:

  • Your managers and staff provide input on the pace of their growth
  • Your people are recognized and compensated as they become better at their jobs.

Understanding reward

Reward is integral to an organization’s approach to managing people. Most organizations tend to link reward to high-achieving, outstanding employees. However, at Birches Group, we also reward a majority of the staff who meet the expectations of their jobs.

So, what differentiates reward from recognition?

Recognizing results. Reward is often tied to specific outcomes or achievements, such as exceeding targets or completing a project successfully. It is a way to acknowledge and celebrate the results that staff members have delivered. Recognizing staff accomplishments reinforces the importance of their contributions and motivates them to perform at their best.

Acknowledging impact. Whether it’s through ideas, client service, or an ability to solve complex problems, the impact of one’s work is felt throughout the organization. Rewarding this impact is a powerful way to show staff that their job matters and makes a difference. By focusing on output, your organization can encourage employees to think creatively. More importantly, focusing on getting things done gives your staff the flexibility to try different paths to achieving their output.

Highlighting critical incidents. Critical incidents are situations that require immediate attention and exceptional handling. When your staff successfully navigates these challenging situations, it’s important to recognize their quick thinking and problem-solving skills. This will boost their confidence and motivate them to manage future incidents with the same level of competence.

Celebrating achievements. Achievements deserve credit and kudos. By celebrating your staff’s achievements, you acknowledge their efforts and foster a sense of pride in their work. When you take time to celebrate individual or team accomplishments, it also encourages a spirit of camaraderie and communal success.

Offering bonuses. Bonuses are a tangible way of rewarding exceptional performance. They show your employees that you notice and appreciate their hard work. Offering bonuses as a form of recognition can incentivize employees to continue performing at a high level.

recognizing the difference of recognition and reward

Why your organization should both recognize and reward staff

A successful organization is like a well-oiled machine, with each part playing a role in supporting smooth operations. Employees are the most vital, powering the machine with their skills, dedication, and creativity. Thus, organizations must not only recognize but also reward staff.

As discussed earlier, recognition is a powerful tool that can significantly increase staff morale. When employees feel their hard work and dedication are recognized, they feel valued in the organization. This, in turn, can boost their productivity and enthusiasm for their work. Moreover, recognition fosters a positive work culture where employees feel appreciated and are likelier to go the extra mile for their job.

While recognition fuels pride in one’s work, reward reinforces this sentiment. Whether monetary or otherwise, rewards are a tangible acknowledgment of an employee’s contributions. They function as a driving force, motivating staff to exceed their performance levels and strive for higher achievements.

How to balance recognition and rewards in your workplace

Recognition and rewards help foster a positive work environment. They reinforce the behaviors and values that contribute to an organization’s success. However, striking the right balance between the two is a delicate process. If not appropriately managed, it can lead to discontent and demotivation among staff.

An overemphasis on rewards may make recognition seem hollow, while focusing too much on recognition may leave staff members feeling undervalued due to the lack of tangible benefits. Your organization can achieve an optimal balance by maintaining a consistent pattern of recognition and tying rewards to clearly defined performance benchmarks.

Recognize effort and reward results. Recognition should be frequent and consistent, aimed at acknowledging effort. This approach motivates all team members and not just top performers. Employees who see their efforts recognized will likely continue contributing to their best abilities. On the other hand, rewards should be linked to significant achievements and results. This approach reinforces the link between performance and rewards, encouraging employees to strive for excellence.

Implement a fair and transparent system. Fairness is vital in balancing recognition and rewards. Ensure that all employees understand how the recognition and reward system works and that it is applied consistently and uniformly across teams. Make sure the rules and criteria for recognition and reward are well-defined and communicated to each staff member. This involves outlining the performance standards or behaviors that will be rewarded or recognized, and the types of rewards or recognition that employees can earn.

How Birches Group’s approach and tools can help

At Birches Group, we understand the importance of recognition and rewards in engaging your staff. Our Community™ approach has made it possible to distinguish recognition from reward, where pay movement is linked to skills growth, and performance is linked to rewarding achievement.

