Correct me if I’m wrong, but I reckon we’ve all been here…
You’ve just worked really hard on a project.
Well, let’s be honest, you always work pretty darn hard on everything you do. But this latest one, the one that came out of the blue and with one of the shortest deadlines you’ve ever faced?
Yeah, you knocked it out of the park – but only by getting by on a regime that included little sleep, even less exercise, poor food choices (think sugary and caffeinated options to keep you buzzing) and sore neck and back issues caused by all the hours chained to your desk.
So yeah, congratulations, you aced this one. But at what cost to you personally?
Even worse than the detrimental effects to your personal well being though, is the fact that your manager, let’s call her Kim, said absolutely nothing to you after you hit send on the project email.
Not one word. Nada. Nil. Niente.
Not only did Kim fail to recognise your hard work and effort (and the significant personal cost to you); but she also failed to reward you for the same.
Which really kind of sucks, doesn’t it?
And I’m pretty confident that if this has happened more than once in recent times, you already have more than one foot out the door, walking towards a new organisation. Mentally at least, if not yet physically.
Did someone mention quiet quitting?
Because as the OC Tanner Institutes says in the 2023 GLOBAL CULTURE REPORT:
In times of great change in the workplace, consistent recognition can help employees feel connected, fulfilled, and empowered to do their best work. It increases their sense of belonging and makes them want to stay. A consistent flow of employee recognition creates a workplace culture and community where people thrive.
The same report also provides us with some sobering statistics as to the impact of recognition upon employees:
9 x engagement
13 x great work
8 x thriving culture
Decreases the odds of attrition by 29%
Decreases risk of employee burnout by 80%
These kinds of stats shouldn’t really be a great surprise to us. After all, ‘esteem’ ie the feeling of accomplishment is one of Maslow’s five hierarchy of needs.
Just think about how darn good you feel when someone recognises the hard work and effort you have put into a project. As opposed to how *Kim treated you.
I’m willing to wager that not only do you experience a tingle of warmth and happiness, but that you also feel motivated to work equally as hard, if not more so, on the next task you are given.
Which in turn, and in a beautiful and completely *unplanned segue, means we can also add one more R to the equation – that of retention.
Actually, there is science to this. As Gallup said here:
Recognition for good work releases dopamine in the brain, which creates feelings of pride and pleasure. Better yet, that dopamine hit cements the knowledge that more of that behaviour will create more praise, resulting in another dopamine drench, and so on.
BTW there is a difference between recognition and reward, although they are complementary and one (recognition) can lead to the other (reward).
Recognition is open for anyone to deliver to a colleague (i.e. not just from a manager or other leader to a direct report but can be peer-peer); is more relational in nature; should be given more frequently and is generally more about praise and gratitude.
‘Rewarding’ your employees is generally about a gift of some kind that is given to employees by their manager or a member of the Executive; and is nearly always tied to goals and accomplishments.
What should we recognise our employees for?
Whilst this list can (and should) be unique to each organisation, there are some circumstances which more obviously equate to formal recognition of one type of another. These include:
- Achievements (meeting deadlines, landing new customers, devising new products etc)
- Going above and beyond (aka like our example at the top of this piece, going without decent food and sleep)
- Milestones
- Service anniversaries
- New hires
- Retirement
- Business performance.
The more you recognise the good work or behaviour demonstrated by your employees (including when they are living your values), the more motivated and engaged in their individual and collective success your team will be.
What are the best ways to recognise employees?
Before I launch the latest infographic in answer to this question, I think it is important to note that there is not one rule of thumb when it comes to recognition.
Generational, personal and cultural differences mean that not everyone likes to be recognised in the same way.
Personally, I’m more than happy if you want to publicly shout out what I did well to all and sundry. However and wherever you see fit. LinkedIn and Facebook are personal favourites for mine.
One of my best mates however would be horrified by any such public accolades, and would much prefer a quiet metaphorical hand clap.
And in days gone past, when my son would win academic award after academic award, his preferred style of recognition usually involved saving up the recognition until he could convert the ‘recognition’ into ‘reward’. More specifically for tangible items like, say, tickets to musicals. #truestory
The key is that you need to be able to provide recognition in many different forms AND you need to know your team members well enough to know exactly how they prefer to hear praise from you.
Some other tips include:
Sharing employees achievements on social media (ie share that client testimonial Ali just received)
Recognising people’s outside passions (Did you know that Ali, our principal consultant, has just published her first ever romance novel? #notyetbtw)
Provide opportunities for continued growth and development (yes, absolutely Ali, we are more than happy to sponsor you to complete that Gallup Strengths training, we can definitely see how that will benefit both your skill set and what you can bring to the team).
Want yet more ideas? Then here’s that infographic I promised earlier…
Shout outs
Public recognition which can be either by group / company wide email or newsletter; via your internal chat function; at group meetings (in person or virtual) or at larger events like end of month drinks or company wide meetings.
Peer – Peer Recognition
This can be from the very simple – providing everyone with an opportunity to give a shout out to colleagues, not just managers; to next level ideas like a Kudos wall (photos and written details of who/why is getting kudos) to formal peer recognition systems that allow colleagues to recognise each other via points that ultimately translate into cash or other rewards.
Thank- You’s
Publicly or personally delivered – hand written cards are gold when it comes to thank you’s. Include thank you’s in regular feedback sessions, and include specific examples of what the individual did well and why you value it and are thanking them for it.
Connect to the bigger picture
Regularly share departmental and company wide progress towards organisational goals, and recognise the efforts individuals are making towards achieving those goals. Acknowledge when times have been particularly tough, and ensure you prioritise employee wellbeing.
RewardsRewards
Myriad of options from low cost – significant cost. Examples include paid time off; small gifts (movie cards, massages); team trophy; company wide fun activity (voted on by all employees); taking the team out for an expensive meal; bonus’ or increased salary & additional benefits.
Yes, speaking of rewards, can you tell us a little more about what ‘rewards’ might look like?
As mentioned earlier, generally speaking ‘recognition’ will present as praise / gratitude, whereas ‘rewards’ present as tangible items such as gifts.
From time to time, as with my entrepreneurial son back in his high school days, recognition can eventually morph into reward.
Another example is peer – peer recognition programs that work on the basis of points – I accumulate points every time a colleague specifically recognises my efforts.
Once I have banked up a pre-declared number of points, I can then turn those points into a reward of my choice.
There are numerous products and services available which make it easy for you to reward your employees in this way. It’s not my intention to name any particular one here.
Rather, as the infographic notes, I want to emphasise that there are a myriad of ways you can reward staff; this article, suggests 121 different ways to reward your staff.
From ideas like team scavenger hunts and escape rooms, to wine tasting (yes please) and care packages; up to and including more extravagant (and, presumably, costly) examples like ‘turning them into a cartoon painting’.
The key, as with most of the elements in our A – Z of Workplace Culture Series, is that if you want a high performance culture in your organisation (and why wouldn’t you), then there are many, many different ways to obtain this.
But you need to start somewhere. And be obvious about the fact you are doing so.
So if you can’t afford to take the team off on an expensive adventure this festive season, then think about what you can afford to do for them.
Then do it. And make sure you remember to thank them for all their hard work over the last 12 months.
Which should provide that side benefit we mentioned earlier – retention – and should also mean you don’t need to worry about yet another R word – recruitment.
And… I’m done.