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The Cold, hard TruTh abouT The

ALS #IceBucketChallengeTim houlihan, Vice President, reward Systems Group

bI WorldWIde

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The alS Ice bucket Challenge has become the latest viral sensation, arriving with perfect timing at the end of a long summer, when boredom is so rampant that even a brain freeze starts to seem like a good idea.

of course, it’s all for a good cause — to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (alS), the neurodegenerative disorder also known as Motor Neurone disease. While the original concept was to give $100 to alS or face the frozen bucket, many people are getting soaked and donating anyway, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of videos shared across social media sites. So far, over $79 million* has been donated to deserving nonprofits who serve those with this disease, which is particularly good news to me, as one of my brothers suffers from alS.

How is employee engagement like an ice bucket over the head? When this many people engage in an uncharacteristic behaviour, we get very interested. because we’re in the business of studying the science of human behaviour, all of us at bI WorldWIde have been following the alS Ice bucket Challenge phenomenon very closely. our hallway and lunchroom conversations have tended toward wondering what, if anything, this viral craze has proven about human behaviour. There are a few universal truths that seem to apply, especially as they relate to our customers and to the business of employee engagement and recognition.

Here’s what we’re noticing:

Need to be recognised. Writing a cheque for £100 for medical research is something everyone would probably say is a worthwhile thing to do, although most people don’t get around to actually following through on this good intention very often. but when that cheque-writing (behaviour) is tied to the chance to show everyone in your social network how brave, altruistic and trendy you are (recognition), then people, in droves, will change their behavior and do something truly out of the ordinary.

Takeaway: People will change their behaviour in astonishing ways, given the right motivation and the chance to be recognised publically for it.

Desire to make a difference. at their heart, most people would like to help make the world a better place. and at your organisation, most people want to do a good job. The secret behind this viral campaign is also the secret behind a well-planned engagement programme – when you make it appealing enough, and simple enough, people will behave the way you want them to. each time one of your employees is recognised for a job well done or by demonstrating one of your corporate values, it becomes an example of exemplary behaviour that is likely to be repeated.

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The Cold, hard TruTh abouT The

#ALS IceBucketChallenge

Takeaway: Tap into this desire to do well and your employees will accomplish amazing things. recognise them for it and these behaviors will become ingrained in your organisation’s culture.

Connection to social. Public recognition among social networks is a big part of the ice bucket challenge’s appeal. The lure of being publically recognised can have the same power for your employees, too. Give them an employee recognition platform that integrates what people love about social media (a real-time feed, comments, likes) with the ability to recognise hard work or achievement of a goal in front of their peers and leaders.

Takeaway: bIWorldWIde’s G5 platform is the most advanced social recognition system ever because it allows our customers to integrate social in a responsible but highly effective way throughout their entire organisation.

Leading the way. The image of admired celebrities and respected public figures drenching themselves in ice cubes has been another big part of the challenge’s appeal. In the same way, the leaders of your own organization should set the standard for recognition, by not only participating in it but also encouraging their employees to adopt it into their daily work lives.

Takeaway: When employees see their leaders get excited about a company-wide initiative, they are more likely to get on board – and quickly.

So while the alS Ice bucket Challenge will likely fade away as quickly as it came about, it’s a great example of how the desire to do something good and be publically recognised for it can be a powerful driver of behaviour change and can produce incredible results.

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*as of 8/25/14, http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html

To learn more about how bI WorldWIde can help design an employee engagement programme that encourages behaviour change and creates

a culture of recognition in your organisation, visit: bI WorldWIde.co.uk or email us at enquiries@eu.bI WorldWIde.com.