How recognition supports hybrid working and female colleagues at Target Group

The financial support services provider has re-engineered its scheme for a changing, inclusive workforce

Having a workforce that is mostly working from home can create a barrier to creating a culture of recognition.

With the help of Edenred, financial support services provider Target Group has re-built its recognition scheme to overcome this barrier and improve company-wide recognition, while also using it to support its gender pay gap initiative.

Target Group employees around 1,000 people, with 95% of them working from home.

“Even before lockdown, from speaking to colleagues it became clear they would engage more with recognition if it aligned better with their experience as online consumers,” says Target’s chief people officer Matt Davies.

“We also found that staff wanted to be able to give recognition to a colleague in any location for an act of good work in the moment it takes place. Flexibility and reducing cumbersome admin processes was key.

“When the pandemic hit we had an even clearer rationale to move recognition to an online platform.

“The Edenred recognition platform we now have in place is intuitive and can be easily accessed through the company intranet. Colleagues can give or receive recognition without the need for manager approval. You just need to select the colleague, company value and include a comment.”

Davies says that the platform was branded ‘MyRecognition’ in line with Target’s suite of EVP tools to make it clear it was part of a strategic approach to support colleague experience in a hybrid world.

He says: “Through a mix of communication and training we also helped managers understand how they can use recognition as a tool to drive success across their teams. And how to use the management information dashboard to ensure it is being applied consistently and equitably across their teams.

“We give each manager a quarterly reward budget to give at their discretion, giving them the flexibility to celebrate contributions at any time. Reward is delivered electronically to employees through ecards, which they can spend at more than 100 retailers.”

Recognition in a hybrid workforce

In the past few years, Target has continued to refine its scheme to adapt to managing a fully hybrid workforce.

“Working remotely can often put barriers in the way of easily thanking colleagues for their contribution,” says Matt. “However, that’s not the case here. The online recognition system gives managers and colleagues the ability to recognise and show gratitude at any time.

“It has also helped colleagues feel more connected. We have configured the system so that colleagues can celebrate birthdays, long service milestones and many other major life events together, while being apart.

“Gratitude and connection underpin our culture and MyRecognition helps keep the culture alive for existing employees and brings it alive for new joiners who have never worked in a Target office.”

He says that, overall, engagement with recognition has significantly increased. Since the scheme was launched more than 9,000 employees have received recognition and over half of those received a financial reward, totalling more than £83,000.

Supporting wider goals and inclusivity

“We are also constantly finding new ways to use MyRecognition to drive our strategic people goals,” he says. “Already down to 8%, we aim to close our gender pay gap by 2025 and that means making sure we have a strong line of female talent being developed for promotion.

“Colleagues use the platform to encourage, promote and celebrate the achievements of female colleagues. In turn this has created a culture where women feel encouraged to go for promotion opportunities.”

Hybrid working has changed the way Target Group operates and while colleagues may be geographically separated, they’ve continued to champion gratitude. The recognition system will continue to encourage action and behaviour that drive business growth.