Value Cards: TG’s Peer Recognition Program

Every person wants to feel that their choices make a difference. When you step out the door and go to work with your mug of coffee, you want to believe that you will have a meaningful impact on your team and your clients. No one goes to work and says, “I hope I make zero difference today!” At least no one I know says that.

While the difference we make at work will often show up in the results we produce, our successes feel so much more rewarding when there are people who celebrate alongside us. It feels good to have your efforts acknowledged and your hard work recognized! 

That’s why Timmermann Group’s Value Card program continues to thrive after a decade in use. The Value Card program is Timmermann Group’s peer-recognition program and it’s just one of the ways we encourage our team members to be each other’s biggest fans. 

While recognition from your leaders is impactful, both to your esteem and to your performance, only receiving praise or recognition from the top down misses many opportunities to be recognized for the difference you make at work. Your peers are likely to see your day-to-day efforts through a different lens and may even see some things that your team lead might miss! 

What is TG’s Value Card program?

TG’s Value Card program empowers team members to recognize each other’s hard work. We do so by measuring one another’s actions against how well they align with Timmermann Group’s Core Values. 

• Always Growing: We’re comfortable in the uncomfortable with an appetite to be challenged and level up.
• Strategic yet Nimble: We’re deliberate and intentional, but agile and responsive to change.
• Partner-First Mindset: Our goal is to set the next person up for success, whether that be our clients or our fellow team members.
• On the Ready: We are primed, present, and prepared to step up.
• Solution Oriented: We approach each challenge with a focus on partnering to find solutions.
• Step Up, Not Back: We step up, not back, proactively taking initiative and embracing responsibility.

At the end of every month, each member of the team receives two Value Cards. Each card is an opportunity to recognize someone on your team for how they showcased Timmermann Group’s Core Values over the past month. 

Not only does it feel good to receive a handwritten card from someone on your team, the person who receives that most Value Cards at the end of each month is awarded a bonus by the company on their next paycheck as recognition.  

How do Value Cards cards work?

On each Value Card, a member of the team will write down the name of the person they are nominating as well as the Core Value that person demonstrated. 

They are also encouraged to write a few words to explain what it was that person did to make a difference in the past month. Here, our team really shines with thoughtfulness, writing all kinds of positive sentiments.

“You always set the next person up for success. You are always prepared and ready. Plus, everyone can see how passionate and knowledgeable you are when it comes to your job. Keep it up!”

“Thank you for being on top of all our initiatives and pushing us to keep growing and bring the intensity. I am so glad to be working with you!”

“Awesome at everything. Ever. 10,000,000 / 10.” 

You can’t tell me that getting one of these Value Cards wouldn’t feel good, even if you weren’t that month’s winner. People are so supportive and good at speaking to one another’s strengths that it really is an honor just to be nominated.

The Value Card Bonus

Of course, a little something extra on your paycheck never hurts but do you want to know what the real bonus of the Value Card program is? It’s that it drives connection and engagement among the team.

According to Gallup Workplace:

“When recognition hits the mark, employees are five times as likely to be connected to company culture and four times as likely to be engaged. And engaged employees are more productive, involved in and enthusiastic about their workplace.”

That’s the real value of a recognition program. While you can put a price on productivity, you can’t put a price on a company culture where people feel engaged and work together as a team. That is much harder to quantify but no less significant.

The Value Card program is not just about showcasing TG’s Core Values but about remembering that you are valued by the many people you work with from day to day. That’s why the program has remained a success year over year over year. Each card you send or receive serves as a reminder of the value that each member of the Timmermann Group team has and that their contributions are felt by many.