10 ways employee recognition makes your company stronger....

How do you bust the myth that employee recognition is just a project that can’t provide any ROI? By showing your decision makers the benefits that come with connecting with and valuing the people responsible for the success of your business. Research by Bersin & Associates shows organisations with the most mature employee recognition approach are 12 times more likely to have strong business results in areas like customer satisfaction, cost structure, market leadership position and profitability. So it makes sense that employee recognition is one of many strategies a company should employ to stay a step ahead.

How? Here are  10 ways employee recognition can give your company a competitive advantage.

1. Employee recognition prioritises your business’ greatest asset: PEOPLE

Products can easily be copied and the speed of technological developments means “cutting edge” ideas are superseded within weeks. But the quality of an organisation’s talent; the passion and commitment of your people, impossible to fabricate or replicate.  According to a report by the Brookings Institute, in 1982 62 percent of an organisation’s market value came from tangible assets like machinery, products and facilities, while 38 percent from intangible assets such as brand, intellectual property and quality of workforce. Fast forward 30 years, and things have practically flipped; now 80 per cent of a business’ market value comes from intangible assets like your people.

You can copy products and improve technology, but you can’t replicate quality of people….

2. Being recognised for their impact reminds your people why they do what they do

Tim Brown, CEO and President of innovation and design firm IDEO, believes that only businesses with a clear ‘reason for being’, or purpose, will be innovative and truly sustainable in the future. Why? Because purpose is a fundamental human need. Purpose gives us a reason to get out of bed every day. It motivates us to continue with an challenge that seems too hard. When we do something with purpose, we work harder and give more.

Want to access that untapped fountain of discretionary effort? Recognise your people when they fulfil purpose.

3. Social, transparent employee recognition fosters a culture of trust

So many businesses are looking for ways to improve their company culture. But what is culture, really? It’s a combination of the things you value and the behaviours that are driven of those values.

Does your business create opportunities to capture and reinforce the stories that define your company’s culture? You should encourage the sharing of stories about what makes your company unique. Utilise tools to create recognition wall is their cultural storyboard. It contains real examples of achievement and authentic moments of gratitude – all of which, when linked to your company’s purpose and values, shapes your culture.

People want to know why you do what you do. Use storytelling to build culture.

4. Peer-to-peer employee recognition makes everyone responsible for a positive workplace culture

Businesses should let their employees equally lead in recognising their colleagues, which (unlike traditional top-down recognition) takes the responsibility for creating culture away from management, and gives it to everyone.

Instead of relying on managers to recognise work they may or may not see on a daily basis, giving your employees the power to recognise is a perfect way to empower them and show them you trust in their judgement and work ethic.

5. Frequent recognition gives you opportunities to have authentic conversations and give people feedback

Progress is a massive motivator, and it’s hard to stay motivated when lofty business strategies or mission statements make goals seem far off and unattainable. Frequent recognition — whether it be a simple thank you, or by giving a colleague peer-to-peer points — means employees receive positive reinforcement during the journey.

Professor Paul Dolan, a behavioural psychologist from the London School of Economics and author of the book Happiness by Design, explained that being “happy” at work doesn’t actually mean having fun all the time. In fact, it’s more about achieving a sense of fulfilment and getting the feedback you need.

When you use recognition and reward strategically, to link people’s work to a greater purpose and to give them frequent, 360-degree feedback from different areas of the business, you can be well on your way to building a dream team that sets you apart from the rest. Recognising individuals for the impact they make, and rewarding them with something meaningful will help you retain your top talent.

Want happy workers? Give them authentic, frequent feedback. Recognise the good.

 6. You create a place worth staying for

When an employee is recognised for the positive impact they make to a business, this reinforces the message that their work matters. Recognition and reward based on impact (or, what psychologist like Judy Camerson call “competency-contingent rewards“) have more a positive effect on an individuals feelings of competence and self-efficacy, compared to awards given for non-competency contingent rewards like length of service or birthdays.

Best-practice programs to recognise and reward the impact of an individual’s specific contribution in that moment. It reinforces a sense of self-worth because it recognises their personal effort and contribution, and connects that contribution to a greater purpose.

This is the secret to keeping your people engaged and committed. 

7. The experiences and gifts your employees receive creates talk ability outside the office

When most people talk about work outside the office, they moan about their boss, politics or how stressed the environment is. When they reward themselves and their families with a romantic dinner, a trip to the zoo, or a shopping spree, the positivity is shared past the office walls and into the greater community.

Creating these great moments in your employee’s lives, or the lives of their loved ones, amplifies the positivity of your brand. Rather than talking about a horrible boss, your people are sharing stories about the experience or gift their company gave them for the work they’ve done. How’s that for inexpensive marketing?

8. You build a reputation that attracts top talent

If you want to become a Best Employer or Coolest Place to Work, you need to know that it doesn’t just happen overnight. The best workplaces have leaders dedicated to empowering, training and valuing employees.

When designed well, employee recognition and reward not only shows people you value them, it also empowers them to recognise each other, and motivates them to master their craft. Employee recognition is one critical piece in the employee engagement and workplace culture puzzle.

When you commit to the employee experience consistently, people naturally talk about the positive moments, and you build natural advocates for your brand.

9. You create connections in disconnected workplaces

There’s a growing demand for employers to allow flexibility where employees can work from home. More businesses are hiring  “virtual employees” — contractors or freelancers who never actually step foot in their employers’ physical office. As companies go national or global, or start providing services around the clock, it makes sense for people to be able to work from anywhere, without commuting.

Workplace culture and team collaboration can suffer if you don’t have the tools and expectations in place to keep your team connected. How does employee recognition help in this instance? By creating both an expectation and opportunity to identify individual contributions – regardless of what team they’re in or where that are.

10. You future-proof your business

The key to attracting new talent is becoming more and more about how organisation’s give back to both their internal, local and global communities. Future employees take into account and choose employers based on values they respect, and this is particularly true of millennials.

Businesses serious about meeting their strategic objectives understand that employee recognition is a critical component of an overall cultural strategy. It brings your people on the journey so they’re motivated to help your business succeed, now and into the future.

In an environment where middle-weight jobs are fast becoming automated with technology, winning the hearts and minds of people who are committed to and capable of innovation is key attracting and retaining the best talent and creating a competitive advantage with your business. Simply put, the businesses who put their people first — and back that sentiment with a tangible investment — are the businesses outperforming their competitors by a long shot.

Culture eats strategy. Connect with your people if you want #business to succeed.

Want to create a company with a stellar employee experience and a competitive advantage that can’t be replicated? Start recognising your people today.