How General Motors Engages a Global Workforce Through Recognition

Are you struggling to engage your employees? You’re not alone. With only 21 percent of employees engaged and disengagement costing employers up to $550 billion every year, companies are on the hunt for better employee engagement strategies. When it comes to engaging a global workforce, have you considered leveraging recognition?

The key to engaging a global workforce: recognition

The power of recognition and the impact it has on employee engagement and retention is undeniable. Don’t trust us? Check out the following recognition stats:

• Companies identified recognition as having the greatest impact on employee engagement.
• Companies with recognition programs that are highly effective at improving employee engagement have 31 percent lower voluntary turnover.
• Employees who don’t feel adequately recognized are twice as likely as those who feel adequately recognized to say they’ll quit in the next year.
• Companies that invest in social recognition see an improvement in stock prices and NPS scores, as well as individual performance of employees.

One major company that is leveraging recognition to engage a global workforce is General Motors (GM). GM, a global automotive company, employs more than 160,000 employees across six continents. The company wanted to build, manage, and grow a Recognition and Rewards (R&R) program that would align to their corporate behaviors, help build their global GM team, and break down silos.

The GM Recognition Program

GM launched its GM Recognition Program, powered by Achievers, to 67,000 employees across 26 countries. With Achievers’ award-winning R&R solution, GM’s global workforce is able to:

• send and receive both social and points-based recognitions.
• redeem points for a reward of their choosing.
• follow a real-time newsfeed spotlighting company-wide recognition activity.
• participate in awards, such as their “Above and Beyond” award which is given out to employees who far exceed their performance expectations or job responsibilities.
• quickly participate in the program through the Boost feature – one-click recognitions that instantly add points to existing recognitions.
• celebrate major milestones on a regular basis through custom celebration cards highlighting achievements and birthdays.
• participate in custom-built surveys, quizzes, and contests.
• submit their personal recognition stories on how the program has positively impacted their lives.
• stay updated regularly on the program’s performance and usage thanks to real-time data and insights.

The GM Recognition Program has seen huge success since launch, including:

• a 97 percent activation rate after the first year of launch (against an 80 percent target)
• 7 out of 10 employees are active in the program monthly
• Every employee receives at least 1 recognition monthly (on average)

Leadership recognition is extremely important for any organization given nearly one in five employees say their manager/company is “horrible” at recognizing them. This is not the case for GM. People leaders at GM send an average of 4 recognitions per month and 8 out of 10 managers send recognitions monthly.

“GM Recognition is not just a tool that allows employees to recognize and be recognized globally, it is an enabler to drive the culture we need to win by helping our employees link our GM Behaviors with the work we do every day.” – Sandra Garcia, Global Compensation Lead, Global Strategic Initiatives, GM

When it comes to employee recognition and engagement, GM is ahead of the curve. With the GM Recognition Program by its side, GM is moving the needle and effectively engaging their entire global workforce through a culture of recognition and appreciation.

To learn more about GM’s success story, download their case study, “General Motors Leverages Employee Recognition to Engage a Global Workforce.”