Build a global employee recognition program that works across regions
By: Tim Schieffer
What you need to know
- A shared framework, like core values or mission, helps teams adapt recognition programs and rewards while offering brand and goal consistency.
- Understanding employee needs and preferences makes large-scale recognition and rewards programs still feel personal and meaningful.
- Global employee recognition programs benefit from technology that centralizes engagement, so team members see wins and participate in real time.
![employees on a global team receiving recognition]()
Employee recognition benefits organizations of all sizes but especially unifies global organizations across regions, cultures and time zones.
Gratitude is a universal, human language that drives confidence and builds relationships. Organizations with employee recognition programs see an average 9% increase in productivity. When team members feel supported and encouraged, they take ownership of their roles and their career growth.
However, different regions and work cultures express and feel gratitude in different ways. It’s important to understand how the variety of cultures within your organization approach forms of recognition or public praise.
There’s no single solution when designing a global employee recognition program that resonates. The best employee rewards and recognition programs lead with consistency, flexibility and variety to connect teams.
Challenges for global teams
Keith Jackson, Chief Human Resources Officer for AT&T International, explained on ITA Group’s “Love your people” podcast how their HR team engaged 40,000 employees across 50+ countries.
“You always have to have that North Star: Here's your goal, here's your objective, here's the strength that you bring to the table. Then you execute and measure,” he continued.
For Keith’s team, their North Star was understanding and solving high rates of employee attrition across different locations. They wanted to review the employee experience and find opportunities to engage teams in India and Israel.
This North Star framework helped Keith’s HR team embrace these silos and focus on a unifying mission. In order to come together and create a strategy that resonated across teams and regions, they recruited a group of 15 employees from various skill sets, tenures and backgrounds to gather feedback and develop a scalable solution.
Using diverse perspectives and experiences to solve employee engagement challenges is a framework they continue to use today.
Benefits of global employee recognition programs
Employee recognition and rewards offer a fair and scalable solution. Across departments or locations, managers and peers recognize team members for their daily contributions. This shows how the employee issuing the recognition interprets and embraces their team’s goals and how they align with the organization's overall purpose.
The variety of recognition programs, from value-based recognition to milestone or service awards, creates a consistent message of appreciation. These recognitions show employees what success looks like and encourage them to reflect on a shared purpose and mission every day.
You'll never break down all the silos within organizations …. You have to come up with solutions and processes to address that. If you're in 50 countries, it's having that North Star.” —Keith Jackson, Chief Human Resources Officer for AT&T International
Global employee engagement balances consistency with local flexibility. By working closely with representatives from different regions, organizations can design a recognition strategy that works locally or globally.
6 steps to implement a global recognition program
1. Start with a shared framework
A strong recognition program unites teams under shared goals, vision and core values. This framework provides a road map that can be translated and embodied across teams.
CHRO Lars N. Minns of Mercedes-Benz USA shared the company’s “3-R” approach to engaging employees on the “Love Your People” podcast: Reshape. Recharge. Reskill. The organization focuses on the future (recharge), challenging old ways of working (reshape) and encouraging employees to learn and develop new skills (reskill).
“It’s our global strategy,” Lars said. “We have an opportunity to reshape what the organization can look like. The way we've done HR isn't necessarily bad, but it doesn't mean that we have to continue that into the future. We've made some significant strides not only in North America but globally in changing what that looks like. Those Three Rs really set the foundation.”
How to start: Define and share your goals, vision and core values with your leaders and employees. Give them the tools to use employee experience programs, like recognition, to bring these shared values to life in a relevant, impactful way to their region, culture or team. That could be manager recognition or core value awards given every month.
Related: [Love your people podcast] Mercedes-Benz’s workforce transformation: Reshape. Reskill. Recharge.
2. Tailor rewards to resonate across locations
Employee rewards are a great way to motivate team members and show appreciation. However, a reward that feels meaningful in one region might not resonate in another. As well-intended as an employee gift might be, cultural practices, lifestyles and accessibility can impact how it's received.
For example, winter wear apparel like beanies or gloves might not be as thoughtful a gift for employees located in Indonesia or other regions with year-round warmer climates.
However, global teams give organizations an opportunity to connect with their employees to find meaningful, relevant incentives and rewards.
Ecolab had this challenge when motivating their 44,000 employees around the world. Celebrating milestones and recognitions had to feel consistent across each business but still personal and culturally relevant.
Working with ITA Group, the organization launched an online storefront that gave global teams the choice to select their preferred reward. Once an employee reached 5-years of service, they received a recognition award pin, a personalized e-letter from human resources and digital catalog points. Employees could then use those points on the reward storefront to select a tangible, meaningful memento to mark the occasion.
How to start: Gather feedback from a sampling of employees in different areas and departments to understand their wants or needs. Try a variety of incentives or awards they can select from, such as gift cards, merchandise or team swag, so individuals can select what would be most relevant or meaningful to them.
Related: Employee rewards services to appeal to different cultures
3. Adapt recognition to relevant cultures
Recognition programs should avoid applying a single cultural standard globally.
