For a company to thrive, its employees need to be motivated, adaptable, and engaged. How do you grow these qualities in your workforce? A good first step is employee recognition. When people feel seen and appreciated, they are motivated to perform at a higher level, as well as feeling connected and engaged. How do you go about improving your employee recognition efforts? It starts with inclusive practices.
If you want your employee recognition program to be truly successful, it must extend across the entire organization. Everyone must be equally likely to be recognized and have their work noticed and praised. Inclusion should be part of your corporate culture; companies that embrace diversity and inclusion have a competitive edge, and higher employee engagement. Inclusive attitudes must be nurtured, and employees need to be comfortable being themselves, feel that their daily interactions are inclusive, and have a sense of purpose, knowing they impact their company’s success. Recognition programs can help create and sustain an inclusive culture, but only if they are well-designed. It’s surprising, then, that only 34 percent of companies have inclusive recognition programs. Consider this: a good employee recognition program can be used to celebrate diverse contributions and perspectives, enhancing the culture of diversity and inclusion while promoting employee engagement.
A good employee recognition strategy begins with specialized training for both managers and staff on inclusivity. Workshops that provide training on culture, diversity, and unconscious bias can be helpful. You can also evaluate your workplace for inclusivity issues and create an employee feedback system that is regularly assessed. Encourage open conversations and provide volunteering options for employees to help in communities that face blatant and continuous discrimination. Once you have this culture of inclusivity in place, create a recognition system that eschews exclusivity and provides recognition for good work across the company.
· Reward performance. Employee recognition is most impactful when it is performance based. It’s a mistake to save recognition for milestones like years of service because what you want to encourage is day to day excellence. Reward employees for work that promotes company goals, and for behavior you want to see continue.
· Encourage peer-to-peer recognition. The praise that comes from one’s peers is meaningful, so give employees the opportunity to reward and recognize the good behaviors of their colleagues. Encourage recognition for those who respect their peers’ customs and needs, so that you can reinforce that inclusivity is an important part of your company culture and values.
· Recognize those who help others. Make sure that anyone who provides help, mentoring, or coaching is rewarded for their efforts. Employees should know that they have someone to go to for support, and those who provide extra support should be acknowledged.
· Be liberal with your praise. Make your employee recognition a frequent occurrence, and your consistent reinforcement will have a profound effect on your staff. In addition to official recognition, take the time to offer encouragement and praise to employees who are doing well.
· Make sure your recognition is not only frequent but also timely. Recognition should be given shortly after the behavior it’s acknowledging, and it will have a stronger effect on employee performance.
If you are trying to build a company culture that respects differences, you also need to celebrate them. Make the most of cultural and traditional differences, encouraging employees to participate in embracing them. You might ask people to bring a traditional dish to a company potluck or encourage staff members to share their cultural practices. You could even have people plan events that allow them to share key aspects of their culture with their colleagues. This fosters a feeling of community while allowing your employees to experience different cultures from an insider’s point of view.
For your company culture to truly value your employees, you have to give them the opportunity to have a say. This is an important part of creating an inclusive environment, as well. Offer various channels for feedback, whether through anonymous questionnaires and suggestion boxes, or through private meetings that allow employees to voice any concerns freely.
If you’re looking for employee recognition ideas, talk to Marketing Innovators, where we believe that connecting to people on a human level is the best way to build a great business. That’s why for over 45 years our family-owned, employee driven company has been working to build and strengthen that connection between businesses and their employees, customers, and partners. We work hard to help our clients motivate, incentivize, and reward their workforce. Our commitment to our core values of integrity, trust, collaboration, empowerment, and the kind of results-oriented attitude that promotes customer success has made us a leader in the engagement marketplace. To learn more about how we can help solve your business challenges, contact us today.
