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Managing people

How to create a culture of recognition

When employees feel recognised and appreciated, they’re more motivated, engaged and collaborative. However, while many organisations invest in on recognition initiatives, very few focus on building a culture of recognition.

A culture of recognition can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and enhance collaboration. But it doesn’t happen overnight. To truly reap the benefits of recognition in the workplace, it takes time and deliberate planning.

WHAT IS A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION?

There are many statistics, as well as employee recognition quotes from famous entrepreneurs, that highlight the importance of recognition for employee engagement. According to Converge International, 52% of employees feel more productive at work when they receive recognition or praise.

But recognising them and building a culture of recognition aren’t the same. A culture of recognition goes beyond simply rewarding for hard work every so often.

You need to ensure recognition and appreciation are ingrained in your organisation, and serve as a fundamental part of your company’s DNA.

TIPS FOR BUILDING A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION IN YOUR ORGANISATION

There are many ways to build a culture of recognition in the workplace. However, the most important thing to remember is that it needs to be focused on ongoing, long-term actions. Here are some employee recognition ideas and employee recognition examples that will help you embed appreciation into your organisation.

LAUNCHING EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION PROGRAMS? ENCOURAGE PEER-TO-PEER RECOGNITION

Recognition should come from the top. However, employees also need recognition from their colleagues. Peer-to-peer recognition builds a supportive and trusting work environment, which in turn creates happier, more collaborative teams.

There are many different ways to encourage employees to show appreciation and recognition between one another. Dedicate a portion of your weekly team meeting to ask them to acknowledge people who they think has gone above and beyond. Alternatively, encourage your employees to write handwritten notes to colleagues to celebrate their hard work.

IMPLEMENT EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS

Employee recognition awards are a great way to demonstrate appreciation and reward employees for their work. A gift card or an extra day of annual leave goes a long way in making them feel recognised and appreciated.

Try to avoid giving rewards purely based on sales. Focus on rewards that align with your company values, such as kindness, innovation or going above and beyond for a customer.

GAMIFY YOUR WORKPLACE

Gamification is a way to make work more enjoyable and recognise employees at the same time. It involves applying game techniques to non-game tasks in order to boost engagement and help employees build positive habits at work.

For example, send a weekly reminder to your teams to recognise another team member for their work if they do it five weeks in a row, order lunch for the entire team to celebrate their streak. The key is to focus on making the process fun while reinforcing behaviours along the way.

CELEBRATE TOGETHER

The most effective forms of rewards and recognition in the workplace are those you do it together as a team. One way to do this could be to share big team achievements on LinkedIn or your company’s Facebook page, so your employees are publicly recognised. Another idea is to turn workplace anniversaries into an event. These actions all help build a positive work environment and makes them feel valued for their contribution.

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