Internal advocates can make all the difference when you’re trying to get a recognition program off the ground. These are the people who will champion your program on the ground, get others involved, and really help to make recognition a cornerstone of your culture.
Here’s 4 crucial ways internal advocates make a difference when it comes to recognition programs.
They look for recognition opportunities
As a people leader, you’re not always across everything that’s going on in every department at your company. You’re not on the factory floor or in the engineering team’s monthly scrums. This means you’re not seeing what gets done on a day-to-day basis, and what deserves to be recognized.
Your advocates can help bridge that gap. They can look for opportunities for recognition, and ensure they aren’t missed. When instances come up where they see an employee going above and beyond, they can encourage others to recognize them for it.
They coach people
Another crucial responsibility your advocates will have is coaching people in their teams on when and how to recognize people.
This can be invaluable because different people will respond better to different approaches. Some more technically minded employees might want a more prescribed, almost mathematical guidance on when to recognize someone, while others will prefer a looser style. Others might be less enthusiastic about the program, or skeptical about its effectiveness, and need to be convinced of the importance of using it regularly.
Because your advocates work with others in their departments every day, they will have a good idea of what kind of approach their teammates respond to, and can coach them to use recognition in a language they understand.
They help remove roadblocks
Sometimes, the reason people aren’t using recognition isn’t because they don’t want to. In many cases, they might just not fully understand how to use the system, or they could be having a technical issue that they can’t solve.
Your advocates can be invaluable in these instances, removing roadblocks and addressing problems early and often. They act as ‘local experts’, who can help people in their teams with anything recognition-related.
The key to having them serve this purpose is to make sure they’re visible. Have them place a sign on their desk that says ‘ask me about our recognition system’, or put the same message in their email signature or Zoom background if you’re working remotely.
That way, whenever anyone in their department has a problem or question about the program, they know exactly where to turn.
They share feedback and success stories
Your advocates also play a crucial role in providing feedback to both you and their teams. They can tell you what problems people are having with the program, and what’s working well, so you can make plans to improve.
They can also share successes from elsewhere in the company to help drive participation in their teams. Set up your advocates as something of a network, and encourage them to connect regularly to share how things are going in their departments, and what strategies have been successful for them. When one of them hits on a winning approach, the other advocates can bring it back to their own department.