Beyond ‘Looking Good’: The Strategic Case for Outsourcing Recognition
December was a doozy! It always is for the team at Hillary’s as we sprint to the end of the year’s most significant gift-giving time of year. But this year, we had several desperate callers who phoned a week before Christmas, seeking emergency assistance to deliver gifts in time for the holiday; it was for them, a crisis! Without even having identified gifts to give (I kid you not), the best I could offer was to help them with their virtually impossible request by extending the season and delivering the first week of January with wishes for success in the New Year. They all declined my offer.
A real mic-drop moment left me speechless when one hopeful caller shared that their company had their act together this year. To me, this innocent statement was born out of: 1) ignorance about how challenging and time-consuming managing an authentic recognition initiative is; 2) the frenetic pace of business demands; and 3) lack of internal resources to meet those demands.
[Side note: We were thrilled to deliver 500 incredible gifts for three new clients who sought our help immediately after Thanksgiving.]
√ “I don’t have time.” √ “I just need to look good.” √“Make me look good.”
Without fail, prospects engage us with one or more of these phrases after recognizing that performing their core responsibilities alone requires their full attention. They’re often treading water and have little to no time for handling an ad hoc recognition assignment for which they have little to no experience. (And, of course, we check all their boxes .)
Here’s why that lack of experience matters: stakeholder recognition is like an iceberg. What most people see—and what gets casually assigned—is just the tip: selecting and delivering gifts. But beneath the surface lies the real work: navigating state and federal compliance requirements, understanding industry-specific gift policies, ensuring cultural appropriateness, establishing measurable objectives, managing budgets and timelines, and executing engaging presentation. When companies treat this as a simple task anyone can handle, they’re ignoring 90% of what makes recognition actually work.
In most companies today, teams are doing more with less, and overburdening employees with functions that do not play to their strengths is a surefire way to erode engagement. On the other hand, delegating peripheral tasks to an experienced external resource lets them concentrate their time and energy on strategic activities that directly drive competitive advantage and business growth. These are the achievements they are rewarded for.
Outsourcing is making more organizations look good, too. They’re increasingly using outsourcing as a strategy for this type of initiative to reduce overhead expenses (salaries, benefits, space, equipment, and training). Partnering with an outside vendor with specialized expertise in people-centric recognition is a more economical and efficient way to build and execute a successful strategy that aligns with key messages, values, and the mission. Having established processes, relationships with business partners, and trained staff on tap results in quicker project starts and completions than building in-house capabilities from scratch. Outsourcing also makes scaling up or shrinking a recognition program smooth sailing without the complexities of expanding or downsizing staff, which is especially valuable for this kind of work.
Avoiding Recognition Missteps
The risks of getting it wrong are real. Consider how a hospital/clinic’s earnest attempt at service recognition fell short by not considering the lack of workstations for nurses, dieticians, or janitorial staff. Without space to display their beautiful acrylic plaque, the award didn’t achieve the sense of pride it was designed to inspire. A brow-slapping mistake that could have been avoided with experienced guidance.
Here are a few more snafus outsourcing can eliminate:
- Staffing complications. Recruiting, onboarding, and managing specialized staff is costly and time-consuming. A third-party takes control of staffing the function without disrupting your operations or exposing you to HR complications.
- Deficient knowledge transfer. When key employees leave, they take knowledge with them. An outsourced partner maintains continuity through documented processes and systems that survive individual departures.
- Inefficient processes. For intermittent, secondary, or tertiary functions, internal teams often develop informal, inefficient workarounds and cut corners due to time and resource constraints. Outsourcing providers implement standardized, continuously improved processes based on industry best practices, experience across multiple clients, and feedback from clients and their recipients.
Strategic Approach
There’s something to inviting a fresh, objective perspective to sweep away “that ’s-the-way-we ‘ve-always-done-it” cobwebs. An external professional can rejuvenate a same-old, same-old recognition program with best practices that generate positive energy and results.
Consider the service recognition program that delivered awards without any personalization. Our survey found that recipients devalued awards essentially because the effort felt inauthentic. People need to be recognized for their specific contributions by their manager, who knows them best. We reshaped their program to include in-person presentations at meetings and handwritten notes to accompany awards.
For sales recognition, it’s critical to define clear, steadfast metrics that are perceived to be achievable with effort. Moving the goal posts disincentivizes performance, demoralizes participants and undercuts engagement. For service and lifecycle recognition, the presentation process must be consistent and timely. But all recognition must be personalized to be meaningful.
Most important from an investment perspective, focused professionals treat recognition as a strategic, measurable initiative. They know what bases need covering, what questions to ask, and how to develop a detailed, goals-based program that delivers desired results within budget. Making performance visible is a big deal for assessing the value of investing in recognition. 
A professional can collaborate with company/department leaders across the organization to establish proper evaluation metrics, accountability structures, and operational details. One tool we use to help clients with budgeting, timing, and performance is creating a 12-month calendar that lists all recognition efforts and awards.
Ensuring recognition continues to serve its goal as an umbrella engagement and retention strategy requires frequent nurturing. Formal and informal feedback play an important role in continuing to improve the initiative’s value.
If these details feel a bit overwhelming, let’s start a conversation about turning your recognition program into one that sails smoothly. Call 800-742-6800 or email us today. For more information and tips for engaging your stakeholders, sign up for our monthly newsletter at askhillarys.com (bottom right corner of the page).
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