For any modern organization, ensuring the success of a great rewards and recognition (R&R) program depends on correctly determining where to implement it. 

Traditional versus modern R&R

The strategy to provide incentives to hardworking employees to motivate them finds its roots in Frederick W Taylor's comprehensive research on factors that influenced the productivity and motivation of factory workers. While monetary awards were deemed sufficient at that time, employee incentive and recognition programs later evolved to truly pay attention to the requirements of employees. These included trophies, jewelry, and vouchers for anything the firm deemed appropriate.

Today, traditional incentives can be seen as including certificates, bonuses for good performance, ESOPs, monetary incentives, items like mugs and plaques, and even vacations. 

These can still be impactful in a small company, with less than 50 employees, all of whom work in the same physical location. This kind of company probably has a not-so-young workforce which is also not tech-savvy. Here’s where old-school R&R makes sense: think open day, where companies facilitate their top performers publicly. Or even a celebratory team lunch by the manager and physical gifts would be a compelling proposition in such an environment.

However, in modern organizations with a sizable millennial workforce, an online R&R program that rests on a digital platform and is carried out in the virtual space would make more sense.

Here are the critical areas of difference between a traditional (physical) R&R program and a modern (online) one:

Of course, digital R&R programs are all the rage, but traditional R&R still has its charm. For a company that wants to explore the best of both worlds, a hybrid model can work wonders. In this model, one can pick and choose from elements of the traditional and modern methods to craft a custom approach that promotes a culture of gratitude and appreciation.

For example, great rewards and recognition  has a kickass online peer-to-peer recognition program that works the following way:

Employees can earn Zollars, or ‘Zappos money’ by completing questions or offering to help out during training. Zappos-branded schwag, such as a gym bag, desk fan, or water bottle, can be redeemed with this play money at the company’s internal Zollar Store. Zollars can also be redeemed for movie tickets or donated to one of the charities with which Zappos collaborates on behalf of its employees.

Local versus Global

Some great rewards and recognition  that is uniform and consistent across geographies and teams. This works for companies with international groups working in multiple regions.

In such a program, everyone can recognize each other, irrespective of geographical barriers, using a common digital platform. This leads to a system of virtual, global recognition for diverse teams. Such a program would also have a massive rewards catalog with the same awards for all their employees. Here, the company will most likely identify 2-3 global vendors that are aligned with its culture and values, and make their products available to everyone in the company across locations. This allows consistency and fairness, since there is no question of one office getting more from the R&R program than another. It promotes a uniform corporate culture throughout all offices, countries, and continents.

In the case of a local R&R program, the company can choose to have rewards personalized to each geography. This takes into consideration the local culture, work habits, personal preferences, and more. The company will have a custom rewards catalog, with different categories of vendors present in each of the locations where the company operates. This means employees will be able to pick and choose vendors from the vast list available, based on their interests and shopping preferences.

There’s a way to tie these two approaches together. Go GLOCAL. Implement a local R&R program in a global setting by using online recognition programs with a prebuilt network of international partners. Instead of individually identifying and roping in partners, the online program does all the work for you.

Such programs come built-in with language translation and currency conversion, making the entire R&R process standardized to headquarters while diversifying it for local regions. They also make sure the gifts delivered across regions are equal in their value and significance, erasing any signs of bias.

So, where the R&R program rests is based on a number of external and internal factors that the company needs to consider to make their initiative a roaring success.