Customizing Employee Rewards: Beware the Creep Factor!

The era of Big Data, and the technology and tools that accompany it, have opened the doors to new ways of designing and managing how we reward employees.  No longer must we treat our workforce as one big homogenous mass.  Now we can gather and analyze the data necessary to understand every individual's needs, values and preferences - and tailor our offerings accordingly.  Much in the same way that Big Data has paved the way for marketing departments to customize their pitches and offerings to consumers.

It's all good, right?

Maybe.  But an interesting HBR post (When Digital Marketing Gets Too Creepy) by Michael Schrage calls our attention to a particular pitfall we may encounter along the way to that "customized experience" we hope to offer employees.  Let's call it the Creep Factor.  A result of innovation in analytics outpacing development of the skills and insights necessary to use the information with appropriate care and tone.

To illustrate the challenge, Schrage shares the example of a loyalty program run by Quantas Airlines.  Flight attendants were given access to up-to-the-minute data on the airline's most elite and valued frequent fliers, displayed via onboard iPads.  Unfortunately, flight staff struggled to use the data to authentically connect with and serve these important customers.  Instead of making them feel special, the effort too often creeped them out.

Schrage notes:

I've personally and professionally experienced similar pathologies experiencing "customer support" from credit card companies, financial services firms, airlines and telecoms operators. One can practically hear their all-too-human staff struggle to utilize the bespoke information they're (presumably) reading off their screens to mollify, humor and/or resolve my issues in ways reflecting how much they "know" what a great customer I am. The variances in customer experience quality are enormous. Like those Qantas frequent flyers, I occasionally feel more creepy than comfortable with these "interactions." Not good for those net promoter scores.

So should technology-empowered "customer touch" personnel attend improvisational acting workshops? Or teleprompter training? After all, as the joke goes, the key to success in acting is "sincerity" because if you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.

The better question, however, doesn't revolve around performance art skills; it asks whether organizations really want to build data-based relationships around their people.

No small question this last one and it's a valid one to consider as we ramp up our own analytical efforts.  Let's be aware that the use of Big (Employee) Data raises the stakes of the HR game in a very personal way and have a care to act accordingly.

Comments

[Mark Bennett]

Absolutely correct - "personalization" of rewards should be permission-based only. Let the individual take the initiative to indicate whether and what they would prefer. If you take the time to ask someone if they would like to indicate their preferences, it probably boosts their engagement, even if they don't avail themselves of the service. Not asking would likely have the opposite effect.

[Ann Bares]

Mark:

Great points - thanks for sharing!