At its October 7th meeting, the Saline City Council reviewed a proposal for a new employee recognition program that would provide incentives for managers and employees to recognize a fellow employee who exhibits the city’s core values.

How it works

Each month an employee receives 100 points, equal to $10, to give to a fellow full-time employee, excluding themself. The only requirement is that the person receiving the points exemplifies the values of that individual business or company.

Points expire monthly when given to a fellow employee; however, the value of the points rolls over so that points can be saved up for a reward, such as a donation to a charity of the employee’s choice or gift cards, as well as custom rewards each city can define on its own.

“If you don’t award any of your peers during that monthly period, the dollars do not get used by the city, but you, as an employee, who receives an award, can accrue that for a larger benefit over time,” City Manager Colleen O’Toole said.

Oversight

From a technical standpoint, the employee engagement tracking needed for this program would not require any administrative staff to oversee it nor manage any payouts.

“It’s the responsibility of the individuals to cash out their rewards,” said O’Toole.

Supervisors would be in charge of monitoring the backend metrics to avoid abuse of the system.

Cost

Although this type of programming is likely to save the city money by reducing retention and turnover, according to O’Toole, the estimated cost to use this program in a business with 65 full-time employees includes $1,560 for an annual subscription cost and set up, $9,360 for total points that can be spent, and $2,600 for custom rewards.

Council’s Decision

Although some members of the City Council were in favor of creating such a program, the source of the money to fund it came under question. However, the council approved the program by a vote of 6-1.