How do you turn employees into high-performers with Arteel's Positive Culture Pyramid?

Are you looking to attract new employees? Motivate talent? Keep high-performers on board. Every company faces these challenges today and a positive culture is the magnet that can turn the tide. We asked leading angel Nathalie Arteel about possible solutions.

Has the "giving culture" reached its limits?

"Employers have never spent so much on all kinds of vouchers, fruit baskets, sports memberships and other perks. One index jump followed another, and wages happily followed suit.

But times have changed since COVID: more people working from home, less mental resilience and a new generation with an entirely different mindset are just a few examples of how the system has been disrupted.

The problems are well-known: more absenteeism, less engagement and low retention cost companies piles of money and result in a drop in competitiveness."

How can a positive corporate culture turn the tide? 

"Small positive and personal interactions every day - which require little effort - can mean a world of difference for an employee's motivation and performance.

Arteel has seen great results at large and small companies for many years. Our solutions create small, unforgettable moments that touch people professionally and personally. We give managers the tools to create, automate and personalise a scalable positive culture and make the results tangible and measurable.

Top employers will be one step ahead by choosing a culture that stimulates and directly rewards positive behaviour."

How do you go about creating a positive culture?

"The easiest way to explain this is with our Positive Culture Pyramid. This pyramid consists of three interconnected layers and every layer needs building blocks and tools."

1. FORMAL RECOGNITION

• goal: turn every milestone into an unforgettable moment
• how: personalised appreciation
• frequency: annually or at important events
• impact on engagement and solidarity of employees: 1-10%

2. INFORMAL RECOGNITION & REWARD

• goal: encourage and reward exemplary behaviour and exceptional efforts
• how: using gamification to reward positive behaviour with loyalty points directly
• frequency: monthly to quarterly
• impact on engagement and solidarity of employees: 30-50%

3. DAILY FEEDBACK

•  goal: bring company values to life
•  how: turn appreciation into a habit and stimulate positive feedback
•  frequency: every day to weekly
•  impact on engagement and solidarity of employees: 80-100%

How do you turn every milestone into an unforgettable moment?

“Almost all companies celebrate milestones and meaningful moments. It's the Olympic Minimum for any positive culture and is always important.

Good examples include celebrating the number of years of service, on- and off-boarding or promotions or major personal life events such as births, marriages or a new home. Formal recognition is also appropriate in case of setbacks such as a serious illness, bad accident or death.
In other words, it's all about the act of showing recognition whereby employers or managers demonstrate their appreciation for a particular employee or team.

The secret is to ensure that this recognition is personal and personalised. Only a heartfelt, intentional and personal gift will resonate with people. Giving everyone celebrating a jubilee the same impersonal gift harms people's motivation and the organisation's culture.

That's why Arteel built a platform that makes giving personalised gifts simple, personal and scalable. Recipients can choose a gift from an online catalogue in the company's house style.

It’s equally important that the platform informs the manager and automatically invites them to create a personal message or video for the employee. The gift is then sent to the employee's home, thus turning it into an experience for the whole family. This touches people more and has far more impact."

How do you stimulate and reward exemplary behaviour and exceptional efforts?

“Performance goes further than milestones because positive culture is more than recognition. Performance is linked to results. This concerns immediate appreciation of individuals or teams who provided exceptional performance or achieved predefined objectives (KPIs).

Examples: a person who completes a complex project before the deadline thanks to efficient planning, a sales department that achieved exceptional results thanks to better information sharing, a satisfied customer because an employee worked late to process a last-minute order.

Arteel integrated a savings point programme on its platform suitable for individuals and teams. We know from experience that ‘gamification’ by saving points is far more powerful than once-only rewards.

The key to success is the instant acknowledgement of positive behaviour. Employees receive savings points and can choose a gift from an online catalogue with valuable gifts and unique experiences. Teams can save up for a team gift or experience, such as a balloon ride, dinner or an outdoor activity."

How do you bring company values to life?

"Values are the compass of every company. One of the biggest challenges is that most companies struggle to bring values to life. However, it's vital for an organisation to bring the DNA into the daily lives of employees.

This is why Arteel added a ‘social wall of recognition’ on its platform, an application that allows employees to show appreciation to each other intuitively. This appreciation always needs to be linked to one of the company values. Anyone receiving appreciation gets savings points and the given and received appreciation is also visible to the other employees and has an encouraging effect. Both individuals and teams can receive appreciation which means it works on both levels.

Example: despite a heavy workload, an employee spontaneously stepped in to help a team that otherwise would not have met a deadline. This fits in with “taking initiative”, which the company supports. Some colleagues immediately send the employee a message of appreciation in the app, where savings points are linked to a lovely gift. The whole department sees this on the social wall.

According to the principle of gamification, you can exchange your savings points for a gift. Again, the employee or the team can choose from a wide assortment of gifts, vouchers, or experiences available online.

By involving people in this kind of positive feedback culture, your values will automatically come to life.

After years of working with hundreds of companies, we've developed a unique platform at Arteel today that makes the Positive Culture Pyramid simple, fun and effective.

How can I get started with this myself?

"Depending on the intake interview, we'll see where your organisation is at that point. You can then start with one, two or all three layers of the Positive Culture Pyramid. Our appreciation experts can show you relevant cases, explain the possibilities and work out a creative solution customised to your company.”

- Discover cases
- Contact an appreciation expert for a customised quote.

Arteel also has extensive experience in setting up gift solutions or savings point programmes for more loyal customers, sales agents or distributors.

- Discover B2B cases
- Contact an appreciation expert for a customised quote.

Nathalie Arteel also created an Academy for more personal and professional success.
Apart from free master classes, there are intensive coaching programmes and mentoring for individuals, leadership teams and companies, in which Nathalie shares all her experience, tips and techniques for a successful and better life as a leader and as a person.

- Discover free masterclasses
- Contact us for a customised course, keynote or coaching programme