A recognition program is a great opportunity for you to make a real difference in your company, and build a more appreciative, collaborative, and inclusive culture.
But for that to happen, you need everyone at your company to be aware of it, start using it, and see its value.
That’s why it's crucial to have a well-defined strategy to launch your program, communicate it across your organization, and drive early adoption.
This is easier for some companies than it is for others. Larger multinational organizations will often have internal communications or change management teams that will do a lot of the heavy lifting when you roll out a new HR initiative, handling all internal messaging and promotion around the project.
These teams will implement comprehensive strategies that might involve everything from creating documents, to updating websites, to creating inserts or stickers for ID badges. In some cases, a change management team might even handle training for employees on how to use the system.
But how do you do all that if you’re an HR team of 10 people, or 5, or even 1?
While it might seem challenging, you can still use some of the tactics these bigger companies implement to make your programs successful, even if you’re working in a smaller team with limited resources. It’s just a matter of working smarter, and doing things on a smaller scale.
If this is your case, don't worry, Guusto has a number of recognition experts who can weigh in and provide their tips and tricks to help launch your program and lead change management successfully
In this section, we’ll share some tips for building a successful launch, change management, and communications strategy that work for a company of any size.
Change management
When implementing your program, don’t think about it just in terms of launching it. Think about it in terms of change management.
Change management is a systemic approach to transitioning to new processes that involves planning the roll out of that process beyond its launch.
When you think in terms of change management, you don’t just launch a new program and be done with it. Instead, you work to ensure it’s a success, and is properly adopted by everyone involved. Only then do you consider the project fully complete.
Large companies will often have change management teams (sometimes called program management teams) who will handle everything from implementing new expense and payroll systems, to new manufacturing processes, to relocating to new premises, making sure everything transitions smoothly. They’ll also do the same for HR initiatives like recognition programs, implementing the system, handling training, and even creating communications to drive adoption.
Even if you don’t have the luxury of a dedicated change management team at your disposal, you can still adopt some of the same tactics and processes to rolling out your program. Approaching the project this way will give you a better chance of success.