Machias Savings Bank, also known as \u201cThe Bank of YES\u201d, has been helping individuals and businesses within Maine to say \u201cYES\u201d to their goals, since 1869. And for as long as this much-loved community bank has been operating, they\u2019ve worked hard to grow and nurture a strong and engaged workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This, of course, is no easy feat. And nobody knows more about this than Machias Savings Bank\u2019s Rainya Davis, SVP, Talent and Learning Manager, and Hillary Tibbetts, Human Resources Specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As experts in their field, Rainya and Hillary both know that building a strong and engaged workforce requires commitment to team values. And doing this requires effective recognition, in order to reinforce positive behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when their 2022 engagement survey told them that 62% of employees felt they weren\u2019t getting enough recognition for their work\u2026 they knew it was time to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When \u201crecognition for my work\u201d came up as an issue during a 2022 Table Talk event with senior management, HR and Talent Team knew that something wasn\u2019t quite right. After all, it\u2019s not that Machias Savings Bank were ignoring hard work – quite the opposite, in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were using a physical coin-based system\u201d explains Rainya. \u201cThis meant that when managers noticed somebody doing something great, they could hand out special coins, which could be traded in for payroll bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, while this system was certainly innovative, a deeper dive revealed that it was no longer practical – especially with the shift to remote working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With half of the workforce now working remotely, handing out physical coins had become a bit cumbersome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMailing costs were piling up, there was no visibility of who was rewarding who, and the extra legwork became a real pain for management\u201d says Hillary. And that wasn\u2019t the only issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was no social element to the recognition\u201d adds Rainya. \u201cRewards were being handed out in isolation, and nobody was able to celebrate or congratulate one another, because nobody knew who was being rewarded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rewards were also very one-dimensional, and hierarchical – something that Machias Savings Bank was keen to move away from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur previous system was mostly manager-to-employee recognition\u201d says Hillary. \u201cThis lacked the depth that we wanted to achieve, as the manager\u2019s perspective is just one of many perspectives. People do great things that their managers don\u2019t always see!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These issues led to diminished participation, and a growing skepticism amongst the workforce. The lack of transparency meant that claims of favoritism weren\u2019t uncommon, even if they were usually unfounded. And many people were simply forgetting to engage in recognition activities. What was meant to be a fun and rewarding activity, was becoming a tiresome process with too many steps and not enough impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Hillary and Rainya first set out looking for a replacement to their coin-based system, they had two key goals in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew that if we could achieve both of these goals, then not only would our employees feel like their hard work was getting noticed, but that we would be able to use this system to reinforce positive behaviors associated with being a model Machias Savings Bank employee,\u201d says Rainya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their first goal was to ensure that Workstars would actually be usable by staff – which meant making sure that it was mobile-friendly, making sure that it was transparent to prove fairness, making sure there was a social element where people could comment and congratulate one another, and of course, making sure that recognition was available on a 360-degree basis – so that people could reward team-mates, not just managers rewarding their direct hires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next goal? Using Workstars to reinforce their eight key values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the first things that attracted Hillary and Rainya to Workstars, was the ability to connect every single reward and recognition action, with a key company value. For Machias Savings Bank, these values were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is through these values that the bank ensures a workforce committed to transparency, timely decision-making, and satisfaction for both customers and employees. And so, when they first implemented Workstars, they ensured that each time a person received a reward, that it was clearly connected to one of these eight values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy connecting rewards and recognition to company values, we felt we were able to go beyond a simple form of lip service with our company culture\u201d says Hillary. \u201cOur set of values was demonstrably translatable into actual actions and behaviors being performed daily by our fantastic staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Machias Savings Bank implemented Workstars, they used it to centralize a whole ton of processes. And not just this, but they pulled in a whole bunch of different reward and recognition events, which they were able to automate and visualize with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have streamlined several recognition processes within the program, such as onboarding, birthday acknowledgements, milestone anniversaries, and more\u201d says Rainya. \u201cIt has also helped us boost people\u2019s ego, facilitate charitable contributions, and introduce schemes such as popular gift card redemption options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Rainya and Hillary have been delighted with how the regular reporting within Workstars has allowed them to demonstrate the value that their fresh new recognition programme has brought to their workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since implementing the system over 12 months ago, the big question on everybody\u2019s lips is\u2026 what results has it delivered, and has it satisfied their key goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the year leading up to the 2022 table talk where their recognition crisis was first addressed, Machias Savings Bank had recorded just 303 instances of \u201crecognition\u201d awards being handed out. This was due to a combination of logistical difficulties with using an outdated coin system, but also that there were so many steps in the process, that employees and managers would simply \u201csave it for later\u201d, and then forget to process the reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince implementing Workstars, we\u2019ve been averaging at over 350 recognition instances per month\u201d says Hillary. \u201cThat\u2019s more than we saw in the entire previous year – we\u2019ve got 13 times more engagement with our recognition system, which is incredible!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact that people are engaged with the new system, and actively using it, is a huge achievement for Machias Savings Bank.
