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Everything you need to know about social recognition in five minutes

Five years ago, very few HR pros were talking about social recognition. Now, it’s at the forefront of our business. And it takes up much more space in the HR world.

Having a coherent understanding of social recognition, and employee recognition, isn’t negotiable any more. Your leaders need it.

This blog outlines the basics of social recognition. Get to grips with the idea in just five minutes.

Employee recognition at a glance

To get why social recognition is so important, you need to be familiar with employee recognition overall.

Employee recognition is about validating and affirming positive actions.

It creates positive reinforcement that encourages more good behaviour. That has a knock-on effect of improving your company, and company culture.

What you’re highlighting could be many things. Anything from a metric-driven success to an example of someone living out your company’s values. When you recognise behaviour, you highlight it as desirable.

Making staff feel good about that makes them more likely to repeat it.

Keeping that recognition close to your values has benefits, too. It strengthens your company’s sense of identity and purpose. In turn, that helps you build engagement.

Social recognition explained

social recognition described at a glanceSocial recognition is recognition that doesn’t have to follow your company’s hierarchy.

The recognition is between peers, across departments, from lower in seniority to the higher. There’s no restrictions on who recognises who.

Most employees already do a version of this. Probably verbally, with a hand-written note, or through an email.

Telling each other job well done, saying thanks for some help from another team. While it’s normal, it’s limited to just those two employees.

Social recognition platforms give those expressions a public venue. It makes sure the recognition is in line with your values.

And it gives all employees a central place to post and read messages of gratitude from around the business.

When the recognition is public , other employees can see what’s important to company culture.

Then everyone can see for themselves what’s important to their colleagues and the company.

Where social recognition beats top-down recognition

As we’ve pointed out, recognition is traditionally top-down. Managers recognise their employees for notable behaviour.

That recognition is valuable, but it doesn’t have the same effect as social recognition.

Top-down recognition doesn’t empower staff, or encourage a culture of mutual appreciation.

Employees showing appreciation for each other has impacts top-down recognition can’t match.

Social recognition builds connections

social recognition connects employeesSocial recognition builds the strength of the bonds between employees. Staff feel valued and feel that their efforts are noticed and celebrated.
This improves mood at work, and builds strong connections with their colleagues.
 
It also builds attachments between employee behaviour and your company values. Increasing employee engagement depends on strong links between positive behaviour and company values. 
 
Channeling achievement through those values builds engagement with your business and your goals. It lets employees see how they’re having an impact on something bigger than their daily tasks.

Social recognition improves businesses

Individuals, teams and organisations benefit from social recognition’s effects. It makes a difference to a range of areas, including:

Teamwork

Social recognition makes teams work better together. Recognised employees see that they’re a valued member of a team.

When they feel valuable and respected, they work better with peers. In turn, they become more valuable to that team. When these patterns repeat themselves across department, teamwork is significantly uplifted.

Leadership

Leaders can take a top-down view of who recognises across a social recognition system.

This gives your managers key insight on how your employees interact (or don’t, as it might be). As we’ll explain below, managers can also capitalise on a social recognition system to recognise staff.

Ethics

When your values are celebrated daily, they come to life. Your employees see that you’re earnest about them.

And they see that employees who live them out are recognised by their peers. This creates more ethical behaviour in the future.

Wellbeing

Knowing that your contributions are valued at work reduces stress.

There’s less worry about an employee’s place in social hierarchy or team. Reducing stress is a major factor in employee wellbeing.

Sentiment

A good environment for staff improves how they see your company. By bringing your values to life, you let employees see your company as ethical.

By recognising their contributions, you make staff feel good about being associated with their colleagues and your company.

Culture

Together these benefits improve your company’s culture. The recognition helps everyone feel closer.

Closer to each other, and closer to your company and what it stands for. That makes it easier for employees to embrace your company and become more engaged staff.

The benefits of recognition are measurable

Companies that take recognition seriously see measurable boosts to measurable boosts in performance. They include:

  • Loyalty
  • ‘Recognition-rich’ working environments have a 31% lower employee turnover rate.*
  • Productivity
  • Companies that practice strategic peer-to-peer recognition cite a 32% increase in productivity**
  • Engagement
  • Employee engagement is observed to increase by 61% when employee recognition programs are offered.+
  • Profit
  • A 15% higher employee engagement rate correlates with 2% percent uplift in operating margins.~

Managers can still chip in

Opening the floor to social recognition doesn’t mean managers are left out of the conversation.

