DISCUSSION
Will its ‘culture of recognition’ be a game winner for Dick’s Sporting Goods?
Written by Tom Ryan
Dick’s Sporting Goods is crediting its recent performance improvements, in part, to increased investments in employees, including the launch of an associate training program earlier this year and a heightened focus on employee recognition.
The training, Lauren Hobart, president, said last week on Dick’s third-quarter conference call, is “focused on how our team should engage every athlete [customer] every time, use the power of their opinion to create confidence and excitement, and execute the basics to create a hassle-free shopping experience.”
At the same time, Dick’s is working to build a “culture of recognition” that extends beyond the store level and rewards employees for exemplary service under an “Extra One Percent” mantra.
“It can be everything from small awards; we have a High-Five award that goes out for a quick moments when somebody does something special during the day,” said Ms. Hobart. “And then we have larger rewards, leading up to President’s awards and big, full-store celebrations. And the stores obviously participate in our compensation and incentive plans as well. So, it's all over the place, but it's coming through in ways that are everyday activities where we're rewarding people for their efforts.”
A “real focus on recognition of great results and performance” combined with performance factors such as better in-stock positions and stronger marketing creates a “very virtuous cycle,” said Ms. Hobart.
“Momentum breeds momentum,” she added.
Surveys show most workers across industries don’t feel they get enough praise for their work.
WorldatWork and Maritz Motivation's “2019 Trends in Employee Recognition Survey” found that, while human resource managers saw their recognition programs doing a fairly good job of meeting goals, only 18 percent said they are definitely meeting their goals.
A recent survey of 16,000 professionals across a variety of industries from Deloitte found:
- Three-quarters of employees are satisfied with a “thank you” for their everyday efforts.
- Most people prefer recognition that is either shared with a few people or delivered privately, rather than widely shared.
- The most valued type of recognition is a new growth opportunity.
- Dick's Sporting Goods Reports Third Quarter Results – Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) Q3 2019 Earnings Call Transcript – The Motley Fool
- WorldatWork and Maritz Motivation Release Results of 2019 Trends in Employee Recognition Survey – WorldatWork and Maritz
- The practical magic of 'thank you' – Deloitte
- Recognizing Employees Is the Simplest Way to Improve Morale – Harvard Business Review
- Survey: 43 Percent Of Companies Are Getting Employee Recognition Right –OfficeTeam/PRNewswire
- How can retailers make employee recognition resonate? – RetailWire
- Are ‘Employee of the Month’ programs worth it? – RetailWire
Discussion Thread0
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