Creating an Employee Recognition Program That Everybody Can Be Proud Of

After going fully remote in 2020, Doctors of BC managed to create a new employee rewards system that kept their teams engaged throughout the pandemic. Here’s how they accomplished it.

Doctors of BC is a voluntary association of 16,000 physicians, residents and medical students from across British Columbia. Featuring a core team of senior staff and committee members, the organization works tirelessly to support BC’s doctors so that they can make a difference in the lives of their patients.

In March 2020 Doctors of BC shifted their entire operation to remote working. Prioritizing the health and safety of their in-house teams meant that, almost overnight, the organization was forced to adapt.

As a team that had previously spent most of their time in the office, Doctors of BC began to look at systems and processes within their organization that needed to be updated for the new normal – starting with their recognition and rewards program.

From “thank you cards” to a points-based recognition and rewards program, the organization’s engagement activity had traditionally been done face-to-face. But after a few months of working remotely, Doctors of BC soon realized that their old system was losing traction.

Doctors of BC set up a dedicated project team to compare and contrast the leading online rewards and recognition platforms. After an in-depth analysis, Bucketlist came out on top.

Customization is key

Part of Bucketlist’s appeal was the fact that Doctors of BC could heavily customize the platform to suit their specific goals and requirements.

Functionality like the ability to allocate budgets and track spending were key features for the organization’s leadership, while branded dashboards and personalized awards helped its people to make Bucketlist part of their everyday lives.

As well as integrating Bucketlist into their organization, Doctors of BC also had to launch the new rewards and recognition program to their people.

Through regular meetings with a dedicated account manager, they were able to work closely with Bucketlist to realize their vision and seamlessly integrate the program into internal processes.

The next challenge was bringing it to life. Doctors of BC began to build excitement around the platform early on. An announcement by the CEO and a town hall to discuss the upcoming changes laid the foundations for a big reveal.

Fittingly, Doctors of BC officially went live with their new rewards and recognition program on Employee Appreciation Day, and gave each of their team members a gift card to help them to launch their Bucketlist accounts.

Engaged people 

Since implementing the Bucketlist platform, one of the most striking impacts that Doctors of BC has observed is the effect on employee engagement. Doctors of BC leverages quarterly pulse surveys to determine engagement. At the beginning of the year, when they measured the ability for employees to receive special recognition, they scored 76% across the organization. By the time their third survey was sent out, this number had increased to 86%, showing a “definite increase in engagement,” as Tanya notes.

Doctors of BC has also noted how their team members feel they are better able to recognize each other’s achievements since the platform was launched and that it has become a hub for their team where people can come together to celebrate their professional achievements and their own milestones as well.

After its launch, people were so excited to use Bucketlist that they didn’t just recognize the efforts of their immediate team – they celebrated colleagues from across the entire organization.

For Doctors of BC, this kind of peer-to-peer engagement has been invaluable. It’s broken down silos by creating a community of recognition where every member of the 280-person team can celebrate each others’ success.