Our online platform offers comprehensive tools and resources to help your organization recognize and reward employees effectively. In addition, our compensation and benefits surveys provide data and insights into what similar organizations in your labor market are doing to recognize and reward staff.

We also offer training and consulting services to help you develop and implement effective recognition and rewards programs. Our team of experts is ready to guide your organization using Community™. Contact Birches Group today and let us guide you in distinguishing recognition and reward.

Carla is a part-time copywriter in our marketing team in Manila. Before shifting to freelance writing in 2020, she worked as a marketing and communications specialist at the offices of EY and Grant Thornton. She has written about HR and career development for Kalibrr. 

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FIVE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY™ SKILLS

Written by Kai Donesa on . Posted in Resources.

In our previous articles, we have shared the powerful and versatile capabilities of the newest solution from our Community™ integrated approach and platform, Community™ Skills. In this article, we will go over the five steps needed to implement Community™ Skills in your organization. This innovative tool allows organizations to manage and build their capacity by measuring the skills of their workforce, tailor learning and development plans around explicit measures at every grade level and skill stage and be able to objectively recognize skills growth through pay movement, prepare for their staff’s promotion, and so much more.

So, perhaps you’re thinking, “Sounds great! But how exactly do I implement this? Where do I even begin?” “Does it really only take five steps to implement Community™ Skills in my organization?” Because there are several HR functions that will need to be aligned to the Community™ Skills approach, this undertaking will take a bit of effort. But we, at Birches Group, have gone through this process ourselves, and here are some of the steps that we have taken to get everyone on board:

  • Align your organization’s job evaluation and pay structure to Community™ – To implement any Community™ solution in your organization, we must start with your jobs. Through Community™ Jobs, we will evaluate and align your job structure to our fourteen Birches Group job levels which will be the same levels used once you carry out your Community™ Skills assessments. Once your job levels have been aligned, our five Skills stages can then be arrayed against the pay range at each grade and the corresponding pay increments can be tailored to follow your organization’s policy on pay movement and frequency of skills assessment rounds.
  • Community™ Skills training with managers – Now that you’ve aligned your jobs and pay structure to the fourteen Birches Group job levels and five Skills stages, managers will need to be trained on the concepts behind the Community™ Skills approach and a briefing for them to use the tool. Birches Group is on hand to organize this for any organization to ensure that there is a shared understanding of the principles of each skill stage and the six indicators among all supervisors.
  • Conducting your first Community™ Skills assessment round – Once all managers have been trained on the methodology and platform, HR is now ready to conduct the first skills assessment round. Managers will assess each of their staff according to their evaluated job level and all results will be collated and stored in our Community™ system. Birches Group can assist in generating individual and overall reports. HR can then calibrate the results to ensure alignment in the assessments before presenting recommendations to management.
  • Tailoring learning and development plans – Simultaneously, managers can also begin tailoring individual learning and development plans for each of their staff. Each development plan should focus its activities to help the employee advance to the next skill stage or grade level, their assignments and metrics should align with each of the six indicators, and the timeframe in between assessments should also be determined.
  • Communicating assessment results to staff – once assessment recommendations have been approved and respective movements in pay have been taken into consideration, it is time for managers to communicate the results to their staff. At this stage, it is crucial for managers to be clear about how each employee was assessed, the impact on their salaries, and their follow-up development plans. At the same time, employees can also take equal ownership and provide suggestions to supplement or refine their development plans further. This way, assignments and metrics can be more attainable for staff in between assessment rounds.

The first round of skills assessments for any organization will, indeed, be a period of adjustment. HR has a role to play in making sure that the process that went into the assessments, creating the development plans, identifying promotion readiness, and pay movement are all being communicated clearly to staff. But with the structure and transparency our Community™ Skills tool provides, staff discussions around these critical talent management activities can now be done with ease. We hope that enumerating these five steps to implement Community™ Skills gives a clear pathway on how to get started. Contact us to see a demo of our Community™ Skills tool and how your organization can get started.

