How Power Design Launched their Recognition Program to Rave Reviews

When 90 percent of employees say that recognition motivates them to work harder, it’s a clear message to organizations that recognition matters. And it’s not only about acknowledging the work done inside the office—off-site employee recognition is also critical to engagement and bottom-line business results.

Recognition matters in more ways than one

We know that when people are recognized by their leaders and peers, it drives their engagement, productivity, and motivation. It also nurtures business benefits such as being 4x more likely to have improved stock prices and 2x more likely to see improved NPS scores.

But it all begins with building a culture of recognition. According to the Brandon Hall Group, organizations that give frequent recognition see a 34 percent increase in employee engagement. These are moments of celebration that go beyond years of service awards. They’re real-time, frequent acknowledgements of a job well done, or a positive behavior demonstrated. Building a culture of recognition takes clear objectives, a strategic approach, and the right tools to make a real impact.

Now that we know the importance of recognition, let’s take a look at how Power Design built a culture of recognition and engagement to drive measurable business results.

Engagement through reach of recognition

Power Design, a family-run electrical contract and systems integrator business operating in 26 states with over 2,000 employees, understood the importance of implementing a recognition strategy that leveraged technology to unite and engage their employees—no matter where they were.

In partnership with Achievers, they launched rave (Recognizing Achievements, Values and Excellence), a decision largely based on the platform’s mobile capabilities which allows Power Design to reach its large workforce spread across the Unites States.

Power Design’s program goals were clear:

Connect: One centralized location for all recognition programs and engagement campaigns
Unite: A seamless connection between their primary office, remote workers, and field employees
Engage: Create a culture that encourages more frequent, timely, and public recognition across all areas of the business

Upon implementation, Power Design wasted no time in leveraging the program’s suite of features to unite their field and remote employees with those at headquarters. Not only that, Power Design was delighted to be able to incorporate several of their legacy recognition programs into rave, including: their Values Program, Answering the Call for Excellence (ACE) which recognizes employees that exemplify Power Design’s core values, their CRUSHED IT program that celebrates project success, and their Years of Service awards.

“With the Achievers platform, we’ve been able to house internal recognition programs under one roof and increase positive awareness on employee and team accomplishments throughout Power Design.” - Alex Kersey, Engagement Manager

Power Design’s rave program has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from employees:

89 percent of employees are actively using rave
70 percent login at least once a month

The platform’s mobile capabilities have been a real game-changer for Power Design’s engagement strategy. Offsite and remote employees are now able to give peer-to-peer recognition and be recognized, making the entire workforce feel more connected than ever. Employees appreciate the ability to reach and recognize their peers nationwide and Power Design’s executives love that the platform allows them to participate in their employees’ success and access real-time insights on recognition activity across the organization.

Aiming to be the benchmark of employee engagement, Power Design is striving for 100 percent activation and participation with rave. They also intend to integrate additional internal programs into rave and begin using it at more internal and external events, and community initiatives. There’s no limit to where they can take it.

To learn more about Power Design’s program goals and success story, download their case study, “Employees rave about Power Design’s Recognition and Rewards Program.”