Build a Strong Culture of Recognition | 2-Minute Video

Here’s one thing that can never come too soon for employees in the workplace: recognition.

In fact, employees who aren’t recognized at work pretty much aren’t engaged at work. Specifically, they show about a 40-point drop in engagement scores compared with those who are regularly recognized, highlighting the steep engagement cost of silence, according to Awardco’s State of Recognition study.

What’s Up in This Episode: Boosting Recognition

In this episode of HRMorning’s 3-Point, our expert Laura Shanley, who is at the heart of the Center of Excellence at Awardco, focuses on building a culture of recognition in your workplace. She’ll explain why it’s essential to building stronger business outcomes and how you can do it effectively in any work environment – remote, hybrid or on-site.

Click, watch and listen for more on building a stronger culture of recognition.

Transcript (edited for clarity):

Laura Shanley, Center of Excellence, Awardco: “Sometimes companies will get stuck in this, you know, we’ve hit this big milestone or we hit this big project and then we’ll do a party, and then we’ll celebrate and recognize. But you know, I love the saying that you wouldn’t wait for the end of the game to cheer. So let’s cheer along the way, right?“ 

How can we build a culture of recognition if we only recognize at the end of the game? We can’t. That’s what we’re going to tackle in this episode of HRMorning’s 3-Point. Creating a workplace where recognition feels like the norm – so employees feel like they’re always appreciated. Why’s that important?

Shanley: “Employees who feel meaningfully recognized are 2.4 times more likely to report higher well-being.“

So what’s “higher well-being?” Shanley explained to me that it’s the intangibles that make people want to come into work: the connections with colleagues, the feeling that the company cares about them, the work that intrigues them.

Now, how can we make that kind of culture happen every day? Here’s one powerful tool.

Shanley: “In every meeting, we’re going to take the first two minutes, and we’re going to recognize something that has happened this week that is really positive, or we’re going to showcase, you know, Michele’s contribution to this project. If we do that at every single meeting, then people start to understand and feel that that’s what we do here. And so you’re building that culture of recognition.“

Now, here’s the good thing. Something like that works regardless of your work situation – remote, hybrid or in an office. It’s important to create this culture of recognition because it’s the foundation for a workplace where people thrive.

To do that:

• Cheer along the way. Don’t wait for the project to end or to hit the milestone. Celebrate small wins. Reward good work along the way.
• Recognize what’s positive. Spend some time at least weekly to showcase what’s working in your workplace.
• Make it easier. Give employees the tools to recognize each other for their efforts. It could be an as simple as an internal app channel or an all-out awards program.

You can find more tips on creating a culture of recognition in the Practical Guide for Motivating Employees under the Blueprints section on HRMorning website.