An intriguing concept

Danielle Rice, Regional Director of Operations at PointRoll, first heard about Bonusly on LinkedIn. "I was intrigued by the idea of placing the awarding power of a bonus into the hands of the employee."

Danielle's group had been using a manger-centric bonus program, and was looking for a more effective alternative.

At PointRoll, the bonuses are given in points. At the end of every month, the three employees who earn the most points each receive $100 gift cards.

A department-wide email is sent announcing the winners and listing a summary of the bonuses received by the winners. The email also highlights the company values that have received the most bonus activity.

Valuable insights

From the start, adoption was "tremendous." "Our people thrive on recognition. Monetary incentives are a critical piece, but it's the words that have a lasting effect." When asked how the team felt about Bonusly, the response was, "they love it!"

"We are high-energy, fast-paced, and laser-focused. Bonusly allows our people to pause for a moment and recognize someone that made a difference in their day."

From a managers perspective, Danielle was pleasantly surprised by the insights Bonusly provides.

"We have five core values as an organization. Our people overwhelmingly award their points for #dependability. As a manager, that is a truly valuable insight."

A wider rollout

After three months, Bonusly was widely used to supplement the manager-centric bonus program used in the Operations department. At the time of this writing, a company-wide rollout has been proposed.

"Bonusly gives companies an opportunity to take a different approach to employee recognition. In a world of social media, our feelings are expressed via status updates, tweets, comments, hashtags, etc… why wouldn't you use this?"