ARCHIVED - Quality Services - Guide V - Recognition

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Performance Indicators

A variety of stakeholders within the organization will need to know if the recognition programs are working. The challenge is to find measurement processes that provide the necessary information, but do not burden the organization. Senior managers will want to know if the recognition activities are being used effectively and if they are achieving the intended results. Employees are also interested in this information. They generally want to know if the organization is fulfilling its promises and how their office activity compares to that of other offices in their region and across the country. The chief financial officer will want to know if the programs are cost effective, and whether they should be continued. Middle managers will want some criteria against which they can judge their performance on an ongoing basis.

In addition, it is essential that the organization asks its employees regularly whether the program is meeting their needs. The results should be published and the necessary modifications made.

Departmental Ilustrations and Resources

Many departments and agencies have experience in implementing recognition programs and activities. As indicated in the following examples.

Natural Resources Canada (NR Can)

CANMET is an organization within the Minerals and Metals Sector of NRCan. It conducts research and development in mineral and energy technology for the benefit of Canadian industry. CANMET embarked on a total quality management program almost five years ago and was recognized by the Ottawa Valley Quality Council in 1994 for its progress toward total quality.

CANMET created the Business Development Awards in 1990 to stimulate and recognize successful business development. Criteria for nomination include business development performance, cost recovery, joint research, cost-shared or task-shared projects, technology transfer, and social, environmental or economic benefits to Canada. For example, an employee was recognized for setting up the Steel Technology Program, which resulted in cost-recovery revenues of approximately $1 million for CANMET over the past four years. The program is expected to generate sales of $15 million for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises and to open the doors to business overseas.

Nominations for the Business Development Awards are submitted in February of each year. Three to four awards of $2,000 each, along with a certificate signed by the Minister of Natural Resources, are presented to recipients at the annual dinner of the Minister's National Advisory Council to CANMET, a committee of CEO-level executives from Canadian industry, academia and provincial governments.

The CANMET/CIM Technology Transfer Award is a joint initiative between NRCan and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM). This award recognizes people from industry who have successfully transferred technology in the minerals, metals and fossil fuels industries. The award consists of a trophy, a certificate and a cheque for $1,000. Recipients are recognized at the CIM annual general meeting.

The CANMET Team Award was put in place in 1993 to recognize and appreciate teamwork and to add value to the total quality management movement in the organization. For example, a team of 10 employees and managers was recognized for initiating a new program on aquatic effects monitoring technologies. The program included stakeholders from industry and the federal and provincial governments, and resulted in the lab's largest cost-recovery contract. The award program was created after extensive consultation within the organization. It is a cost-effective and timely way to recognize teams without creating an administrative burden. Nominations can be submitted by anyone throughout the year. Recipients may choose, as their award, a team lunch or one of four promotional items. The value of any of these awards is about $30. Each recipient also receives a framed certificate.

The Canada Centre for Geomatics in the Earth Sciences Sector of NRCan has developed an Award of Excellence, which recognizes service excellence within the contracting community with which it does business. Contractors are judged on the overall quality of the service given, on the quality of the final product and on the quality of the interpersonal relationships maintained with Centre personnel during the contract. The award is presented at the contractor's work site and is publicized in the media.

Fisheries and Oceans

Employees participating in the Awards and Honours Program throughout the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) will have access to the newly developed Windows software to help them administer the delegated awards program. Just one of many electronic tools available, the transaction-based software has the usual record-keeping capabilities but with one important distinction. It will also house multimedia files such as pictures, audio and even short video clips. When these records are replicated to the national database, the Head of Awards in Ottawa will be able to pull them into the national Coast Guard Information System (CGIS). CCG employees around the country will be able to read about and view the most recent award presentations. Publicity has never been so easy nor so timely.

The CCG Awards and Honours Program has also developed a performance data model that allows managers to monitor awards performance electronically, in real time. They can use the Windows software to view statistics on performance by organizational or functional group, by time, by award and by employee profile (e.g., age, gender, equity membership). Such easy monitoring will help managers keep abreast of their performance against accountability commitments to national goals, such as the promotion of a caring and challenging organization.

Lastly, the Awards and Honours Program is automating access to an impressive casebook of CCG awards. This national library will allow users to search for and retrieve details of all approved and rejected suggestions, merit awards and Commissioner commendations. This will ensure national protection of rejected suggestions; avoid duplicate payment for the same idea; and ensure a national consistency in recognizing various levels of achievement. Users will be able to also retrieve full-text versions of all pertinent awards policies and procedural instruments, as well as a number of electronic forms that they can complete and transmit across the CCG's Wide Area Network.

Revenue Canada

In 1991, the Taxation component of Revenue Canada launched Innovation and Excellence (I&E), a recognition and award program developed because the department wanted "to actively seek out and take advantage of new opportunities to improve organizational efficiency, employee satisfaction and service to its internal and external clients."

I&E is composed of three complementary award programs. The goal of the Suggestion Award Program is to encourage employees to make changes to operational practices and procedures. Awards are monetary, and the maximum award possible is $15,000. In 1993-94, the department saved more than $2 million by implementing the 3,500 suggestions submitted to the program.

The goal of the Special Award Program is to recognize employees whose efforts on and off the job are meritorious. This award promotes and reinforces key organizational values, such as teamwork, client service and continuing education. Awards are non-monetary and the maximum value possible is $200. Local offices are encouraged to customize this program, even to rename it: to suit their organizational needs. RAVE - Recognizing and Valuing Employees - is one example of the innovative names given to this program. In 1994-95, more than 2,500 employees received special awards.

The goal of the Minister's Award Program, the department's most prestigious honour, is to recognize outstanding suggestions or contributions to the department and its clients. The awards may be either monetary or non-monetary, and the maximum award possible is $10,000. In 1994-95, 112 employees received an award under this program.

I&E is a decentralized program. Local tax services offices manage their own program, receiving functional guidance as required from a three-person headquarters team. A national budget pays for all suggestion and Minister's awards. Local offices pay for special awards.

In 1995, Revenue Canada conducted a formal evaluation of all recognition programs available to employees in the Taxation, Customs and Excise components of the department. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the current programs and to provide recommendations for a new, consolidated departmental recognition program. This program will be launched in 1995-96.

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