Incorporating a healthy culture of recognition is essential to shape employee experiences and motivate change. And while most employers have a recognition program, only 21% have an integrated recognition culture.
This article highlights three companies that successfully build a culture of recognition and have seen a corresponding rise in employee engagement and higher levels of quality work.
1. CIBC Creates a Powerful Onboarding Recognition Experience
Successful onboarding incorporates recognition events from the get-go. Employees start with a new company with existing expectations and previous experiences that shape how they view recognition at their new company.
When onboarding brings recognition to the new employee experience, they are much more likely to see recognition as part of the company culture. Employers should personalize the onboarding experience with a personal note or card and introduce the recognition software and culture to new employees.
When employees start a new job, they should receive the tools to recognize those who help them in their onboarding experience, time to socialize, and company swag. These things help impress their minds that the company values them and recognition.
Incorporating Onboarding and Recognition
CIBC, a financial services company located in Canada and the USA, has strived to make recognition a critical part of its onboarding experience. CIBC has 45,000 employees, so creating a culture of recognition requires thought, planning, and dedication from upper and lower managers.
CIBC partners with O.C. Tanner to create an ongoing recognition experience that is a part of the employee’s experiences from the first day and lasts through all phases of their employment lifecycle.
On the first day of their job, new employees receive a customized backpack and a host of goodies. They are introduced to the company recognition program “MomentMakers” and given points they can award to other employees to recognize them from the beginning.
Employees are given a personalized note that connects them to the company’s values and asks for feedback or suggestions to improve the company. Other company SWAG is included as part of their welcome kit.
What CIBC Does Right:
- Personalize the onboarding experience from day 1 with a personalized note from management
- Give employees the points or resources, so they can start participating in recognition from the get-go immediately
- Gives company SWAG to welcome new employees to the team
- Introduced to the recognition program and software as part of their training
- Asked for feedback to make the company better
2. Norton Healthcare’s Comprehensive Recognition Raises Engagement to over 80%
Successful and highly-integrated recognition programs drastically increase employee engagement. One example of this is Norton Healthcare. Previously, employee engagement scores came in at the 55th percentile.
Since implementing a holistic approach to employee recognition, Norton Healthcare has seen its employee engagement scores grow to the 85th percentile!
Employers who implement a comprehensive, company-wide reap a high ROI. According to the O.C. Tanner Institute, some rewards include employees performing excellent work, increased engagement, a thriving culture, lower employee attrition, and lower employee burnout.
- High Engagement Increases by +784%
- Great Work +1,181
- Employee Attrition -29%
Incorporating Recognition Across Company Culture
In other words, they had engaged employees that fit industry averages. Their recognition program existed but wasn’t fully integrated or company-wide. Various departments recognized employees independently of a corporate recognition program.
Today, Norton Healthcare has a centralized recognition program across the entire company. It’s incorporated into every department, and employees easily recognize other team members from different departments.
Norton Healthcare has incorporated its recognition program, “N Recognition of You” into their onboarding experience, employees’ daily experiences, and retirement. N Recognition of You encourages recognition for small and large accomplishments.
What Norton Healthcare does Right:
- Provides monetary and non-monetary recognition
- Utilizes formal and informal recognition
- Personalizes recognition to each employee
- Has a centralized (company-wide) recognition program
- Utilizes modern technology
- Creates group celebrations
- Incorporates recognition into every department
3. Hindalco Encourages Peer Recognition By Allowing Autonomy
Hindalco is the world’s largest aluminum manufacturer, but being big doesn’t stop them from incorporating peer recognition into every aspect of their company culture. Their recognition program, PRAISE, encourages peer recognition by giving employees monetary awards they can pass onto other team members in recognition without manager approval.
Peer recognition is a powerful key to a successful recognition program. That’s because no matter how complex management believes in and recognizes employees, they cannot be as effective as if the entire team recognizes wins.
Peers that express appreciation frequently have a much higher positive effect on the person benign recognized than a manager’s approval. There are many reasons for this. Peer recognition is seldom contrived, doesn’t have ulterior motives, and creates a connection between the recognized and recognizee.
Additionally, when a peer says “thank you!” it’s usually given promptly, is specific, and individualized to the persons involved. It naturally incorporates best practices of effective recognition effortlessly.
Keys to Successful Peer Recognition
Hindalco has 25,000 employees, but their approach to peer recognition shines a light on how employers can incorporate peer recognition into a company’s culture.
Recognition Technology
Hindalco’s mobile recognition app (provided by O.C. Tanner) makes recognizing others seamless. It incorporates a social wall of fame and makes recognition available to all employees anywhere on their mobile divides (also available on laptops and desktops).
For peer recognition to become a part of company culture, employers must provide technology that makes it seamless and easy. If an employee has to stop their work to purchase a card and write a note, it is much less likely they will take the time to recognize a peer.
Recognition software should be fast, accessible, and easy to use. It should incorporate social recognition and helps to bring peer recognition into the company culture.
Autonomy In Recognizing Others
Another key aspect of incorporating peer recognition into company culture is to allow employees to send notes, recognize, or give gifts without manager approval. Hindalco has incorporated small monetary rewards into their programs that employees can gift each other without manager approval.
This encourages cross-lateral recognition because employees don’t feel they have to justify an appreciation event to management. It also keeps managers from slowing down recognition when they are too busy to approve peer events.
Train People in Recognition Importance and Best Practices
As part of a culture of gratitude, employees may want to show appreciation to each other but lack the knowledge of how to recognize peers with more than a “thank you adequately!” Employers who train employees on best practices, technology, and the importance of creating memorable moments see higher engagement rates in their recognition programs.
One of the ways that Hindalco has found to “train” employees to participate in recognition is to have a “PRAISE” month during February. Employees are given a month’s calendar full of ideas and ways they can show appreciation to peers. This simple practice takes the place of formal training but is an effective way to teach recognition methods to employees.
As a result of implementing these best practices, Hindalco’s employees rank high in the question, “When my work is good, my contributions and accomplishments are recognized.” Their overall employee engagement has increased (source).
Conclusion
Incorporating employee appreciation into a company culture isn’t easy, but it’s possible. When employees are recognized and encouraged to participate from the first day of onboarding, their positive views of the employer increase. Employers can increase engagement by incorporating technology and training and allowing employees to make decisions about recognition.
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.