Culture of employee recognition supports retention

Central employee engagement platform makes on-the-spot appreciation easy

retail store employee recognition platform

At a global pet retailer, associates share a passion for connecting with pets and pet parents. But with associates located across retail stores, corporate headquarters, a call centre and distribution centres, leaders wanted to meaningfully connect them to a shared purpose and vision. The recognition program uses data insights to recognise new associates, inform leaders and achieve business goals.

Defining the program vision

A visioning session inspired the strategy to establish a strong program brand, create a centralised platform and engage team members with a multi-media communications campaign.

The result was PlayUp, a fun, energetic program that leaned into associates’ love of pets while also encouraging value-based recognition.

Prioritising buy-in and user experience

To build excitement for PlayUp among associates, we sent recognition inspiration materials to display in their workspaces. Leadership was given tips for talking about the program and recognising their associates in a way that would build authentic relationships. We also reintroduced a years-of-service program that had been on hiatus and handled the logistics of shipping materials to over 1,600 locations. Managers’ flexible dashboard views met each retail store’s reporting needs and even shows them who has or hasn't been recognised on their teams.

Together, we consolidated multiple disparate programs to offer various types of recognition all united by their core values, including:

  • Peer-to-peer recognition
  • Manager recognition
  • Nomination-based awards
  • Years-of-service awards
  • Grooming salon recognition
  • Contests and incentives

Driving evolution with data insights

During the past 5 years, we've partnered with program leaders to help them understand and use their data, showing a positive ROI. The data continues to prove how early recognition helps retain new hires, so we've implemented even more onboarding strategies. 

Other findings include the correlation between recognition program participation and overall associate sentiment (as captured in their annual associate survey), and the connection between participation and sales performance. This means associates who issue and receive more recognition drive more sales and are more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work.

There's an ROI we see anecdotally and in our data. We know recognition impacts early career turnover. The feedback we get from our associates and leaders is that it's a valuable program, which is why it's so invested in.

Program owner

Results

91%

of associates have received a recognition (that’s 45,500 people!)

1.5

recognitions sent every minute

3M

recognitions sent over 5 years

17%

higher 6-month retention of new hires recognised in their first 30 days

36M

saved by improving retention of new associates