It’s still vital that leaders make sure they recognise the positive and outstanding things their staff do.

Having an open platform is also a gift to managers. It gives leaders a bird’s-eye view of who is recognising who, and for what.

Acts of recognition a manager might have missed become visible. That gives managers a chance to double-down on recognition, and offer their own congratulations.

Summing up social recognition

Social recognition is celebrating positive behaviour without relying on company hierarchies.

It’s held close to the values of your organisation, to keep employees close to your company’s values.

This builds engagement with the company. And it strengthens the bonds between employees.

Ultimately that helps you build more loyal, satisfied and productive staff.

*Bersin by Deloitte research
+ Society of Human Resource Management 2012 study
** 2015 SHRM/Globoforce survey
~ Towers Watson

employee recognition ideas for when the piggybank is empty

15 Cheap employee recognition ideas that work

Having no budget to implement your employee recognition ideas shouldn’t hold you back. All you need is a bit of thought, creativity and the will to execute your plans.

Cash-value rewards are exciting, and they do positively affect motivation and performance. But they should be treated as an amplification tool to recognition. Praise should be dished out regularly to employees, regardless of whether rewards are available or not.

Recognition works when it embraces an employees’ need to be valued. Everyone wants to know their work is worthwhile, and they want to feel that they’re contributing to something bigger than themselves.

So, it’s not good enough to simply shrug your shoulders and complain you have no budget. You can start with almost nothing and still show your employees that you value their daily contributions with regular recognition.

No-cost employee recognition ideas

 

1. Verbal recognition

verbal praise is a great employee recognition ideaSay it and mean it. Let staff know the great work they do is valuable, and it’s helping your business reach its goals. Verbal recognition is personal and emotional. It can have great upticks in employee morale.

The only downsides are that it’s fleeting. And it’s difficult to connect verbal recognition with your company’s values without coming across as stilted.

 

2. Written recognition

Written recognition, such as a small note or a letter, is very effective. You can present it alongside a verbal recognition, and it becomes a little trophy. It’s also much easier to include a mention of your company’s values in a written statement.

It might seem like a small gesture, but taking time and care is always valuable to staff. You putting effort in validates the effort of staff and helps them see how valuable you think they are.

 

3. Team-level recognition

Not every team has a stand-out star. Not every project has a lead individual to single out for recognition.

Teams might achieve goals through exceptional teamwork, or problem solving. They might work across departments, or incorporate new ideas quickly. Equally, they might have acted on their own initiative to lay the groundwork for an upcoming project.

In these situations, it would be hard to single out one employee, so recognise the whole team. Call them in for a meeting, praise their exceptional efforts, and perhaps offer a reward of some kind.

A lot of companies that don’t have a budget to work with use flexibility as a reward. Time off for a whole team, an early-dart in an afternoon, or for individuals to use some extra flex-time.

4. Ask for feedback

Having a voice in the company matters as much as hearing one.

When someone demonstrates exceptional effort or achievement, listen to them. Offer the employee a chance to give their feedback on what’s happening in the company.

You might gain valuable insight from your top performers. And the employee will see that you don’t just treasure the value of your work. You see value in their thoughts and ideas too.

 

5. Boast achievements internally

Lean on your internal communications to showcase the achievements.

Even if you don’t have anything formal in place for internal communication, you can write an email. Depending on your position in the company, you might limit that to your department or division.

The wider your message goes, the bigger the impact of the recognition. But we understand not everyone has that luxury. If you have the seniority though, go company-wide.

If you’re casting the net wide, ask other managers for suggestions. They’ll nominate the stand-out performances from their teams. With care and consistency it could become something your employees look forward to seeing.

 

6. Share achievements externally

Share your teams’ wins with the world.

Take to social media, your website or your monthly newsletter. Use these mediums to highlight your employees’ recent successes.

Setting up a LinkedIn page, or a Facebook page, and connecting with your customers costs you little. And it would give your employees immense pride to have their work highlighted there.

Some companies squirm at the idea of putting things out in the public. We understand that. But as long as what they’re doing lines up with your values, you should fine.

 

7. Noticeboards or whiteboards as a makeshift wall of fame

If you can spare one, whiteboards and noticeboards are extremely useful. It’s not as advanced as proper employee recognition software, but it has its own low-tech charm.

You’re limited only by what’s available around you. Written notes, photographs, letters from clients, certificates or more.

Your little wall of fame could quickly become a popular centrepiece of the office.

