As the CEO of a large workforce, I often only hear about employees who are outperforming their departments or performing so poorly that it’s becoming an HR issue. It can be difficult to see the trees through the forest when myself and our leadership team are so engulfed in the day-to-day tasks of business administration. To combat this, we began requiring team members to recognize each other. That’s right—I said require.
The #1 reason most people leave their jobs is a lack of recognition. – Gallup
In today’s performance-driven workplace, mandated recognition should be the new normal, and that doesn’t mean you have to take the fun out of it, either. On the contrary, putting recognition policies in place creates an environment of appreciation and collaboration, which drives better results and higher productivity. So why not make mandatory employee recognition part of your team culture?
The Benefits of Mandatory Team Recognition
A good manager will recognize their team members for a job well done whether it’s mandatory or not, but making recognition an official policy makes sure there are no gaps in coverage. This doesn’t mean that everyone on the team will be recognized; it means that people will be acknowledged for going above and beyond in areas beyond their A-Player metrics.
We recognize team members who show ambition, who make changes to their approach to better serve their customers, or who have positive attitudes that impact the mindset of their teams, among other things. This approach helps keep morale and motivation high and encourages innovation within teams.
Establishing Mandate Policies
When creating a mandate policy around team recognition, it’s important to set clear guidelines for when and how to recognize team members for their work. These guidelines don’t have to be the same for every team, and it’s good to customize the reward to the individual being recognized. We’ve done everything from offering energy drinks and coffees to creating events for team members and sending them to see their favorite band in concert after a particularly impressive performance.
Using messaging platforms like Slack makes team recognition more effective and transparent in the workplace. Having all the kudos sent through one platform allows everyone to see what others are being recognized for, leading to increased engagement and collaboration between departments. It also lets team members engage with others that they typically wouldn’t be in contact with. For example, our Slack channel allows account managers to see work that the operations team is doing that will benefit their customers but might not have been communicated otherwise. Currently, we’re even working to automate the shout outs that are included in our MAP meetings stored in Salesforce so that they automatically push to Slack. This will make sure that the employees being discussed behind closed doors know they’re being appreciated and can be celebrated across the organization!
Overcoming Resistance to Change
You may encounter some resistance from those who feel uncomfortable with mandatory employee recognition policies, especially if your organization is accustomed to more informal processes. To combat this resistance, emphasize how this policy can actually benefit both individual employees as well as the whole organization by incentivizing hard work and rewarding top performers accordingly. There are no downsides to making sure everyone has an opportunity to recognize each other’s accomplishments publicly—it ultimately just leads to a more appreciative company culture overall.
When employees believe they will be recognized, they are 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged. – Quantum Workplace
Mandating employee recognition in your organization can have tremendous benefits when it comes to increasing engagement and productivity among your teams. By establishing clear guidelines for when and how individuals should be recognized alongside using tools like Slack, you’ll be able to make sure every hard working member of your team gets the appreciation they deserve while setting up an environment conducive to creativity and collaboration.
