Employee recognition: essential in good times and bad

The restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have presented organisations with an unprecedented set of challenges to their workplace culture and employee experience.

It’s a phenomenon which has cut across both remote-working employees and those on the frontline of customer-facing roles; a sharply increased risk of workers feeling isolated and cut off from their fellow employees and leaders. For HR professionals, negotiating these situations and mitigating this risk has been an omnipresent feature of their role over the last few months.

Alan Heyward, managing director of O.C. Tanner, Asia Pacific, believes that such an occasion serves as a timely reminder for organisations of the profoundly positive impact of employee recognition – in both good times and bad.

“Employees remember how you treat them during tough times,” says Heyward. “The last thing you want to do is give them a reason to feel like they’re trapped, or worse; trapped and forgotten. People need to feel valued for their efforts.”

If you haven’t previously implemented a formal recognition framework as an organisation, notes Heyward, don’t underestimate the benefits of putting one in place now. And if you do already have one in place, it’s an opportunity to look at how you can use it more effectively, to ensure your people remain connected.

“You’ve got the opportunity to really connect in a more meaningful and personal way, and you don’t want to pass that up,” says Heyward. “It’s tempting to think we need to tip our ideas upside down during the current circumstances. But this is a great time to reinforce the fundamentals of recognition.”

While recognition approaches need to be tailored and aligned to the strategic vision of each individual business, Heyward notes that there are a number of key points that cut across all of them.

“Recognise often and ‘in-the-moment’, make that recognition personal to the employee and recognise employees publicly, but in a way that best suits each employee,” says Heyward. “The behaviour that gets recognised publicly is the behaviour that gets modelled and repeated by others, which is what you want to encourage.”

Of course, some of the practicalities may prove more challenging at the moment, in light of the physical restrictions on workplaces, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible, explains Heyward. Zoom town hall meetings, ad hoc phone calls, a visit from an exec to frontline employees, personal emails – these can all serve as effective means of recognition.  

Last, but certainly not least – employee recognition can’t just be a token gesture.

“Employee recognition should be more than just an HR initiative, it should be a business imperative,” says Heyward. “But it’s got to be meaningful too. Authenticity is an over-used term, but it’s never more important than when showing appreciation - if an employee feels like it’s simply a box-ticking exercise, it can actually have an adverse impact on his or her connection to the business.”

The benefits are tangible for employers too, notes Heyward.

“Having a formalised recognition framework in place, that is aligned to organisational purpose and strategy, makes workplace leaders think more carefully about employees – their achievements, what makes them tick and how they can create the conditions to get the best out of them into the future,” says Heyward. “The micro influences the macro, and every recognition moment models the sort of dynamic that companies want to see echoed across their wider structure.” 

It’s also beneficial to employee mental health, which in turn means more productive and engaged employees – and in turn, employees who are more likely to stay, and continue bringing benefit to the business.

“When talking about how to positively influence culture, we always point back to the ‘talent magnets’ – purpose, leadership, success, opportunity, wellbeing and appreciation,” says Heyward. “They’re all important, but appreciation is far and away proven to be the most important in attracting, developing and retaining talent, as the cornerstone of a thriving culture. It’s something to keep in mind for any season of your business.”