From personal milestones to great work, Allstate helps employees celebrate their wins

When Allstate realized its workers weren't feeling recognized or appreciated by their employer, the organization's people and HR teams knew something needed to change. They set out to develop a new recognition and rewards program, and in the year since launch, have seen it capture the continued engagement of more than 80% of the Allstate workforce. 

The program, dubbed Applause, launched in March of 2022, with the help of third-party rewards platform Achievers. Each Allstate employee receives a bank of points that they can distribute to their colleagues to celebrate a job well done. In the U.S., 500 points (the smallest amount that can be awarded) translates to $5. As employees collect rewards, they can cash them in at any time for a suite of offerings including gift cards, products or experiences.

"We were reacting to some surveys that showed employees just weren't feeling recognized by the company, which was of course difficult with everyone being remote at that time," says Melissa Rinker, HR director of benefits design and planning at Allstate. "But we have a shared purpose and behaviors that we want to recognize our employees for, and so we started down this path of peer-to-peer recognition." 

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According to research from Workhuman, an employee recognition software provider, workers are four times more engaged at work when they feel recognized, 73% less likely to experience consistent burnout, and 44% more likely to report "thriving" in their life. Those are results Allstate was eager to capture, but they wanted to make sure their program suited their unique organization. Empowering employees to recognize their colleagues' work — rather than only allowing leadership to point to a job well done — was non-negotiable. 

"Leaders don't always have visibility to everything that's happening in an organization," Rinker says. But the Achievers platform features a newsfeed and a "boost" option, which means that leaders and managers can see what work is being celebrated, and further recognize those achievements. "It means a lot to employees that leaders see this, and can then takethe time to thank or boost them."

Since launching the program, 95% of employees have activated their accounts, and 83% celebrate their peers' work every month. That's promising data roughly one year in, and the people and HR teams will now begin the process of further quantifying the ROI of the program. But so far, it's proving to be a worthy investment. 

"Just this morning, one of my employees was recognized by someone on our team, and they sent me a note saying, 'I can't tell you how much this meant to me,' and I hear that feedback several times a week, if not daily," says Stephanie Roseman, Allstate's VP of people solutions and employee experience. "Anecdotally, it's really increasing engagement." 

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Prior to launching Applause, smaller recognition programs existed across the organization, but it was more piecemeal — working with Achievers gave Allstate the chance to create a global, company-wide program. Throughout 2023, Allstate will work to expand the program across its family of companies. 

"We wanted to find a partner who could manage us on a global scale and fulfill an in-country catalog," Rinker says. "So our colleagues in India, their items are shipped from India to them, and the same with Northern Ireland, Canada, and Mexico."

The program also enables team members to celebrate each other's non-work milestones, from welcoming a new baby to the family, celebrating an anniversary or buying a new home. Recognizing life outside of work has been key to creating community, Rinker says, which is perhaps the primary benefit of a peer-to-peer offering. 

"When we talk about well-being, we take a four-pillar approach: physical, mental, financial, and community connection. And recognition really fits into both the mental health and community piece," Rinker says. "It's really a way for employees to connect in this virtual world."