Sipping from the Mug at RPI's Annual Conference

Incentive: News

Sipping from the Mug at RPI's Annual Conference
June 15, 2009
At 'Mug of Motivation' session, RPI conference attendees address social networking, budget crunching, and the continuing power of employee recognition

By Tom Renk, Executive Director of RPI

Last month, Recognition Professionals International's (RPI) 12th Annual Conference was held in Naples, FL, with the economic climate at the forefront of RPI attendees’ minds. During the “Mug of Motivation” session, the attendees were given the opportunity to discuss their current workplace concerns, share best practices, and chime in on the direction they would like to see RPI head toward in the future. Topics ranged from incentive-industry-related legislation, to improving the understanding of how to keep virtual workers engaged, to enhancing RPI programs identifying best practices for employee rewards and recognition.

“The Mug of Motivation at the RPI conference is a great opportunity for the leaders of RPI to sit down and take notes about what our members are facing and also allows us to hear what direction they feel RPI should be going with our classes, tools, and other support for them," said Lisa Massiello, newly elected president of RPI. “We count on their candid feedback as it serves as a barometer of what the recognition industry is currently facing, which is especially important in these tough economic times.”

When asked the question, “How have your recognition programs changed in light of the economic downturn?” most RPI members agreed that despite tough times, their employers still support and understand the value of employee recognition to the success of their companies. One member shared that although his budget didn’t have much wiggle room, his leadership approved additional spending on a newly installed employee recognition program that cost one-third more than originally budgeted because they understood the connection between employee recognition and organizational goals.

Another member shared that her company traded one form of recognition for another to address possible employee and public scrutiny. She concluded it would be in bad taste to spend money on promotional products when jobs were getting cut, but her company is increasing the number of employees who receive trips in order to continue to recognize significant sales accomplishments.

“With less to spend, I’m seeing our member companies become even more strategic with their employee recognition," said RPI Board Treasurer Peter Hart. “While the best companies have always tied recognition to their goals, economic necessity is causing managers to find even more ways to connect the two. By effectively rewarding their employees when they do something that moves the companies’ objectives forward, they are creating an atmosphere that is conducive to success.”

Another trend RPI members all agreed is here to stay, but perhaps not accepted across the board, is social networking. Internet sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming more commonplace, but many companies still have reservations about using them in the workplace. The overwhelming majority of attendees in Mug of Motivation use these social networking sites personally but cannot use them in their places of business.

“This is one area where the industry and the culture of your office will heavily dictate whether social networking will become a best practice," said Tommy Lee Hayes-Brown, RPI's board vice president. “Our members that work for the government, health care, and financial industries, for example, are less apt to use social networking as a way to reach the marketplace. Smaller businesses and less traditional professions already have tapped into the power of social networking and are using sites like Twitter to level the playing field by being more responsive and projecting an air of inclusiveness among their customers. I compare social networking to how the Internet was first perceived years ago. There was a lot of trepidation at first by many, but as social networking becomes a competitive advantage, companies will have to figure out how to integrate it into their marketing and communication plans.”

The Mug of Motivation session also provided direction for the RPI leadership, with most of its attendees agreeing that even more classes should be added to RPI’s Certified Recognition Professional (CRP) curriculum. “The CRP continues to lead the way in educating professionals on how to effectively create, run, and maintain a recognition program. With over 300 people currently pursuing CRP designation, our members are looking toward the future and suggesting advanced course content to take their recognition education to the next level,” said RPI Executive Vice President Kevin Cronin. “The suggested topics ranged from tax implications of recognition rewards to advanced communication techniques. We will use our members’ suggestions to deliver recognition training that is relevant and keeps our CRP graduates knowledgeable in every aspect of their field.”

The Mug of Motivation session was a major success, as was this year’s RPI conference. Even with tightening of corporate purse strings, it was encouraging to know that a large number of companies continue to understand the value of employee recognition to their bottom line. “Our conference attendees confirmed that recognizing someone when they’ve done good will never go out of style and is not mandated by the current state of the stock market,” said Massiello. “A tighter recognition budget may cause the need for increased creativity, but the appreciation and the sentiment conveyed stay the same.”

For more information on Recognition Professionals International, please visit www.recognition.org.

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