Since BDO launched a new recognition scheme at the end of June, 100 UK-based staff have received instant rewards.

The accountancy firm introduced the scheme for its 2,700 staff across the UK under the banner ‘One Firm, Clients First’.

The first phase of the programme comprises instant rewards handed out between colleagues. The rewards are then exchanged for £75 in retail vouchers from a variety of businesses listed on a bespoke website provided by ProjectLink Motivation.

Every month, all the winners are published on the organisation’s intranet site and are recognised at team meetings.

The quarterly awards are open to individuals and teams. All employees can nominate and their recommendations are judged by a panel in each business unit, which is chaired by one of the firm’s partners. Jane Richards, HR reward manager at BDO, said: “Individuals get a cash award and teams get a cash amount to spend on an event, such as a hot air balloon ride, cookery classes or spa days. It is a real reward for a team that has worked hard and pulled together.”

At the end of every year, an annual winner is selected from the quarterly winners to be honoured at a gala award dinner, the first of which will be held on 7 October. This year, 50 winners have been selected from across the firm to be awarded a Red Letter Day and recognised at the gala dinner.

BDO previously offered a few ad-hoc recognition schemes but did not have anything across the whole firm that focused on its main aim of excellent client service. “It is not just rewarding people that go the extra mile and do good work,” said Richards. “It is having a specific aim for what [we] want the outcome to be. It is not only about making our [staff] know we appreciate them after a couple of tough years, it is really getting [them] to focus on where it is going to take us in the next couple of years.”

The launch was communicated using a desk drop with a pull-out leaflet, posters around the offices, wallpaper screensavers, and stories on its intranet. BDO also has coordinators in each office who are trained to manage the scheme on a local level.

Ten BDO employees also completed a charity bike ride from Leeds to Paris in June, and were joined by a further six along the way, raising £15,000 for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre. The cyclists used bikes procured through the firm’s cycle-to-work scheme, which is provided by Halfords and administered by BDO’s voluntary benefits provider Marsh.

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