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Maturity Matrix Program Assessment Results

Understanding the Maturity of your Rewards and Recognition Program

Our Maturity Matrix Program Assessment evaluates Rewards and Recognition Programs in nine critical dimensions:
Strategy
Leadership
Workforce Segmentation
Education & Training
Technology
Data & Reporting
Communication
Engagement & Measurement
Finance & Budget

What Your Assessment Results Mean

Your program assessment level may fall squarely within one level, with all components at the same stage of maturity. Or, it may excel in some areas but fall short in others – the average of which determined your level. Regardless, understanding each dimension is critical to optimizing your Rewards and Recognition Program and preparing a strategy to bridge the gaps. If you haven’t yet taken the Program Maturity Matrix Assessment, do it now.

Informal Programs

Informal Programs are in the infancy stage, and typically lack a true understanding of how a Rewards and Recognition Program delivers value.

Informal Programs

Developing Programs

Most Developing Programs are beginning to understand the value of a Rewards and Recognition Program, but the components are unstructured and disorganized, and lack a unified focus.

Performing Programs

Performing Programs

Performing Programs are found within organizations that have a strong commitment to Rewards and Recognition, but gaps still exist in some areas.

Performing Programs

Leading Programs

Leading Programs demonstrate and help to develop recognition best practices for others to follow. Their leadership teams are thought leaders in the space and frequently contribute resources to advance the cause of employee Rewards and Recognition, and engagement.

Leading Programs

Informal Programs

Informal Programs are in the infancy stages and typically lack a true understanding of how a Rewards and Recognition Program delivers value. A typical Informal Program looks like this:

Strategy

Informal Programs generally operate on an ad-hoc basis. There may be some rewards and recognition that takes place, typically as a “Thank You” or around the holidays, but no strategy or structure is in place to govern it. Just as a map is critical to any road trip, developing a strategy is the foundation of any successful program.

Leadership

Informal Programs are typically decentralized, with each department or business unit operating independently. Executive leadership support of rewards and recognition is minimal – they generally leave it to their managers to determine when, where and if recognition should take place and rewards distributed.

Workforce Segmentation

Different employee groups have not yet been identified in an Informal Program. Because different groups of employees are varied in culture, geography, age, and values, they respond positively (and negatively) to different approaches. This lack of understanding and management presents challenges with employee retention and nets negative levels of employee satisfaction.

Education & Training

Informal Programs provide little to no training or education about any rewards and/or recognition that takes place, from either the manager or the employee perspective. Employees are not given adequate information about rewards and/or recognition opportunities during onboarding. Because of the lack of strategy, all education and training about any activities is, unfortunately, word of mouth.

Technology

Informal Programs provide little to no training or education about any rewards and/or recognition that takes place, from either the manager or the employee perspective. Employees are not given adequate information about rewards and/or recognition opportunities during onboarding. Because of the lack of strategy, all education and training about any activities is, unfortunately, word of mouth.

Data & Reporting

Because they do not use a technology platform, Informal Rewards and Recognition Programs have no efficient internal mechanism to record data and generate reports. As a result, no true ROI can be determined.

Communication

Informal Programs have no formal communication plan, using email, a company intranet, or a newsletter to occasionally dispense information to employees. Since different workgroups have not been identified, a “one-size-fits-all” communication approach is generally used.

Engagement & Measurement

Since no data is collected, Informal Programs typically have unknown engagement levels. With no measurement mechanisms in place, most rewards and recognition are just given because “it’s the right thing to do.” Corporate culture is often disconnected — with some departments or business units high-performing, and other areas lagging – and its connection to company goals and vision has not yet been made. Measuring your engagement levels will provide a true picture of your employee experience, allowing you to make adjustments and improvements.

Finance & Budget

With Informal Programs, the budget for rewards and recognition is minimal, if allocated at all. When a budget has been allocated, it typically is part of the human resources budget. And since management is decentralized at this level, there is either no equity in rewards and recognition between departments and business units – with some employees receiving recognition or rewards and others, nothing – or it’s an “across the onboard” gesture regardless of level or achievement.

Want to know more about how to improve your program? Click here to schedule a 15-minute meeting with a rewards and recognition specialist.

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Developing Programs

Most Developing Programs are beginning to understand the importance of a Rewards and Recognition Program, but the components are unstructured and disorganized, and lack a unified focus. The components of a Developing Program look something like this:

Strategy

The leadership team understands the value that a recognition program can bring in the areas of engagement, productivity, and retention. There may even be a mature business case in development, however, there isn't a cohesive recognition strategy being shared nor communicated across the organization.

Leadership

While HR might be attempting to bring some consistency to Employee Recognition Programs in the business, most departments and units are still operating independently and doing their own thing. In a Developing Program environment, HR leaders will do well to observe which units have effective programs that resonate with their teams and build on those successes.

Workforce Segmentation

Most managers in an organization with a Developing Program have only a basic understanding of how different segments of the workforce expect to be managed. There may be some effort to address the needs of different groups, but formal training or in-depth development of generational profiles does not exist.

Education & Training

There might be some ad hoc training and seminars offered around recognition best practices for managers, but not everyone receives proper training in a Developing Program. Because there isn't a cohesive recognition program, training on a platform or particular company practices is non-existent.

Technology

In a Developing Program, there might be some technology supported by an outside provider, but different teams are using different pieces of software that may or may not be integrated into the company ERP.

Data & Reporting

As with an Informal Program, because there isn't an integrated software solution consistently applied, measuring ROI is challenging. Individual teams might be able to pull some useful reports from their chosen applications depending on the tool they've selected, but the results and effectiveness leave something to be desired.

