Use Case
A Look Inward: How Wisetail Levels Up Gratitude and Increases Retention
with Wisetail| 4 min read
The Challenge
Reducing Turnover Costs
Wisetail is a software company that specializes in Learning Management Systems (LMS), and while our primary focus is to support our clients’ L&D needs, we also place a substantial emphasis on internal Wisetailer growth. At the heart of everything Wisetail is APEX, our LMS and center for communication, community, and collaboration. APEX is a huge part of our predominantly remote workforce, and it is here that Wisetailers can find learning modules, chances for upskilling and reskilling, and important updates from management and Intertek.
As the world faces potential economic downturn, it is important to recognize what leadership can do to eliminate unnecessary expenditures, and focus on what is within the scope of control. Considering that costs associated with losing and training employees are steep, we put a focus on reducing turnover costs by keeping Wisetailers engaged and excited about their work.
The Solution
Employee-to-Employee Recognition
Wisetail recognized that employee engagement and culture were high factors in overall satisfaction. An engaged employee will come to work with excitement, and be far more likely to contribute to daily tasks with enthusiasm and creativity. In short, an engaged employee is less likely to leave a company, thereby reducing turnover costs.
The Wisetail management team determined that to increase Wisetailer satisfaction and engagement, they had to foster a culture of gratitude and celebrate accomplishments. They did this by building a fun and simple internal rewards program, called Wisebirds, that are linked to employee-to-employee recognition. Each Wisetailer is given four Wisebirds at the beginning of each quarter to award when someone gives them a helping hand, they notice someone going over and above, or they just want to celebrate a teammate.
Easy to Find, Easy to Use
Wisetail had to ensure that the program was both easy to navigate and accessible to Wisetailers. They achieved this by placing the links to their Wisebird program in the top right corner of the APEX home screen. There are two colorful buttons to click on, allowing Wisetailers to choose from Send a Wisebird’, or Redeem a Wisebird.
The send option guides Wisetailers through the simple step-by-step process of sending messages of appreciation, and gifting fellow Wisetailers with badges to redeem for fun, quarterly gifts. Wisetailers initially click into the recipient’s profile and send them a recognition message so they know they are receiving a Wisebird. Next, Wisetailers navigate to the “Send a Wisebird” module where they select a badge, pick the Wisetailer to receive it, and add the message they would like attached to it.
Once a Wisetailer is notified that they’ve received a Wisebird, they can navigate to the Redeem a Wisebird page for more instruction. These readily accessible modules ensure that Wisetailers have information about participating in our recognition program, and allows them to celebrate one another with ease.
Celebration through Gifts
On the Redeem page, Wisetailers find the gifts they can choose from to redeem their Wisebirds. These items change quarterly and range from practical household must-haves (like snow shovels) to purely fun and frivolous gifts (like bath trays). Once they’ve chosen their gift, they simply email the operations team and wait for their gift to arrive at their home address.
If none of the gifts for that quarter are really calling to them, there is always an option to donate the $25 value of their Wisebird to the National Forest Foundation. This relates back to Wisetail’s conservation values and mission to protect the environment, and presents Wisetailers with the opportunity to give back.
Trackable Information
Implementing a structured, digital process and capping Wisebirds at four a quarter has allowed tracking to become much simpler, and has encouraged active participation to remain constant throughout the year. The Wisebird program receives about 40-60% Wisetailer participation, and is one of Wisetail’s most engaging initiatives.
To ensure the information is consistently accurate, the operations team pulls APEX reports on a weekly basis, and updates Wisebird information on a tracking sheet every Friday. This allows Wisetailers to see how many awards they and their teammates have received, provides accurate numbers throughout the quarter, and lets them know how many Wisebirds they still have to redeem.
The Benefits
More Appreciation = Decreased Turnover Costs
40-60%
Wisetailer
participation
Wisetail created a fun and simple internal rewards program linked to employee-to-employee recognition. This program has fostered the development of a tight knit community that focuses on recognition and gratitude. With increased levels of connection to their internal community, retention has increased leading to decreased turnover costs. With tangible incentives, Wisetailers find greater drive to perform and be a member of the greater Wisetail team.
The Wisebird program has created a sustainable remote culture to help Wisetail brave economic uncertainty, knowing that their team is ready to Wise and Shine.
