5 steps to create a culture of continuous recognition

With the rise of hybrid working, it’s more important than ever before to keep your people connected, increase visibility and shine a spotlight on achievements. With the right tools in place, you can use technology to build a culture of appreciation with continuous recognition.

Continuous recognition reinforces your connection among employer/employee by showcasing and rewarding employees for behavior aligned with your purpose, mission and values. 

Let’s walk through a real-life example together to illustrate how continuous recognition can help with not only improving company culture, but also standing out as a top employer in today’s landscape.

A new era of employee engagement

Before we dive into the example, let’s set the stage a bit. There’s no doubt about it that 2020 was a stressful year, but 2021 has its own challenges as well and some of those are carrying over from last year.

In a recent Reward Gateway survey of 751 HR leaders from companies across the UK, U.S. and Australia, 71% agreed that 2020 has been the most stressful year of their careers. What’s more, 71% said the need to keep up workplace culture remotely was adding to the stress. But remote doesn’t have to mean working from home – it could mean connecting with employees in any location.

Remember, your employee engagement technology doesn’t – and shouldn’t – do just one thing. By weaving in different employee engagement tactics and solutions, such as communications and surveys, you can amplify engagement quickly and easily from one place. 

And while HR is feeling the stress, so are employees. We asked 1,510 employees about their current status and more than half are looking to move jobs for a variety of reasons. 30% of employees are feeling a lack of recognition and appreciation in their jobs. 

The major challenges that arose in 2020 are still top of the list today and are heightened by hybrid working and dispersed workforces. So, how can employers use technology to maintain company culture in order to retain top talent and increase employee recognition? 

Step 1: Listen to your people

Here’s a step-by-step approach of how a centralized employee engagement tool can engage your people:

The HR team at a manufacturing organization puts out a poll, asking employees if they feel connected to the company values. The team then analyzes the data and realizes that the poll responses have decreased by 15%, showing that employees are feeling less connected.

Step 2: Announce your new initiatives 

Previously, the organization had its company values on posters around its manufacturing plants, but with some employees working remotely and others on-site, they needed to digitize the values to connect everyone to them. 

The team decided to announce a new section of eCards that will be hosted on its employee engagement platform, alongside greetings-based eCards and monetary awards to enhance the reward redemption experience.

Step 3: Engage hybrid workers

Both frontline and remote workers receive an alert on their smartphones, letting them know there’s a new announcement on the company-wide blog. This announcement is written by the VP of HR and tells them about the new values-based eCards. Employees then react to the post and add comments, expressing their excitement for more values-based recognition.

Step 4: Recognize values-based behaviors

On the same day the eCards are released, a manager in the manufacturing plant recognizes Mary, a frontline employee, for alerting her shift manager that they were out of critical safety equipment, which followed one of the company values on practicing safe behaviors. 

In the eCard, the manager explained how flagging the lack of inventory early on led to a faster replenishment and created a safer work environment, which was shared on the social recognition wall for the entire company to see.

Step 5: Repeat and recognize often

Mike, who’s new to the company and works in a different location, sees the values-based eCard on the social wall and adds his thoughts and reactions to continue the conversation. This also lets Mike know what desired behavior at the organization looks like so he’s more prepared to recognize a colleague in the future.

Here’s an example of the social recognition wall – a feed where everyone in the company can see moments of recognition across all locations.

Remember, although employee recognition and reward is powerful for on-site employees, it’s also impactful for remote workers who aren’t getting in-person interaction on a daily basis. While the five steps above are a great starting point, businesses should adapt this model to fit their needs. 

HR is juggling a lot right now and we’re here to help. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way technology is used at work and it’s a part of the transformation that continues to unfold. It’s key to have the right tools to support your employee engagement journey. 

If you’re interested in learning about more ways to involve your leaders and managers, revamp your engagement strategy or connect your people to your company purpose, get in touch with us.