How employee recognition offers a 360 degree view of your business

Any of you that are parents will know that you need eyes in the back of your head to keep up with what’s going on around you day to day.

Being a leader in business can feel much the same way — you wish you had a pair of eyes everywhere so you could keep up with everything that’s going on in your teams — how far along they are with targets, projects, individual stretch goals. With business moving faster than ever, there’s always a risk that we’ll miss something or someone significant. Having multiple sets of eyes would lessen that risk and the stress that comes with it.

Having access to information about team interactions and performance would empower managers and leaders to make better, faster decisions. But how do you get that information? And quickly? 

Tap into your people power

Imagine having the power to see at a glance who the movers and shakers are in your business, the people who are adept at bringing together and collaborating with multiple teams, and the finer detail about who is working on what and with whom. It would almost be like having those spare set of eyes, right?

What I’ve found is that tech-enabled peer-to-peer recognition programs can provide you with amazing insight about your people. This enables people to recognize anyone in the business and gives you a lot of data about what people are up to.

But only if you know where to look, and what you’re looking for. Here are a few things I’ve found you can discover through this 360-degree insight, specifically looking at your company’s recognition activity:

What work and projects people are working on...

How often do you get to see the finite detail of what your employees have contributed in different projects? Having visibility of what their peers recognize them for gives you insight into the specifics - the components of a presentation or report they prepared that you mightn’t have been aware of, or moments when they’ve stepped in and rescued a situation that isn’t part of their normal day job.

The Reward Gateway SmartInsights Analytics Engine puts employee engagement analytics and reporting in the hands of the leaders who can influence change — your CEO can see at a glance the engagement levels in the business, and HR leaders can see what values are being lived out the most through real-time analytics on recognition activity. 

The awareness and understanding of your company values...

If your employee reward system is set up so employees can recognize each other based on the company values they demonstrate, you’ll have an indication of which values your team places in high regard, and what their understanding of these values are.

Who is collaborating with other teams...

One of the big advantages of having a unified, company-wide recognition program is that it allows people from different departments to recognize the work of peers they don’t normally sit or collaborate with on a regular basis. This shines a light on the moments when your team members work with others - information you can store for later, when it comes time to putting together a work group on a different initiative.

Who your active leaders are...

Managers who provide specific, genuine recognition to their team members demonstrate proactiveness and an understanding of how to keep their people motivated and connected to the values and mission of your business. Encourage desirable behavior by recognizing those leaders too!

Who your potential leaders are...

Employees who recognize their peers regularly, and engage with the social recognition news feed with comments and likes play an important role in the culture of your organization. They are likely to be influencers and their input and enthusiasm are valuable assets to your business as it grows.

If there are gaps or areas you need to work on...

The absence of recognition activity amongst certain teams or leaders shines a light on areas where you need to work on education and support. These are opportunities that you need to jump on to improve the connectivity and culture within different areas in your business.

Peer-to-peer recognition is powerful, inclusive and gives you authentic information

Gone are the days where employee recognition was limited to celebrating the greatest of greats, had 2, 3, or sometimes even 4 levels of approvals, and reserved for only 20% of the business. Peer-to-peer recognition invites anyone, anytime, anywhere, to get involved, and empowers every single employee to lead the employee experience and create a recognition culture within your business.

Being recognized helps to build stronger team bonds, and when it’s social and driven by your peers and leaders, it widens the net and amplifies connectivity.

The insight you get from peer-to-peer recognition across your business is second to none. Instead of only ever knowing who your "employee of the month" is or having just a handful of success stories to share at the end of the year, you can provide your leaders, your executive team, and your employees thousands of examples of values lived. They’ll gain a far stronger understanding of what is happening in your business today, and how to make things even better tomorrow. How’s that for a powerful set of eyes?