For example, some team members value public appreciation and individual praise, while others prefer more private or team-based forms of recognition. That’s true at an individual level and in different cultures.
Peer or manager recognition and rewards offer a variety of options to celebrate an employee’s win. That includes a public shoutout at a meeting, a personalized note from a manager or a surprise reward.
Organizations can support leaders and employees by offering options, so they can select what suits best. Develop leaders to set the tone for how to use recognition and rewards, so employees understand best practices.
How to start: Whether it’s recognition on a public channel, like Slack or Microsoft Teams, or sending an individual thank-you note, there are multiple ways for managers and peers to recognize one another. Offer a variety of methods and coach managers to develop the key competencies to empathetically understand their team’s preferences or needs.
4. Use technology to unite global teams
Voluntary employee attrition is preventable and 45% of voluntary resignations say their managers never proactively discussed job satisfaction, performance or development before they left.
Consistent check-ins, recurring recognition or employee engagement initiatives can improve workplace satisfaction by adding to employee benefits and bonuses beyond monetary compensation.
Technology is essential for scaling employee engagement and recognition across distributed and international teams.
Recognition tools like ITA Group’s employee engagement platform create consistency, visibility and accessibility, especially for teams spread across corporate offices or frontline locations.
Recognition platforms ensure that remote, hybrid and regional employees are included equally in recognition efforts.
As team members receive or issue recognition, peers can see these wins come through in real-time so they can celebrate along with them. Having that public recognition also gives coworkers a real-world example of key behaviors in action.
![employees receiving recognition from ITA Group's employee experience platform]()
Recognition technology includes useful features such as peer-to-peer recognition, multilingual support, automated milestone celebrations and integrations. The streamlined system makes it easier for managers within larger enterprises to keep up with those important milestones automatically. Most recognition tools are also available on mobile and desktop, so they’re accessible for corporate offices and frontline employees.
How to start: To find the right tool for your organization, think about what matters most to your teams. Consider the locations, departments, languages, accessibility, and types of recognition and awards that you’d need. Work with leadership or passionate employees to develop a list of priorities to look out for. They’ll be your advocates when you launch.
Related: Employee recognition services that reduce turnover
5. Organize in-person employee events
Regional and remote offices can feel disconnected from corporate offices if recognition efforts are too centralized. In-person events help employees feel equally valued regardless of location.
Host local in-person events for different office or team locations or bring team members together for an annual organizational summit. Organizations like ITA Group host an annual multi-day event that brings employees from all over the world together.
Organizations can also use in-person events or incentive trips to drive motivation too. EMC hosted an incentive travel program to reward insurance agents for reaching a key performance threshold. The trip to Switzerland included curated, cultural events, unique experiences and day trips.
As a result, 86% of employees agreed the incentive trip motivated them to reach those KPI benchmarks.
These meaningful moments bring employees together, show appreciation and create shared memories that build connection and trust.
![Insurance employees on incentive travel program]()
Activities from insurance agent recognition trip
How to start: Give regional teams the autonomy and budget to celebrate achievements in culturally relevant ways. Offices can host team lunches, local award ceremonies, volunteer days or regional offsites. If budget allows, teams can also use incentive trips or annual in-person events to bring people together for memorable experiences.
Related: Employee events honor team members
6. Build shared virtual moments into your strategy
Recognition strategies should intentionally incorporate remote employees’ needs and guardrails. Shared virtual moments, like a recognition tool or virtual meeting, create inclusion and visibility across offices and countries.
However, organizations should consider language barriers, time zone changes and accessibility for full-time and part-time employees.
Many enterprises host monthly or quarterly all-hands virtual meetings, award ceremonies and digital celebrations. Employee experience technology, like ITA Group’s recognition platform, enables team members to connect virtually every day.
Along with receiving or issuing recognition, team members can join online employee engagement activities, from step challenges to virtual scavenger hunts. Participants earn points, which can then be redeemed for online rewards, like high-end merch, digital gift cards or non-profit donations.
Technology gives global teams the ability to seamlessly connect and collaborate.
However, having those resources is just the first step. Leading with intention and strategy encourages participation, removes friction and ensures global employees feel seen.
How to start: Review your current tech stack and virtual moments. Work with teams in other regions and departments to understand what needs and barriers exist. Rotate time zones or start times for virtual all-hands or invite questions ahead of time. Use technology to host week-long engagement initiatives so everyone has time to participate.
Build a global employee recognition program with ITA Group
There isn’t a “correct” approach when it comes to building global employee recognition programs. By design, employee recognition drives motivation, participation and confidence using organizational core values and milestones relevant to everyone on the team.
These parameters give HR professionals and leaders a guide to scale recognition and engagement in a fair, equitable way. Different regions can adapt what recognition or employee rewards are most meaningful or culturally relevant to their team.
If your team needs a scalable strategy that brings global employee recognition to life, read ITA Group’s recognition revitalization white paper to get started.
![View ITA Group's guide to personalized employee recognition]()