A recent blog by Great Place to Work®, an employee experience platform, highlighted the importance of recognition in the workplace:
“A culture of recognition develops engaged and loyal employees. Making employee appreciation integral to your workplace culture can be achieved through meaningful and intentional practices.”
While FranServe, Inc., the world’s largest franchise consulting and expansion organization, is made up of independent consultants that own their own businesses, the concept still applies.
FranServe CEO and President Alesia Visconti understands and values the importance of recognition, knowing that it can fuel engagement, advance performance and encourage top talent to become ambassadors for the brand. While many companies may be quick to show customer appreciation, they often don’t look inward, neglecting the very people who make up the company.
“My husband says, ‘A happy wife is a happy life.’ I say, ‘A happy team is a CEO’s dream.’ The mistake that many executives make is they think it’s all about money. For most people, it’s actually not. It’s about feeling part of a team, feeling valued and being appreciated. It’s a two-way street: you have to give it to receive it,” Visconti said.
Visconti strongly believes that certain types of recognition can be more motivating than others, which is why she decided to implement Success Clubs at FranServe. Success Clubs recognize top-performing consultants in the organization with three levels of achievement: the $200K Club, the $500K Club and the Million Dollar Club. Soon, a Two Million Dollar Club will be added. Unlike other programs that individually rank employees by commission level, the Success Clubs recognize and celebrate all consultants who achieve the predetermined levels.
“I detest rankings,” Visconti said. “I feel they pit people against each other. Why would someone help someone else do better if it could result in the other person out-ranking them? Typically, they won’t help the other person. So, in my opinion, the only person who is happy in a ranking situation is the person at the top; the rest of the people feel less than, which is demotivating. With our Success Clubs, anyone can be included, and it doesn’t take away from anyone else! People are much more likely to help each other, share their tips and ‘secret sauce’, applauding each other’s success. It’s the principle behind the ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ concept.’”
Of course, the Success Clubs wouldn’t be truly FRAN-tastic without some fun sprinkled in by the FranServe team. “We do fun gifts with each club level too, including champagne, steak dinners, and some off-the-hook awards that look like art – even a family portrait in glass, for example. It’s amazing! My dad taught me that when you compete with others, you become bitter, but when you compete with yourself, you become better.”
While recognition is not a motivator for everyone, humans inherently respond to the idea of achieving a goal placed in front of them. Success Clubs create achievement targets for all FranServe consultants above and beyond the ones they set for themselves. All their efforts result in a cohesive, synergistic unit that promotes a positive team culture.
Nancy E. Williams