As the pandemic continues to impact employers and employees alike, you might be wondering how you can show employees appreciation for what they do for your organization. Many organizations have been leaning into recognition during this rough period for companies. Today, we wanted to walk through recognition during the pandemic and why businesses need to get onboard.
1. Reinforce Connection During A Divided Time
We are dealing with an extensively divided time for companies. With remote work becoming the norm, some businesses have struggled to find connections and grow as a unit. Unity is the key to success for a business. After all, we grow so much faster when all of our energy is focused in the correct location.
How does recognition improve connection? Simple, it brings us together to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues. Sometimes employees may not have something important to say to a colleague, but they recognize that person's work. If you have built a culture of recognition, employees may not have much to say, but they’ll go out of their way to give praise.
2. Reducing The Impact Of The Great Resignation
Did you know that nearly 4.3 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in August? This was a record-breaking number that had a massive impact on businesses across the country. We continue to feel the implications of The Great Recognition across the United States and the world.
As we look at the impact of this movement, it might be worth noting that certain activities reduce turnover. Recognition won’t solve all of your issues, but you’d be surprised what recognizing hard work might do for your organization.
3. Building An Inviting Workplace Culture That Lasts After The Pandemic
Eventually, life will be somewhat back to normal. The timeline for that seems distant, but we will need to reconcile life during the pandemic and what culture we want to be a part of post-pandemic. Some of us are already doing that.
Recognition helps organizations value employees and create a work environment that employees will enjoy post-pandemic. If you’ve found your company becoming increasingly separated, now is the time to make a change and create a culture that brings those people back into the fold.
Conclusion: How To Start Investing In Employee Recognition At Work
As you begin to consider placing a larger emphasis on employee recognition, take a second to examine what you need from a recognition solution. Some companies use a manual recognition method by randomly sending their employees gift cards or doing quarterly/annual awards on their own.
The problem with manual recognition is that it’s hard to track and get data from. Even if you had a spreadsheet to keep track of it all, things would get messy. That’s why many organizations have begun using employee recognition software.
With a software solution, you can:
● Open recognition up to the entire company
● Get data on who’s getting recognition vs. not receiving it
● Start to understand where some employees might feel less connected
Over time as you collect data, you’ll be able to make better decisions on who to promote, reach out to, and build work relationships with. If you want to use peer-to-peer recognition to inform your annual awards, consider creating custom awards that your employees will be proud to display.
Investing in recognition is more important than ever before. Take steps today to make recognition easy for you and your team.