It won’t be measurable like a formal platform, but it will be fun for your staff. And it doesn’t have to go away if you do introduce a formal platform.

 

8. Measure achievements and progress

Measure progress towards personal and departmental goals. Acknowledge employees when they get past milestones on their way to those goals.

 

9. Celebrate milestones

It costs you nothing to write down and always make sure to acknowledge your employees’ milestones.

Birthdays, work anniversaries, or product launches. Anything that you know your employees will find valuable, make a note of it.

This one is so simple you can’t lose. And as we’ve outlined before, we think it’s important to recognise all employee longevity. Even after just one year.

 

Be creative with your employee recognition ideas

If you can peel off even a bit of extra cash, recognition possibilities start to open up.

Start with the culture of your company. Not just the formal values you lay out for staff to adhere to – the way your employees actually interact with each other.

Take that, and get creative with your employee recognition ideas. There are some really energising, funky recognition systems out there that don’t break the bank.

We’ve seen some creative, successful ideas put together with very little real budget.

 

10. Stickers or badges

Stickers are cheap, but fun and disposable. Pop one on an employees’ equipment, their workstation or their document folders.

Badges, also, give you a little creative outlet that’s easy to implement. Your staff might wear them on their uniforms, attach them to lanyards, or affix them to the back of their chair.

 

11. Picking the team lunch

If you can afford to foot the bill for a team lunch, let a star performer pick the weekly or monthly meal, however best suits your team.

Team meals are a great way to coax your staff out of their shells a bit. Having one team member pick the meal might also give you a glimpse of your staff’s personalities and let them create deeper bonds together.

 

12. Time for projects

In today’s world, almost everyone is time poor. Professional lives blend and blur with the personal, and both can suffer for it. A lot of good ideas tend to go to rust when employees don’t get the time they need to develop them.

As an act of recognition, you might give an employee the space to develop an idea. If it’s a really good idea, the company could stand to gain from it being developed. And your employee will enjoy a sense of personal ownership over the project.

 

13. Charitable acts

Put aside cash for a monthly donation to a smaller charity of choice. Big charities will barely notice a £50 donation, but many staff have charities close to their hearts. So target smaller charities with causes close to your staff’s lives.

A donation in their name would mean a great deal to your employees, and would have a bigger impact on the charity.

Or perhaps your employee would appreciate a bit of time for volunteering for a cause of their choice. As we pointed out above, everyone is perpetually stretched for time. And extra activities like volunteering are often what takes the hit when staff allocate their time.

 

14. Group trophies

Rather than shelling out month after month to make an office full of trophies, just buy the trophy once. The monthly winner of the trophy gets to keep it at their workstation for a month.

For an extra twist on this employee recognition idea, make it a vote. Offer your staff the chance to vote on who should be recognised every month. You can read our blog here on why we favour a bit of democracy in the workplace when it comes to recognition. Our recognition platform, Shout!, is based on the idea that employees should have a say in what’s important and who gets recognised.

 

15. Car washing

Invite a car wash team on site to clean and detail someone’s car. Or maybe offer money off a bike service for a bicycle commuter. Train commuters are bit harder, but you can always be creative – Kindle books, books on tape, Acast podcast subscriptions. Just use your imagination and your knowledge of your employees.

 

 

Making your employee recognition ideas work

Good employee recognition ideas keep individual personalities in mind. Look around your office, and look at what makes them tick. Look at what generates humour, enthusiasm and participation in your teams. Take that as your starting point and use it as a launching point.

Just remember not to discard the basics. Whatever funky initiatives you decide on, keep them linked to your company culture and values.

 

Put values in the spotlight

More than once in this piece we’ve mentioned values. We talk about them so often because they’re so important. They’re vital to shaping the attitude and the culture of your company.

Focus on your company’s values to get more out of your recognition. Filtering recognition through your values puts employee behaviour through a lens. It lets them see how their work contributes to a greater whole.

This is a building block towards an engaged workforce.

 

Be consistent

Make recognising staff a habit. Build it into your daily, weekly and monthly work. A lot of staff will notice if you suddenly start then stop something or lose interest over time.

If you buy into the idea, make sure you show your staff that you buy into the idea.

 

It’s not complicated or expensive to recognise employees. Platforms and cash-value rewards have an impact, but they’re not the focus.

They’re a welcome addition but the crux of your effort needs to be about making employees’ value feel seen, welcome and treasured.

 

 

overcoming_hurdles_employee_engagement

Overcoming the hurdles of employee engagement