With some amazing case studies and examples from members and friends of TheCR Network, we chose to get a bit more specific for April in TheCR Network and focus on rewards & recognition programs.
While they might not have been on everyone's to-do lists, over the month of April we got to see some creative and informative examples of how people are leveraging rewards & recognition programs as well as discuss what the big G-word, Gamification, even means. As always, we also made time for some evergreen, overarching, and valuable conversations that might not exactly fit the theme, but add immense value to talk about.
April in TheCR Network: Roundtable Calls
Our first Roundtable Call of April focused on how two members have navigated and structured their digital workplaces, both in terms of employee experiences and tools.
On "The Digital Workplace: Rationalizing Experiences and Tools", we heard from two members, @Jay Graff and @Adam Cutforth, who shared a look into their digital workplaces and how they approach digital transformation in their internal communities.
Through discussing topics like how community is a part of their overall digital experiences, how they rationalize tools, and their core principles of digital employee experience, we got two great examples about how digital transformation involves different people, tasks, and strategies and takes time to develop.
While this call wasn't specifically focused on rewards & recognition programs, it was still a great way to start off the month by highlighting some work and work-in-progress from members of TheCR Network and learning from our peers.
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here.
Our second call of the month dove right into our monthly theme of rewards & recognition program. On "Giving The Golden Ticket: Getting Creative with Gamification", we were joined by former TheCR Network member, Monique van den Berg, who walked through a fun and effective rewards program she created for a recent employee initiative.
In order to get employees active in their customer-facing (external) community, Monique employed the third iteration of her Willy Wonka-themed Golden Ticket contest which rewarded the most active employees with a special prize: a trip to their massive annual conference (and how they're working to adapt that amidst the pandemic).
In terms of rewards & recognition programs, this call was a great case study on how you can get creative with how you encourage and motivate members of your community. If you're looking for a fantastic example to get some inspiration for what you might be able to build, this is a good one!
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here.
For our next Roundtable Call, we pulled back a bit and look at how we can approach gamification and what that word can mean in different contexts. On the call, "All About Gamification: Platforms and Tools", TheCR Network member, @Immanuel Masinsin, gave us an extensive walkthrough of how he looks at gamification and how he structures and works with the Social Incentives program at Wells Fargo.
While this call was a fantastic opportunity to get a thorough case study of a gamification program, it also opened up some valuable conversations around how we can define, implement, and structure these rewards & recognition programs. Whether it's through concepts like leaderboards, awards, or badges, there are many ways we can implement gamification which will look differently on each unique community. It's not a one-size-fits-all type of concept, rather we need to identify what gamification strategy will work best with our members in our community.
Like Monique, Immanuel's call is a great case study for how you can implement a gamification program, but it's also a great opportunity to open up a conversation around what kind of rewards & recognition program might work best for your community.
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here.
For our last call of April, TheCR Network member
@Anne Larsen led an information-rich conversation on the super user program she manages at Grundfos. On "
So You Want To Launch A Super User Program?", Anne gave us an immensely valuable look at how she has built a framework to build out and implement a super user program for her community.
As the user adoption specialist for Grundfos' customer-facing (external) Sharepoint community, Anne talked about all of the details, strategies, and information that does into running her super user program. From outlining and communicating super user responsibilities to the application process, from the onboarding process to the logistics of the platform itself, and from implementation to planning for the future, Anne's call turned into one more detailed case study on how you might adapt a rewards & recognition program to fit your community and your community strategy.
Whether you currently run a champion or super user program, or you're just thinking about what that might look like in your community, this call is one to bookmark.
If you want to listen in on this Roundtable Call, you can find the Roundtable Recording here. We heard some great examples and thoughts this month, so why not round it out with what we learned about members of TheCR Network overall...
What Did You Think?
For the month of April, we opened a poll to ask the question: "Are you currently running a rewards and recognition program?"
To get an idea of what members are working on, we wanted to hear where rewards and recognition programs are in their minds.
So, let's find out...
The results show that it's actually a three-way tie between "yes", "no", and "no, but I'm looking to launch one", with a very small percentage saying "yes, but it's ending soon". While it's a smaller sample size, it's interesting to see the current state of rewards & recognition programs with members of TheCR Network. While "no" is one of the most common answers, the fact that "yes, but it's ending soon" was the least chosen shows that a majority of members are working towards or currently running a rewards & recognition program. "No" can mean that members are actively choosing not to run a rewards & recognition program or that they haven't thought about it, and, whatever the reason, these programs don't work for everyone and every community, so the split between yes and no can also just show the differentiation between community cultures represented in TheCR Network.
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
In April, our goal was to dig into the wealth of knowledge we have in TheCR Network and build out some more resources around rewards & recognition programs, and we did just that. While not everyone is working with gamification, super users, or building recognition systems, these resources will be here for anyone who is and wants to continue the conversation.
While people may not be working with rewards & recognition programs now, they might be in the future, so these conversations will be immensely valuable for members to come.
To move forward, we're going to pull back a bit and focus on an aspect of community that's a bit more pervasive: tools and technology. May's topic will be "Making Tools Work" and I'm excited to dig more into how members are using their tools and platforms to create valuable, supportive, and collaborative community spaces, as well as brainstorm and discuss what we can all do to make our own tools work.
If any of these conversations or concepts have sparked an idea or recommendation for you, let us know! While we plan our programming calendar, we also leave space for reactive programming, spur-of-the-moment topics, and member involvement, so leave us a note or send us a message and we'll get something together to address your topics of interest.
And if you're not a member of TheCR Network, or if you know someone who isn't a member of TheCR Network, but would love to participate in these conversations, please reach out! We're happy to talk about how you or they can get involved.
#communitymanagement#Gamification#gamification