2011 Award Recipient

“My Recognition”

Employee Incentive Program

Client: Kimberly Elliott, Human Resources Director
AstraZeneca Australia

Incentive Professional: Alan Heyward
Accumulate

“We all know recognition is critical to employee engagement. To have an innovative tool that encourages each and every one of us to say thank you or congratulations on a job well done is fabulous. I am convinced that in order to be a continuously successful company, we need to build a culture of “reward routinely” and “recognize relentlessly” and this is what AstraZeneca is doing.” – Jose Vieira, Managing Director, AstraZeneca Australia

As one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca has long been acknowledged internationally as an ‘Employer of Choice,’ receiving recognition as one of the world’s best industrial employers of science, and for its commitment to workplace diversity. AstraZeneca’s Australian operations sought to reinforce its “Employer of Choice” reputation with the introduction of its “myRecognition” program.

Program Objectives

•    Drive a culture of recognition across the business.

•    Embed AstraZeneca’s “Leadership Capabilities and Values” within all layers of the business.

•    Create a single, consistent approach to employee recognition.

AstraZeneca’s primary challenge was to develop a program that appealed equally and was accessible to a diverse demographic mix of approximately 1,000 employees spanning nine business divisions across the head office, sales and manufacturing environments.

As is common in many organizations, the sales division had previously been the only group in the business receiving any form of incentives; the aim of “myRecognition” was to motivate staff, encourage leadership at all levels of the organization, and improve performance at all levels.

“myRecognition” was developed as an online program to provide a single, consistent mechanism for employee recognition. The white-collar head office and sales divisions were comprised predominantly of Generation X and Y, with a relatively even gender mix. The manufacturing division was blue collar, male-dominated and comprised mainly of Generation X and Baby Boomers. The manufacturing employees had limited computer access, which created a challenge with an online program. To overcome the issue of limited computer access, computer terminals were installed in the communal areas of the manufacturing division, providing increased staff access to the program website during lunch, breaks, and before and after shifts.

“myRecognition” was designed primarily as a peer nomination program, in which employees received recognition and rewards for exhibiting behaviors that best embodied AstraZeneca’s Leadership Capabilities and Values, which in turn directly supported the organization’s Core Values and, ultimately, it’s Business Strategy. Nominations received via the “myRecognition” program were also considered as one of a number of evaluation criteria for determining AstraZeneca’s National Award winners. Employees were encouraged to nominate colleagues they believed had exhibited one or more of these behaviors. The ongoing education of what actually constituted a ‘quality nomination’ was – and continues to be – an integral part of the program.

During the program’s first year, employees were also encouraged to nominate their colleagues for acts they believed constituted one or more of the newly-introduced ‘3 Cs’ – Being Courageous, Being Creative, Being Collaborative.

To maximize employee engagement, the program was given a fun brand and ‘face’ – in the form of the omnipresent program mascot, ‘Charlie’. This approach proved extremely successful; ‘Charlie Points’ rapidly became an adopted term of endearment for reward points earned in the program, and a popular form of currency which participants could redeem for a range of over 3,500 rewards from the online program catalogue. From electronics, homewares, children’s toys and jewelry, to travel (Qantas Frequent Flyer points), experiences and a range of gift cards for leading Australian retailers, there was something to appeal to all tastes within the diverse mix of participants.  “Charlie Points” became the preferred currency for all non-cash incentives and rewards, with points also awarded for service milestones and the annual Christmas bonus, which traditionally took the form of a gift voucher.

Instant recognition was also made available in the form of animated e-cards featuring Charlie in a variety of situations, which could be sent to peers to acknowledge significant milestones or offer congratulations or thanks for acts deemed noteworthy, but not necessarily nomination-worthy.

A “Points plus Pay” feature was offered to employees. If a participant did not have the required points balance for a desired catalogue item, they could pay the balance in cash, provided they had earned 80% of the reward value in ‘Charlie Points’.

Sales and head office staff also earned “Charlie Points” for standard service milestones at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. In addition to these milestones, employees in the manufacturing division also earned points for every year of service, to reflect each division’s different priorities and provide an additional avenue by which to earn points.

Key to the success of the program was a robust twelve month communication strategy that included a “teaser” campaign in advance of the program’s launch, tailored managers’ guides and employee brochures, door hangers, tent cards in communal areas, branded t-shirts, temporary Charlie tattoos, an article in the company’s internal staff newsletter and a broadcast on AstraZeneca’s in-house TV network. The launch was spear-headed by a number of ‘Charlie dolls’; 15 cm figurines that were strategically positioned around the business. From the beginning of the program, line managers were encouraged to drive program participation at every opportunity via internal channels such as team meetings. The program’s dedicated Web site was refreshed each quarter with a seasonal theme to keep employees engaged. Automated email communications were sent to the nominee/s, nominator and manager upon successful approval of a nomination.

Program Results

“Charlie” has very successfully taken on a life of his own to become AstraZeneca Australia’s recognition “currency”. I am delighted by the high take-up rates the program has achieved with both managers and employees, with peer to peer recognition. In all, the program has helped us to drive an improved culture of recognition and has provided overall program administration efficiencies.
Kimberly Elliott, Human Resources Director, AstraZeneca Australia

At the end of one year of the program, engagement levels had exceeded expectations.

•    Ninety-five percent of eligible employees participated.
•    Ninety-nine percent of managers had logged into the program site; ninety-three percent of participating managers placed at least one nomination.
•    Seventy-eight percent of all nominations (2,275 nominations) were approved.
•    Thirty-eight percent of eligible participants placed at least one nomination.
•    Average time spent on the program site was eleven minutes; average pages viewed was eleven per visit.
•    Fifty percent of all points earned were redeemed.
•    Over 300 congratulatory e-cards were sent.

The Incentive Marketing Association leads incentive professionals and the corporate community as the premier educator and authority
in the incentive marketplace. By promoting the utilization of performance management and measurement tools, results-oriented solutions, the exchange of information and ideas, and high standards of professionalism, IMA advances the effective use of incentives and recognition in  employee and customer programs to improve business.

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