Launching Poly’s Global Employee Recognition Program
Throughout the decade I’ve worked at Poly, there have been many changes, in my team, in my role, in the company itself. There have been high-points and low-points. Through it all, it’s been the relationships that I’ve built with my colleagues and those meaningful everyday interactions we share that have helped me overcome any challenge.
Throughout the ups and downs, I’ve observed that the one act that is particularly impactful on people’s emotional wellbeing is the simple act of being recognized. I’m a real enthusiast when it comes to the human experience and understanding how work folds into our lives. That’s why when the opportunity presented itself for me to help launch “WOW”, our global employee recognition program, I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity.
When it comes to change, it’s easy to focus solely on what’s happening on the surface. In July 2018, we became Poly. New name, new logo, new values, new culture. In the midst of many moving parts, we can at times forget how there’s a consistent element within us all that helps us to deal with life’s ups and downs – and that’s gratitude. The feeling of being recognized is a truly powerful emotion and while we’ve been busy rebranding and learning our new culture, we wanted to empower our employees to recognize their peers.
Positivity and gratitude make individuals feel acknowledged for who they are and what they do – motivating and empowering them to do the best work.
The WOW program provides a consistent recognition experience for our whole population – from knowledge workers to our manufacturing employees. The great part of the tool is that it gives you a range of recognition levels. Our employees can start with a virtual ‘thank you’ or can give a points reward which the recipient can exchange for tangible gifts.
Every role at Poly requires unique effort, time, attention and expertise, so when a colleague really steps up to help achieve our shared success, that’s something to be appreciated. Employee recognition is one of the most important factors in workplace engagement and retention. With social recognition, employees can give peer-to-peer recognition awards to one another and make the workplace feel more inclusive. It can be as simple as a virtual ‘thank you’ or celebrating somebody’s years of service, no recognition is too small. Through WOW we are bringing back the power of ‘thank you’ to the workplace.