The 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021) just wrapped up and I’m sure you can still see the gleaming faces of medal winners on the podium. That’s the ultimate recognition; winning a gold medal in a sport you’ve trained in and persevered through! Obviously, for most of us, that’s not a realistic attainment, but even a gold star can turn someone’s day around for the better. That’s the brilliance behind recognition. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing gesture. There are many degrees between a pat on the back and promotion to Vice President of Awesomeness (if that’s not a title, it should be)!
Motivation Excellence offers a wide variety of ways to recognize and reward important people in your business structure from employees to valued channel partners. In this blog, we’ll outline why having a recognition strategy in place is so important. Visit our website or reach out to ME@MotivationExcellence.com to learn more.
It’s About Trust, Motivation and Connection
Would it surprise you to hear that employees who receive recognition from their superiors actually trust their boss more? In this linked Forbes article, 90 percent of employees surveyed indicated higher levels of trust with the “higher-ups” if they had been commended for something in the past month.
The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) reported that when employees feel their work leadership appreciates and recognizes their efforts 93 percent say they feel like they fit in at their organization and 91 percent say it motivates them to work harder for their boss and their colleagues.
We know that the amount of telecommuting rose 115 percent between 2005 and 2015. Given the pandemic of 2020, work-from-home situations have risen even more dramatically across the country. Implementing a social network for recognition with your off-site staff is critical to keeping them connected and engaged. Northstar Meetings Group released 20 ways to show appreciation to a spread-out workforce during and after the pandemic. Several of them call out the importance of taking time regularly to recognize employees’ successes and sharing positive stories through a social recognition network.
It’s About the Why Behind the Recognition
For the person being recognized, it’s about feeling respected for their skills, included in the company culture, and acknowledged for their work. For the company offering the recognition, it’s about promoting a positive culture, highlighting the core values, and building lasting relationships with the people who make a difference to the bottom line AND the overall atmosphere of the company.
Recognition can have both soft and hard costs, and both can give a super boost to retention rates, productivity, and workplace happiness. You might be surprised to hear that the vocalization of appreciation for good work can mean more than a monetary supplement.
Here are some reasons why to show recognition to someone important to your organization:
- Birthdays
- Revenue-based accomplishments
- Training achievements
- Demonstrating company values
- Going above and beyond expectations
- Increasing new client contacts
- Kudos from customers
- Meeting or beating established goals
- Work anniversaries
It’s About How Recognition Happens
Knowing who you are recognizing, is as important as how you are showing them appreciation. A combination of verbalizing your kudos (either in writing, or in person, or both Epic Work Epic Life gives some great through-starters to authentically show appreciation for people’s accomplishments), and tying a reward to the recognition is a great way to make sure your intent comes through loud and clear. A reward does not have to have a cash value either. Depending on who the audience is, tailor the reward to fit the job level, demographic, and scope of accomplishment.
Here are some ways to recognize someone:
- Congratulate them on the internal company social site
- Give a day off
- Award accomplishments with pre-determined reward packages
- Reward top performers with a group travel experience or a travel getaway package
- Offer an award point platform to earn and redeem points as desired
- Increase flex working options
- Cater in a lunch for the team
- Plan an off-site experience
- Support a favorite charity
- Create incentive programs
- Show appreciation through saying “thank you,” or “good job!”
- Surprise stellar performance with a gift card of their choice
Hopefully, you now have a great understanding of why recognition is important and how you can administer it. Of course, Motivation Excellence is here to help you get started by offering suggestions to implement a Q4 spurt program to help you achieve your goals! You may not earn an Olympic gold medal, but your company will see the benefits to productivity, retention, morale, and trust in leadership! That could be even better!
