5 Ways Employee Recognition and Culture Go Hand-in-hand

07 August 2019 22:04:52 BST
3 mins read

Company culture and employee recognition... how are these two broad concepts intertwined and linked? Do they go hand in hand or is one a result of the other? These simple-sounding questions are commonly asked by founders, leaders and managers of SMEs, and in actual fact, large corporates too.

A company culture should be reflective of who you are as a business. It should be a tangible manifestation of your personality, your values, ethics and beliefs and should mirror the behaviours you'd like to see in your employees. Sounds easy? But how does one build the right culture in which employees respect and are proud to be a part of?

Employee Recognition is the process of acknowledging and recognising certain behaviours of your team and celebrating them in a positive manner. This has the potential to improve employee retention and performance levels as well as boost morale. Embedding your company's values and its outlook on how to approach and deal with their employees is key to building employee engagement.

Discover 5 easy ways to ensure employee recognition is at the forefront of your engagement strategy so your company culture is reflective of this over arching sense of belonging and in turn builds a harmonious employee-employer relationship.

1. Define your values and create your programme accordingly
First things first - ensure your values are concretised. Have a clear understanding about what matters to your company and be firm in these beliefs. These values should not be fluid and ever-changing as they are the basis on which your foundation is built. Thereafter, ensure the recognition programme you decide to implement revolves around these specific core values. Highlight them and ensure they are the focus of all recognition activity. For example, if a value is "continuous improvement" and one of your team members go above and beyond in evolving and innovating a specific project, now is the perfect time to reward this exact value which is core to your business and culture.

2. Reward with good intent
Know your team! Receiving bespoke and relevant recognition means a lot more than a generic thank you for the sake of. This, again, shows the extent to how your culture is integrated into every aspect of the business. Think generational recognition and rewards -  what appeals to a Baby Boomer vs a Millennial vs a Gen-Z employee differs hugely. 

3. Shout about your recognition: social recognition
Why not showcase exceptional team and individual contributions and let these employees shine? Align your company culture and values to drive employee engagement and overall productivity. Let social recognition be more than just awards, but rather a place where employees can share their successes and celebrate all their achievements together. Introduce a public winners wall on your intranet, or within your reward and recognition programme, or have a Like function for colleagues to like these milestones when you announce the recognition.

4. Peer-to-peer recognition
Trust your team, remember why you hired them! They are the experts in their field and are masters of their own tenancy. Listen to them, and let them nominate and recognise the achievements of their peers, as they are the ones who have the 1-to-1 experience with each other and see the real day-to-day workings. Build a culture of continuous recognition across the board by getting your team involved, not only by top down recognition. 

5. Don't limit the recognition
If you want a culture where employees feel engaged, motivated and know they are taken care of, then don't limit your recognition! Recognise where recognition should be given. Whether it's 3 times one month and then 10 times the following - ensure everyone who needs to be acknowledged is done so effectively. This shows recognition is not just a numbers game but it is a critical element in your company culture and corporate DNA.

Staff Treats is an Employee Engagement agency which understands the value and importance of employee recognition. If you'd like to find out how employee recognition can build and boost your company culture, why not speak to one of our Engagement Specialists today?

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Written by Talya Zwiers


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