SHRM26 Debrief · Breakout Session · #3775

Reaching Every Employee: Recognition Strategies for a Complex Workforce

with Jessica Mollica

& ShaNae McCleskey

& Cristina Gallagher

▶ Watch on the SHRM portal ~82 min, distilled

employee recognitionfrontline/deskless workforcerecognition technology (Awardco)

"No one signed my book."

What it was about

Effective recognition in a large, diverse workforce requires moving beyond one-size-fits-all programs toward a personalized "core and more" ecosystem: consistent company-wide values and access, but tailored delivery (channel, format, privacy preference) for different employee personas, especially frontline and deskless workers.

Key notes

Design recognition to be accessible, easy to give, timely, and specific: vague thank-yous have far less impact than naming exactly what someone did and its impact.
Map employee personas (corporate vs. frontline, email access vs. no email access) and design a different delivery channel for each: text messaging, kiosks, digital signage, or integrated work devices for deskless populations.
Tie recognition explicitly to company values and measurable business metrics (eNPS, manager effectiveness, KPIs) so the program can prove impact and win executive buy-in rather than existing as a siloed HR initiative.

The contrarian takeSeveral panelists said the biggest wrong assumption they'd had to unlearn was that recognition needs a large monetary budget to matter. Multiple programs started fully non-monetary, and one company found employees spontaneously donated 100% of their earned recognition points to an employee relief fund rather than keeping the rewards for themselves.

Take this back Monday

Do this for your team

Ask employees privately vs. publicly how they want to be recognized, then swap one vague 'great job' for a specific, timely shout-out.

Say this in your next leadership meeting

Recognition should be 'core and more': consistent values and access company-wide, but tailored delivery so frontline and desk-based employees both actually feel seen.

Watch out for

Assuming you need a large monetary budget to start a recognition culture: several panelists began 100% non-monetary and added budget later.
Assuming leadership and HR already know what employees want, leading to overbuilt, overly complex programs instead of ones shaped by direct employee feedback.
Sending generic recognition ('thanks, great job') instead of specific, timely, values-tied messages, which employees perceive as transactional rather than meaningful.

Fun fact · Jessica Mollica

Beyond her VP HR role at Hertz, she sits on a workforce innovation board and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at a university.

If this landed, see these

↳ Go deeperGumbo Culture 101 - From Roux to Results in Employee EngagementGives the sequence recognition needs to actually land: trust first, then alignment, then personalization.⇄ The counterpointThe Silent Killer of Culture: Undeveloped Leaders and How HR Can Fix ItArgues the real fix is training accidental managers, not redesigning how recognition gets delivered.✦ The unexpected oneOpportunities and Pitfalls of AI in Financial Wellness: What HR Professionals Need to KnowSame personalize-at-scale logic, just applied to financial wellness triage instead of employee recognition.