TD Bank Group: Using the Power of Appreciation to Be the Better Bank

‍A top 5 North American bank, TD Bank Group has over 155 years of banking experience and approximately 90,000 colleagues around the world. Appreciation and recognition are how TD works to enrich the lives of their colleagues, customers, and community, and achieve their vision to be the Better Bank.

SITUATION  

The company’s recognition vision is to have a culture that engages, inspires, and energizes their colleagues through genuine, in-the-moment appreciation. To do this, TD knew they had to revamp their recognition programs.

TD had a variety of everyday reward and recognition programs across the organisation that varied between different lines of business, country, and function. Different parts of the company were using different systems, tools, and strategies, with no ability to nominate colleagues across programs. Colleague satisfaction scores were flat. Recognition was inconsistent and heavily focused on outcomes and metrics—results, not behaviours.

“Recognition is about recognising what people do; appreciation is about valuing who they are. Each one of us wants to know what we do matters. If no one notices what a colleague does, it brings their motivation down,” says Janet Skolud, Senior Manager, Global Recognition Programs.

The Bank wanted to simplify and streamline recognition by creating one enterprise program with a common recognition currency and brand. They needed simpler tools and technology, flexibility, and more choice in the reward items offered. Most of all, they wanted to reinforce behaviours that contribute to TD’s Shared Commitments to colleagues, customers, and community, and ultimately business success.

“Appreciation is a defining characteristic of TD’s culture of care. TD’s culture is one of personal connection, psychological safety, and team collaboration. Appreciating each for doing great work is how we enrich the lives of our colleagues, customers, and communities, and one of the ways we'll achieve our vision to be the Better Bank.”
—Shosh Greengarten, V.P. Compensation Advisory, Incentive Governance and Global Recognition

SOLUTION

Partnering with O.C. Tanner, Karey Stanley-Boyd, Head of Global Recognition Programs, and team, along with senior leaders and stakeholders throughout the Bank, created TD Appreciate! in 2018. The new solution integrated timely, authentic recognition into one consistent global strategy and program that was aligned to TD’s vision, mission, and company strategy.

TD Appreciate! creates a consistent experience for all colleagues globally and ensures appreciation is always on. Key features include:

• An innovative, easy-to-use platform that offers scalability for future program enhancements.
• A standardized offering of awards based on transparent criteria aligned to TD’s Shared Commitments.
• Allowing colleagues to recognise others in any part of the Bank.
• A social wall for promoting always-on appreciation.
• Simplified processes and budgets (with award shipping costs and taxes paid by TD).
• Robust reporting.
• A shift from just recognising results to also appreciating behaviours and colleagues.

“Through collaboration with our business partners and O.C. Tanner, we’ve been able to drive the necessary tools and change required to manage appreciation and recognition more effectively.”
—Janet Skolud, Senior Manager, Global Recognition Programs

TD used a network of trained Reward and Recognition champions and leaders across the organisation to promote the platform and communicate key metrics around it. Emily Ioannou, Senior Manager at the North American Contact centre in Easyline Markham, recognizes three colleagues for their great work in her daily group email updates. Her team looks forward to seeing their colleagues’ recognition, and colleagues challenge themselves to be the ones recognized. “Appreciation is ongoing motivation. With TD Appreciate!, we have eCards at our fingertips and it takes less than 10 seconds to send one out,” says Ioannou.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, TD leveraged the program even more to show appreciation in difficult times. “What would have been impossible in the past now is possible with TD Appreciate!,” says Stanley-Boyd. The Bank also added an appreciation preferences form so colleagues can specify how they’d like to be appreciated and used TD Appreciate! to celebrate Employee Appreciation Week, where 100% of colleagues were thanked for their outstanding contributions.

“What would have been impossible in the past now is possible with TD Appreciate!”
—Karey Stanley-Boyd, Head of Global Recognition Programs

Adam Alshawish, Retail Market Manager in the Brooklyn region, knows appreciation is helpful for his team’s mental health and well-being, especially during times of uncertainty and disruption. His store managers ensure recognition is presented in a meaningful way during morning huddles. “Showing appreciation is about taking a pause and showing gratitude on a daily basis. It’s a great way to start the day to inspire all colleagues,” explains Alshawish.

RESULTS

TD Appreciate! has seen significant traction and success:

• The program has reached over 90% of colleagues
• Over 2 million recognition moments have occurred since launch.
• Timeliness and genuineness of appreciation given has improved, and there is more peer-to-peer and leadership appreciation happening.
• Both giving and receiving recognition has a moderately strong correlation to lower attrition rates.

Colleagues, executive leaders, and people managers are now advocates for using the program to improve the colleague experience. They understand recognition amplifies engagement, connectivity, and well-being, which enables them to better serve their customers.

Skolud believes elevating the culture of appreciation increases business value: “Appreciation is something so simple and so obvious but yet, so under-practiced. When we think about maximising business value, it means finding the right balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and anchoring ourselves around our purpose.”

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Outcomes are everything
‍We’d love to share what we’ve helped TD Bank Group and thousands of other clients achieve. Reach out to us to start your employee recognition journey.