How to cultivate employee recognition into your company culture

The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
– William James, American philosopher and psychologist

From battling quiet quitting to boosting employee morale, employee recognition is a critical key to endless possibilities in the corporate world. Building employee recognition into your company culture positions you to enjoy a cascade of benefits that come with appreciating your team members.

Not sure how to foster a culture of recognition? Read on for tips on how to establish a practice of employee recognition in your organisation.

1. Communicate your commitment to employee recognition

Establishing a culture of employee recognition in your company requires you to vocalise your dedication to the cause. Communicating your commitment to employee recognition proves that it’s not a fleeting trend, but an enduring cornerstone of your organisation’s culture. Additionally, it shows your team that recognition is a regular and expected practice within the company.

To communicate your commitment to employee recognition:

• Include it in your company’s mission statement
• Implement regular training programs on effective recognition practices for your organisation’s leaders
• Align employee recognition activities with the company’s core values

Educating your team members on the importance of acknowledging each person’s contributions is a good way to breed an employee recognition culture. Besides demonstrating that your company genuinely cares about appreciating employees’ efforts, this practice invites questions and suggestions from employees to improve the company’s recognition programs.

2. Encourage recognition at every level

Spreading a culture of acknowledgement and appreciation across all levels of an organisation weaves employee recognition into the fabric of your company culture. Incorporating both top-down recognition and peer-to-peer recognition leads to broad acceptance of the practice because it creates opportunities for everyone to practice and receive recognition.  

This practice nurtures a culture of employee recognition by demonstrating that acknowledgement isn’t exclusive to organisation leaders. Similarly, distributing the responsibility of acknowledgement across the workforce ensures the sustainability of the culture even as the company grows.

While top-down recognition accentuates the weight of acknowledgement from higher-ups, peer-to-peer recognition also emphasises the value of simple appreciation from colleagues.

3. Make the recognition timely, specific, regular and personal

Recognition is best served as a hot dish. Give recognition promptly to whom it’s due to demonstrate its authenticity and priority in your organisation. Also, instead of giving recognition in a vacuum, ensure that it’s tied to a specific accomplishment or business goal.

Defining what the recognition is for highlights praiseworthy behaviours and links such efforts to the company’s overall goals.

To build a flourishing culture of employee recognition in your company, make the practice frequent. Make it a habit to hand out deserved praise; be generous with appreciative remarks such as “well done”, “good job” and the like. Research shows that 85% of professionals want to hear “thank you” in daily interactions. Acknowledge employees during meetings, via email or even social media.

Making employee recognition a part of your company culture demands you appreciate employees in ways that matter most to them. Your employees are unique and their preferred methods of acknowledgement will differ. Be sure to ask for regular feedback and preferences.

4. Create a dedicated recognition program

With a dedicated employee recognition program, you provide a formal framework for appreciating the contributions of your team members. This designated program ensures consistency, transparency and fairness in your organisation’s recognition process. Consistently appreciating outstanding contributions reinforces both a culture of recognition and excellence.

A simple recognition process also builds employee recognition into your company culture because it provides easy accessibility and participation. Simple recognition processes enable quick acknowledgement of both major and minor feats; they can also be adapted to suit varying preferences.

Learn how to provide employee recognition without breaking your budget.

5. Gauge the impact of your recognition efforts

Like any important organisational effort, it’s important to measure the outcome of your recognition efforts. The analysis can yield insights to help refine your employee recognition strategies and reveal any concrete results to help further encourage your employees to participate in recognition activities.

Here are a few tips on how to measure the efficiency of your employee recognition program:

• Track how many employees are actively engaging in recognition activities
• Examine performance metrics such as productivity, employee engagement and retention rates
• Collect feedback from employees about the recognition programs

Recognition positively impacts employee engagement, productivity and retention. Breeding employee recognition into your company culture will add a positive spark to your work atmosphere and enhance your team members’ wellbeing.