Communication

Developing Programs also have no formal communication plan, which means employee awareness and participation in any recognition programs happens on an ad hoc or word-of-mouth basis. This leads to confusion, misunderstanding, and as a result, lack of participation.

Engagement & Measurement

Developing Programs are still without a formal mechanism to recognize and measure employee engagement, but understand the need, and may now be looking for resources and partners to fill that need. Consequently, they, too, have unknown levels of engagement. Team cultures can be disconnected from company culture and/or values, which like Informal Programs, sees some departments highly engaged and connected to the mission, and others disconnected and disengaged. Establishing a core strategy, rallying all teams around a common vision, and recognizing contributions that move toward the mission will result in increased levels of employee engagement.

Finance & Budget

Recognition budgets are arbitrary and inconsistent across departments and teams in a Developing Program. Celebrations, awards, or events are funded on an ad hoc basis and are typically reactionary rather than proactive.

Need help to elevate your program? Click here to schedule a 15-minute meeting with a rewards and recognition specialist.

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Performing Programs

Performing Programs are found within organizations that have a strong commitment to rewards and recognition, but gaps still exist in some areas. This program level generally looks like this:

Strategy

As the appreciation for establishing a cohesive recognition strategy has developed, pieces have begun to take shape and take hold. However, some departments may not have bought-in or integrated the company-wide strategy into their operations.

Leadership

Engagement and employee recognition are pillars of the leadership’s approach to building strong, high-achieving teams. There are coordinated efforts between HR and departments that are aligned with the strategy set by the C-Suite.

Workforce Segmentation

Managers understand and buy-in to the philosophy that different groups expect to be managed and recognized in completely different ways, but available resources may prohibit this. HR and leadership must work together to identify the key groups within the organization and provide training and best practices to manage them.

Education & Training

In Performing Programs, essential training around recognition best practices and the company recognition programs are an integral part of the onboarding process for both managers and non-managers alike. Nobody joins the team without understanding the company’s mission, vision, and values, and they understand the systems in place to recognize contributions that align with the organization’s goals.

Technology

The company is working with a specialized vendor to deliver a centralized recognition platform for all departments and teams. Despite this availability, the platform is still being underused and typically lacks much-needed functionality.

Data & Reporting

In Performing Programs, some departments may be disciplined enough in their technology implementation to have in-depth, actionable data around their employees’ performance and their managers’ effectiveness and consistency with respect to recognition. Ensuring that the technology platform is a proper fit and that it is properly implemented will go a long way in ensuring quality data and reporting.

Communication

A Performing Program will have a mature process in place to execute pre-launch, launch, and post-launch messages regarding special recognition events and/or changes to the company reward and recognition system. Ad hoc emails and word of mouth may still happen, but are mostly a thing of the past, with leadership, HR, and management teams coordinating messaging to ensure consistency.

Engagement & Measurement

With a centralized technology platform in place, measuring company-wide employee engagement numbers is starting to become easier and more reliable. However, because there are still pockets of non-participation in the company, some numbers may still be difficult to collect, measure or even trust.

Finance & Budget

Every department in a Performing Program has a recognition line item in their budget, but guidelines for distribution may be undefined or inconsistent across departments.

Want to know how to bridge the gaps in your program? Click here to schedule a 15-minute meeting with a rewards and recognition specialist.

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Leading Programs

Leading Programs demonstrate and help to develop recognition best practices for others to follow. Their leadership teams are thought leaders in the space and frequently contribute resources to advance the cause of employee Rewards and Recognition, and engagement.

Strategy

Leading Programs have a recognition strategy that is fully aligned with the company mission, vision, and values. Programs and practices at every level of the organization reinforce a positive team culture and nurture employee loyalty and customer happiness.

Leadership

The executive leadership of a company with a Leading Program is fully invested in supporting employee recognition and they show it with their actions. Their participation in the company recognition program isn’t a duty but a joy and their enthusiasm permeates management at every level.

Workforce Segmentation

The company’s unique mix of cultures and generations is well understood and included as part of the recognition strategy in a Leading Program. HR and leadership coordinate to ensure training materials and resources are regularly updated and contain messages relevant to each segment of their workforce.

Education & Training

As with a Performing Program, nobody joins the team without understanding the company’s mission, vision, and values. Employees are regularly supported in developing the skills they need to shine in their roles and retention is on the rise. Managers are regularly retrained on recognition best practices to ensure they’re well-aligned with leadership’s recognition strategy.

Technology

A Leading Program has deeply integrated the recognition platform into the company’s technology suite with centralized management and reporting. Technology is leveraged to its fullest ability, and its usage and expansion is included as part of their continuous process of improvement.

Data & Reporting

The data collected by the recognition platform is used to drive business and program decisions. Companies with Leading Programs regularly, consistently, and objectively measure employee engagement and make data-driven decisions in order to improve employee satisfaction.

Communication

The communication strategy of a Leading Program includes pre-launch, launch and post-launch messages delivered consistently and seamlessly across all departments and levels of the organization. Communication is constant and consistent, being continually refined by leaders and managers to ensure alignment with the company’s recognition strategy.

Engagement & Measurement

Measuring company-wide employee engagement numbers through a centralized, well-integrated technology platform is a regular part of company operations. Engagement and participation across the company is north of 90% and even still, leadership continues to explore ways to ensure everyone feels connected to the mission.

Finance & Budget

When a company is operating a Leading Program, rewards and recognition is a key component of the annual budget because ROI/ROR is tracked, and the value is apparent.

Need a program refresh? Click here to schedule a 15-minute meeting with a rewards and recognition specialist.

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