Recognition programs are a strategic opportunity to drive and reward very specific actions and behaviors. The value extends far beyond the individual employees recognized.
Here are five strategic benefits that recognition programs can drive:
Employees are more engaged when they understand how their individual roles support the overall success of the company. Recognition programs are a great way to do that, especially if they’re based on cultural touchstones like the values or measurable accomplishments such as safety success. Recognizing one employee can create collective pride for others in similar roles.
If your executive leadership hopes to create a culture of innovation, or of teamwork, or even of cost-cutting, a recognition program can help drive that. By rewarding that desired behavior, you raise awareness of its value to the company. Telling employees that leadership wants them to behave a certain way will have limited impact. Celebrating that behavior communicates much more clearly.
Positive reinforcement is a great motivator. Whether the recognition is accompanied by a prize or just an announcement in a departmental meeting, employees are always happy to know that they’re doing or exceeding what’s expected of their role. The pride generated from recognition can spur engagement and motivate employees toward even greater effort.
Recognition can also bring abstract concepts to life in a way that translates to employee actions. For instance, an employee recognition program based on the corporate values helps those values become more than words on a poster. By giving concrete examples of what it looks like to live those values, employees get a fuller picture of how they can use them in their own jobs.
Recognition programs give managers a chance to be the bearer of good news. Managing a team, whether those employees are on-site, working remotely or in a hybrid model, means being the one who makes some hard calls, some unpopular requests, some suggestions for improvement. Providing recognition gives managers a welcome opportunity to be the good guy.
