Now is the time to launch your employee recognition program.
You know employee recognition will be good for business. If you need more proof, here are all the stats you need to convince even the most cynical leader. You may have even been thinking about introducing a recognition program for a while but somehow, it always drops to the bottom of the priority list.
Well, now is the time to prioritise employee recognition and if you don’t, you risk adversely impacting your culture and in turn, future company performance.
The global pandemic has caused unimaginable challenges – for every organisation. And none have been more impacted than the people that look after the people – HR. Almost every HR team is having to juggle impacts they have never had to confront before. HR are supporting employees in ways they never have before, solving issues they had never considered and until a few months ago, didn’t even know existed. Whether it be supporting employee mental wellbeing at a time of peak crisis, or navigating the impact of isolation on company culture, it’s been a lot.
As we look to steady the working model with some at home, some remote and some hybrid, many of us are settling into what work will look like for the foreseeable future. As we adapt to the new and hopefully more stable, status quo, fresh challenges are coming up (yep, there’s more!). How do we continue to maintain connection within teams, how do we keep employees motivated when they spend so much time solo? How do we combat the oncoming ‘turnover tsunami’ as it has been aptly named? How do we manage the mental health damage of a pandemic?
Read more: How to help your return to work employees thrive.
Like with most things human related, there is no simple solution. No single move you make today can defend against these rising obstacles. However, the one thing that will set you up to successfully navigate through the coming months is having a connected, unified team who feel valued and supported by each other and leadership.
That’s why now is the time to launch your recognition program.
Social recognition – recognition that is visible, real-time and multi-directional - drives connection between employees, trust with managers and a sense of unity with the whole team. It aligns employees around company priorities and helps them adjust to shifting goals. Recognition makes employees feel valued and appreciated, confident knowing that they are making a meaning contribution to the company.
In-the-moment recognition for the actions employees deliver every day – and of course, recognising the bigger achievements too – builds a culture of gratitude and support. Where these recognition moments are endorsed by others, it helps to develop a sense of connection and belonging to the broader team.
Working in isolation or from home as many of us will continue to do, means that daily achievements that would have been recognised in the workplace, have or will fall under the radar. So while employees work away, often in stressful situations, they have not been getting much, if any, positive reinforcement that what they are delivering is impactful and appreciated.
For some, a lack of recognition affects their motivation, for others it contributes to a sense of isolation. For those who are suffering from the mental health toll of the past 18 months, it can contribute negatively to their state of mind.
The best way to keep your employees connected and unified as we traverse the coming turbulence, is to give them a platform where they can give and receive support, positioning them to keep thriving through the transition to the new way of working.
Employee recognition may not just have an impact on mental wellbeing. In this study by Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Centre, researchers looked at if gratitude impacts immunity. And while they did not draw a strong link to improvements in our body’s defence system, they did find something interesting in the context of recognition.
The study found that those who adopted gratitude practices were more likely to pay it forward and have better overall health. They were more likely to be supportive and be better able to handle threats. In the context of work, this means those that are grateful, apart from enjoying better overall wellbeing, may also deal with work challenges in a more positive, creative way. And let’s face it, there are a few challenges coming at us all right now – no matter what your industry.
Employees also look for deep connections at work. What they are missing by being socially distanced and away from the office, they still want to experience albeit it in pandemic appropriate formats. They no longer get the ‘great job’ comments and approving nods in meetings. They don’t see the positive body language as they present a new idea on Zoom or discuss a project status. They are missing the frequent and incidental positive reinforcements they get from our team and until they were gone, probably did not even know they looked for them.
Peer-to-peer recognition drives deep, authentic connections between colleagues and highlights great moments in a positive and public way. It allows employees to call each other out for doing great work, ultimately contributing to a unified company culture. Peer-to-peer recognition comes with no obligation, like praise from a manager might, working to bring back some of that workplace joie de vivre that we are missing by not being physically together in our working hours.
On top of that, appreciation is still one of the things employees look for most in the workplace. Pandemic or no pandemic, humans want to feel appreciated for their contribution and the environment we are operating in currently, makes this need for validation and value even more important. Building a culture of gratitude not only minimises turnover, it helps attract new employees who can advantageously contribute to overall performance. And when we are on the precipice of a ‘turnover tsunami’, that is something every business can do with more of.
That is why now really is the best time to launch your employee recognition program.
Recognition will amplify everyday actions and achievements in a company-wide stream, mirrored through your communication and collaboration tools so everyone can enjoy the collective effervescent of being part of something of consequence.
Stay up-to-date on Twitter @workpointsplay and LinkedIn workpointsplay.