When “Mobile” Recognition Makes Sense

Last week I posted that “mobilizing” employee reward and recognition programs was a red herring.  My thought process was that recognizing employees isn’t a function of “location” but a function of effort on the part of managers.  Many in the incentive industry are launching “mobile” apps for their incentive and reward platforms selling it from the “Managers can now recognize people in the moment” point of view.

I took a negative stand and said no manager is going to stop what they are doing and recognize someone just because there is an app for that.  They won’t stop mid-stride and do in the hallway on the way back to their office.  They won’t put the waiter on hold and do it in a restaurant or bar.  If managers think recognition is deserved they will most likely do it during their normal business day via their desk top or some other device that connects with the company’s recognition software.

Read that again – I said “device.” 

I do think companies need to consider various device options when designing their solution – but the REASON to do it isn’t because it will drive more recognition.  Lack of a mobile app isn’t what stops recognition from happening.  It doesn’t happen because managers DON’T DO IT.  I will say it again… Recognition from manager to employee is not a function of convenience – it’s a function of caring!

That said… here is where I think it DOES make sense to potentially have an app to drive recognition…

What if You’re Not A Manager But A Customer?

Friday, last week a reward and recognition company, Globoforce, posted a story about an employee’s encounter with a service technician at their home.   The employee had a great service experience and wanted to give the service tech some recognition.  The process entailed him calling the company, talking to someone on the phone and they in turn (I’m assuming now) had to create a file or piece of communication that went to someone else who then had to verify it and then put it in the system – and THEN the employee got recognized.

Now… THAT is where a “mobile” app makes all the sense in the world!

If the company had a system that had a customer-facing app or website, the Globoforce employee could have accessed the site via his phone or tablet (or even possibly by text messaging a number) recognized the employee, put in some sort of tracking code such as a call number or PO number that would be linked to the service visit to validate the recognition and VIOLA – the employee is recognized!  The system could then send a text to the service technician’s phone to let him know it happened (and to his/her manager as well.)

That’s how you use mobile apps.  Enable something that needs to be enabled by “mobile.”

The idea here folks is look for those situations where being mobile is the CAUSE of the problem – ie: a customer can’t recognize excellent service quickly and easily.

So, maybe I’m not as clueless as some of my commentators from last week’s post thought I was.

What do you think?  Is this a better example of how “mobile” makes sense?

Related articles

• I Like You – Here’s Some Money (i2i-align.com)
• Simplify Employee Recognition! (awardemployees.com)
• Are Mobile Apps For Rewards and Recognition Red Herrings? (i2i-align.com)