Published on November 29, 2021
Tata Martrade International Logistics (TMILL) as part of its efforts to improve its rewards & recognition programme, wanted to know about ‘High5’ – the recognition and appreciation programme at Voltas. To assist, TMILL in its endeavour, Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG) facilitated a best practice sharing session, on February 25, 2020. During the session, Eras Lodhi, Corporate HR Head, Voltas, showcased the salient features of their High5 rewards and recognition practice.
The High5 recognition and appreciation practice was launched at Voltas in March 2016 (pan India + overseas) to recognise desired work behaviour, appreciate efforts, recognise exceptional work performance, provide timely recognition to employees, and identify star performers. Voltas’ High5 programme has the following key features:
- SPOT: To recognise exemplary efforts, results/achievements and exemplary behaviour of employees and motivate them to do better at the workplace and strive harder to achieve organisation goals.
- Best and inspiring V-CAS manager: To recognise the efforts of managers who put in additional efforts towards enhancing the engagement quotient of their team and building an engagement culture at the workplace.
- Outstanding contribution towards CSR: To recognise the efforts of the employees who dedicate additional time, contributing towards societal development and volunteering for a social cause.
- Internal SMEs: To enable a culture of continuous learning and encourage internal trainers or subject matter experts (SMEs), a need was felt to recognise their contribution through a reward & recognition scheme.
Following this session with Voltas, TMILL incorporated the following features into its existing R&R programme:
- Introduced structured off roll rewards. The same was communicated during MD online.
- Created e- recognition certificates from MDs desk.
- Created special categories while rewarding improvement projects were accomplished. The following three new categories were added to the improvement project winners:
a. Out of the box thinking
b. Digitalisation
c. Customer centricity
The R&R programme was launched on April 12, 2020, and since then this has yielded the following benefits:
- Driving culture of continuous improvement: Teams have taken 42 odd improvement projects during this financial year (current) over 19 in the last year financial year.
- Ease in recognition during Covid times: The entire process is now digital including MDs recognition through e-certificates to employees for various geographies.
The company will report its % improvement score particularly under R&R category post ESS that it plans during this year.
Participant Speak
The exercise of benchmarking helped us with new learnings and opportune areas of augmenting the R&R programme. Some of the inputs have been already considered and some learnings are in process of being considered in way ahead plans.
Sukanta Das, Senior Manager, Capability Development, Tata Martrade International Logistics