Thales UK use continuous recognition to involve age-diverse workforce and achieve an engagement score of 72%

What they needed

In 2014, Thales’ annual people survey highlighted that employees didn’t think saying “thank you” was part of the Thales culture, with managers, in particular, feeling that they didn’t have the discretion to reward their employees for going the extra mile. To combat this, Thales put together a project team to implement a robust recognition offering which would link with organisational behaviours and business performance.

One of the biggest challenges facing the team was designing a scheme which would engage employees across the entirety of their workforce which includes multiple and remote sites, shift workers, and offline employees. At the time, according to the CIPD, 30% of the average workforce in the U.K. was over 50, whereas, at Thales, 41% were over the age of 50. Any recognition offering had to appeal to people of all ages.

The team carried out research and benchmarked against other companies to understand their approach. This was used to build the strategy and approach which would best fit their culture. From the outset, the team knew they would need to build a platform which was accessible and appealing to all, with the team’s vision for it to provide tools and understanding to drive Thales values and desired behaviours. Thales’ team turned to Reward Gateway, who already provided their employee discounts, to take their shared workforce understanding and turn the project into a tangible recognition offering.

How we helped

Working with Reward Gateway, the team implemented a branded recognition hub which provides a “Recognition Toolkit” – a central area to educate employees on the importance of recognising colleagues and how they could do so. Key to the design of the hub was the focus on Thales’ values and behaviours, and how they help the business achieve its goals. To further encourage employees to interact, the recognition branding broke from the traditional Thales brand and used a bold, colourful design to encourage excitement.

Within the recognition scheme, the team deployed a range of eCards which employees can send to each other at any time and from any device. With the eCards tailored to match Thales new recognition design, they covered simple sentiments such as Thank You and Congratulations, and also linked to desired behaviours. InstantAwards™ were introduced to allow Thales managers to reward their employees who go the extra mile with a monetary award. The team chose three levels – Bronze (£10), Silver (£25) and Gold (£50) – with the awards linked to Thales’ desired behaviours. Employees can then redeem their reward at their retailer of choice through the recognition hub.

Thales’ team also introduced the “Above and Beyond Awards” with Reward Gateway's AwardNominator™ product, allowing employees and teams to nominate colleagues across five categories which are aligned to Thales’ values. Those who win receive a £250 voucher which can be redeemed at their chosen retailer on the hub and teams who win can celebrate with a group activity of their choice up to the value of £100 per person.

What they achieved

Sherwoods rapidly saw 100% engagement with Team Talk and now, 18 months later, employees have spent £60,000 through their employee discounts, saving them £6,000 collectively, and sent 947 eCards across the platform – with the most popular reflecting three of its values, “Committed,” “Honest,” and “Fun.” Sherwoods also won Employer of the Year at the South Devon Business Awards taking the company a step closer on their mission to become the Building Services Partner and Employer of choice across the South West.