\u201cBecause it is instant, people aren\u2019t forgetting to use it\u201d explains Rainya. \u201cAnd because it is easily accessible no matter where you are, it is perfect for our entire workforce – office-based, home-based, or hybrid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As well as increasing the frequency of engagement, this has also increased the visibility among employees. And with more people seeing and using the recognition system? There are far fewer complaints about a lack of recognition within the company.
In fact, Machias Savings Bank can even now put a cold hard figure to this improvement, thanks to their most recent employee engagement survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe implementation of Workstars has had a positive impact on the company\u2019s culture, as evidenced in our 2023 engagement survey\u201d says Hillary. \u201cPre-Workstars, in 2022, 62% of our employees cited \u2018recognition for my work\u2019 as an area needing improvement. In 2023, since implementing Workstars, this number had fallen sharply to 38%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hillary and Rainya both say that they love seeing the impact Workstars has on the happiness of their workforce, and that they love knowing their employees feel more recognized and appreciated for their commitment to company values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps one of the side-goals of implementing Workstars, was to rid their old recognition and reward system of inefficiencies. And Hillary and Rainya both say that this has been a super successful goal, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe transition to Workstars has probably saved us about 30 days of work annually\u201d says Rainya. \u201cThere are fewer steps to complete when recognizing hard work, and it is so much easier to track and report on recognition activities effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with fewer steps to take, and better reporting available\u2026there\u2019s been an unintended but hugely-welcomed consequence to the implementation of Workstars\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the things that Workstars has really helped us to do, is plan an actual budget for reward and recognition activities\u201d says Hillary, \u201cwhich our CFO really appreciates!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She explains that the previous system had been difficult to plan, difficult to track, and difficult to budget for – especially considering the inconsistent way in which it was being used, and the imbalance that it was causing throughout the different teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the Workstars platform has helped them to budget for rewards and recognition by providing clear reports, which have helped them to gain more credibility with their CFO.
\u201cWe can show exactly where money has been spent in the last 12 months, exactly how much money we will need for the next 12 months, and importantly, we can show the impact that this spend has had on results that really matter for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Machias Savings Bank\u2019s shift to Workstars has shown just how eager they are to stay ahead of emerging technology, and truly put their employees and their customers first. And the numbers don\u2019t lie: recognition is up, and employees are actually engaging with the system. Rainya and Hillary have steered the bank from a process that was becoming tired and cumbersome, to a sleek digital solution that fits the modern workforce and promotes company values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have always valued recognition\u201d says Rainya, \u201cbut this wasn\u2019t always getting through to employees. But with Workstars, we now have an effective recognition platform that is connected to company values, and that people actually use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking forward, they are excited to continue this momentum. Their work is not finished, and both Hillary and Rainya will continue to assess, review, and improve their efforts to strengthen their company culture, to ensure that their employees continue to feel the recognition they deserve for delivering an exceptional service to clients of Machias Savings Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Machias Savings Bank, also known as \u201cThe Bank of YES\u201d, has been helping individuals and businesses within Maine to say \u201cYES\u201d to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-study"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n