Think of the office as an ecosystem, where employees who are recognized and appreciated are more productive, boosting their managers and the company, leading in turn to more recognition and appreciation.
But, as anyone who has ever sat in a cubicle knows, it doesn’t always work that way. Instead, low morale leads to low productivity and potentially, low profitability.
Recognition PRO, an Allentown startup, is addressing the problem – a multi-billion-dollar one – with its cloud-based employee recognition and reward system.
“Companies are throwing all kinds of money at recognizing employees and keeping them engaged,” says Recognition PRO co-founder David Olson. But they don’t always provide meaningful recognition. “They give their employees a $3 coffee mug with the company logo on it, which most employees don’t give a rip about – and they may not even drink coffee,” he says. What could actually help, however, is hosting destination events for employees once a while, whether it’s for rewards & recognition, or simply a team outing. Working with destination management companies to help come up with the best plan for this could be beneficial in creating an itinerary that fits everyone. Such events once a while can go a long way in reducing stress levels, in turn boosting employee morale; helping them stay productive; and maybe even growing an appreciation for the company!
Besides teaching how meaningful recognition can boost the bottom line, Recognition PRO offers training and tools for executing and tracking results, right down to the individual employee. The target market, Olson says, comprises mid-size companies with a few hundred employees and very big enterprises with human resources departments that may be spending millions inefficiently.
Olson founded the company in 2010, with content developed by Dr. Bob Nelson, a best selling author on management and motivation, and a web platform built by Trifecta Technologies, also of Allentown. In 2012, Recognition PRO received a $20,000 investment from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania to support sales and marketing.
The human resources sales cycle is a long one, Olson notes, but he is hopeful that 2013 will show “steady, substantial and organic growth.”
Source: David Olson, Recognition PRO
Writer: Elise Vider