Want to know if your existing compensation practices have the elements of a good compensation program or if there are areas that could use some improvement? Take our quick Compensation Program Assessment Quiz to know your score!

Bianca manages our Marketing Team in Manila. She crafts messaging around Community™ concepts and develops promotional campaigns answering why Community™ should be each organization’s preferred solution, focusing on its simplicity and integrated approach. She has held various roles within Birches Group since 2009, starting as a Compensation Analyst and worked her way to Compensation Team Lead, and Training Program Services Manager. In addition to her current role in marketing and communications, she represents Birches Group in international HR conferences with private sector audiences.

Follow us on our LinkedIn for more content on pay management and HR solutions.

COMMUNITY™ SKILLS – THE HR SWISS ARMY KNIFE

Written by Kai Donesa on . Posted in Resources.

Birches Group’s Community™ Skills is a groundbreaking solution that radically changes the way organizations manage human resources. Like the well-known Swiss Army knife, Community™ Skills is so versatile that it can support different human resources activities using one simple and integrated approach.

In a previous overview of our Community™ Skills solution, we described how our methodology, with its five Skills stages and six indicators, can easily be adapted to an organization’s pay ranges and facilitate pay movement based on actual skills growth of staff, measure the capacity of its entire workforce, and help managers tailor learning and development assignments to enable movement of staff deeper into their grade or to the next skills stage.

Because Community™ Skills links the pay movement of staff with their growth in skills and experience, this approach can also be readily incorporated into other areas of HR from recruitment to succession planning. Here are other ways where Community™ Skills can support your HR program:

  • Establishing Fair and Equitable Hiring Practices

During recruitment, Community™ Skills makes it possible for managers to target the right candidate they need by allowing them to define the appropriate skill level required for a role. From the five Skills stages, managers can select from the first three skill levels, Basic, Proficient, or Skilled, depending on the level of skill they need. And because assessments are purely based on the candidate’s skill level, setting starting salaries during the recruitment process becomes simpler, more objective, and easily justifiable.

  • Aligning Skills to Pay

With the five stages of knowledge mapped across the different points in the salary range, Community™ Skills makes it possible for organizations to fully utilize their salary ranges and manage pay clearly and objectively. As staff build skills, they move across the stages driving movement in pay within their salary grade. Personal biases such as gender, race, etc. will have no impact on the increase that an employee receives.

The illustration above can be applied to most grade levels.

Staff development can be tailored at every job level to be able to push out more of the work that is essential to the organization’s success.

  • Tailoring Learning and Development Assignments for Employee Growth

Through Community™ Skills, tailoring learning and development plans become a collaborative effort between the manager and staff. Because each skill stage is explicitly defined, employees can equally take ownership of their progress by providing feedback or suggestions that will tailor their initiatives to advance their skills growth.

  • Prepare for Career Pathing

Skills ratings inform managers about promotion readiness, providing objective criteria for succession and promotion decisions.

Never has there been any other solution that can address so many HR needs with just one approach. Community™ Skills not only seamlessly connects what used to be separate HR functions, but also links each of them in a way that any organization can adapt and design their respective strategies around. Contact us to learn how Community™ Skills can work for your organization.

Want to know if your existing compensation practices have the elements of a good compensation program or if there are areas that could use some improvement? Take our quick Compensation Program Assessment Quiz

Bianca manages our Marketing Team in Manila. She crafts messaging around Community™ concepts and develops promotional campaigns answering why Community™ should be each organization’s preferred solution, focusing on its simplicity and integrated approach. She has held various roles within Birches Group since 2009, starting as a Compensation Analyst and worked her way to Compensation Team Lead, and Training Program Services Manager. In addition to her current role in marketing and communications, she represents Birches Group in international HR conferences with private sector audiences.

Follow us on our LinkedIn for more content on pay management and HR solutions.