The Google approach to Recognition Program Design

While designing Recognition programs for clients, we have found that clients get really surprised with the simplicity of the program design that we recommend. “Isn’t that too simple a program?” is a common question they ask. They probably are thinking “Did we pay these guys to design such a simple program for us?”

I call this is the Google approach to Recognition. When it comes to search engines, why is Google so popular. I believe it is because of the simplicity for the user – the interface is clean, uncluttered and simple. The results are relevant to the search and are displayed in an easy to understand manner. Essentially, they make the product very simple to use, although the back-end may be very complex.

When it comes to Recognition Programs, the primary focus for me would be to design something that the employees in the organization (the end users) will actually use extensively. If you create too many programs, offer too many award options, make them input too much data, it will confuse the end-users and make it cumbersome for them to use the system. While on the other end, if they can nominate/recognize someone very easily, the chances they would use the system more are higher.

We have repeatedly seen that as companies evolve with their Recognition programs, the programs get simpler and simpler on the front end, with all the complexity (budgets, nomination/approval rules, award fulfillment etc.) moving to the back-end. So for those in the initial stages of designing and implementing a recognition program, you might as well jump ahead and create a program that is simple and very usable for the employees.