How To Give & Improve Recognition At Work

There’s a time and a place for everything – except for recognition at work. That should be done all the time!

Almost 70% of the workforce believes that recognition and reward are the reasons they still work at their current jobs. Recognition isn’t just some HR buzzword; it really matters to your employees, business goals, and leadership team.

Keeping the world’s best talent on your team has nothing to do with rewards. Shiny things and dollar bills definitely can certainly help, but they’re not the same thing as a good ol’ fashioned ‘thank you.’ What we’re trying to say is: recognition matters a lot more than you think. And if you aren’t showing your employees how much you appreciate them, you could be missing out on a lot of good stuff!

So how can you help your employees feel legitimately valued? With recognition programs, of course!

Let’s take a closer look at showing recognition inside the workplace, as well as some actions you can take today to improve your current processes.

Why show recognition at work?

Researchers from all over the world are starting to uncover the powerful nature of employee recognition in the workplace. Did you know that employees who receive regular gratitude are actually more productive? What about the fact that teams perform better when they work for managers who truly respect them? Well, now you do!

Employee recognition in the workplace is tied to lots of incredible benefits, namely:

• Stronger employee engagement
• Better peer to peer communication
• Reduced turnover rates

Showing recognition at work helps everybody reach new heights, including your company mission. And if you’re ready to see its full potential for yourself, it’s time to learn how to give recognition at work in a truly meaningful way.

How to give recognition at work

Here’s how to show recognition at work without making it weird (or being disingenuous).

1. Listen to your talent

You already know what you want to see in an employee recognition program – but what about your employees? Take the time to listen to your talent in meaningful ways, executing surveys or other feedback loops that clue you into recurring themes.

2. Make way for flexibility

Employees want to receive recognition in unique ways, which is why giving gratitude with flexibility is always in your best interest. Create multiple avenues for recognition, from in-person chats to public announcements.

3. Consider scaling over time

The larger your team grows, the more complex your recognition programs will become. Use employee recognition software such as Motivosity to effortlessly take your ‘thank you’s’ to the next level.

4. Use the three pillars approach

Remember that employee recognition stems from three fields: great connections, great listening, and a great community. Find ways to generate a culture of gratitude in your company, then implement it into your workforce!

5. Find ways to implement rewards

Spot recognitions and spending cards and birthdays, oh my! Employees will love receiving rewards that are actually useful (and practical, too).

How to improve recognition at work

Now that you’ve learned the basics, it’s time to graduate to Employee Recognition 102: improving recognition at work. If you’re looking to boost your efforts with some well-meaning rewards your employees actually want to see on their desk, this is the list for you!

1. Flexible spending

Cash rewards should be totally flexible – not tied to a single entity. Recognize employees with flexible cash rewards that can be spent on almost anything and everything. Your workforce will love you for it!

2. Peer to peer recognition

You don’t have to do all the legwork to create meaningful employee recognition. Get your team in on the fun by emphasizing peer to peer recognition in the workplace! Social platforms are a great way to do this, as well as public announcements or thankfulness days. The options are (virtually) limitless!

3. Equip your managers

Did you know that more than 70% of employee experience is developed through employee-manager interactions? Equipping management teams to work at their best is a great way to boost employee recognition programs from the top down. Use collaborative agendas and summary reports to better educate your greatest secret weapons (i.e. managers), incorporating feedback coaching into one-on-one communication sessions.

How to do it all with Motivosity

Maybe you already have an employee recognition program in place. Maybe your business doesn’t fit into a box, or has struggled with recognition in the past. Maybe you just don’t feel equipped to start a recognition program all on your own. Wherever you stand in the employee recognition cycle, know that you won’t need to go the distance all by yourself.

At Motivosity, we take great pride in helping businesses find the perfect recognition program for their size, space, and talent. With three unique programs and 100% adaptable pricing plans, Motivosity is designed to be a fully scalable partner for employee connection, listening, and recognition. We’re not just a software company – we’re a people company, too!

Give us a whirl for yourself by getting a demo whenever’s convenient. Still have some questions? Holler at our awesome technicians to find the answers to (almost) everything.

Sources:

• https://www.apollotechnical.com/employee-recognition-statistics/
• https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-09990-007
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021886318773459?casa_token=3Ce_d55IgUMAAAAA%3ADeRRVI1M0bhud3xohV_4hU67k5fA2zdFY_Oa3EM5aJ-JN3VY9OtdcciV9vY3aaeOLB417oyKJxDn4A&journalCode=jaba
• https://www.biospace.com/article/4-ways-employee-recognition-can-decrease-turnover-/