During the holidays we often consider gifts or an event for our team or department to show our appreciation, but a simple form of ongoing acknowledgement and recognition throughout the year—not just during the holidays—can have a profound effect on an employee’s morale, confidence and productivity, and can influence a positive company culture.
Recognition in the Workplace - The Simple Gift of Gratitude
During the holidays we often consider gifts or an event for our team or department to show our appreciation, but a simple form of ongoing acknowledgement and recognition throughout the year—not just during the holidays—can have a profound effect on an employee’s morale, confidence and productivity, and can influence a positive company culture. All good leaders are aware of recognition’s value, but acknowledging employees more often is of greater importance, especially during these uncertain times.
Both formal and informal means of recognizing employees who demonstrate desired behavior is not only cost effective, but the practice improves retention, intrinsic motivation, and performance. Recognition affects culture and recognizing individuals on a regular cadence for outstanding work is recommended. In addition, quarterly or annual all-team recognition events maximize inclusivity, fosters team building and improves staff performance. Keep reading for tips and recommendations you can easily apply to your organization to boost overall engagement, morale, retention and productivity with your team(s).
What warrants recognition: A work-life balance and a “whole person”2 approach
Recognition of work performance is important, but celebrating personal achievements and aspects beyond the workday, that emphasize work-life balance, are just as important. Sources that can inform people leaders of recognition opportunities (ROs) include customer and client satisfaction surveys, colleague comments and nominations, reports, and the leader’s own observations and active listening. However, other worthwhile ROs exist that may be harder for a supervisor or remote manager to know about, for these ROs are often less visible and therefore require gentle prompts. For example, weekly team meetings can start with “what was the highlight of everyone’s weekend?” followed by positive responses to all stories (to show gratitude for their sharing), especially those like “our family went for a hike,” “I spent Sunday morning in the garden,” “I visited my parents,” etc. Encouraging behaviors that support personal well-being are just as important to recognize as those that support workplace performance.
Finding the Best Approach to Recognition
Depending on an individual’s personal preference or personality, some individuals prefer to be recognized in private while some would rather be recognized publicly. It’s important to know your team members and their preferred style of receiving recognition and gratitude. A great way to achieve this is to have your team complete a personality assessment to learn more about their personality type, communication style and preferences. Some handy sources to better understand your team include the True Colors Test, 16 Personalities Assessment, DISC Assessment, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to name a few. Choose the assessment that works best for your organization and team and use the information gathered to learn more about each team member and their preferred style of being recognized.
Recognizing Employees Privately
Recognizing employees can be quite simple and does not require something elaborate or expensive.
1. Tell the employee exactly what was done well.
2. Tell the employee why the behavior is important and valued.
3. Stop for a moment of celebration.
4. Encourage repeat performance.3,2
| In-Person Ideas | Remote Ideas |
| High five/fist bump (if recipient is keen) | Congratulatory emoji via chat |
| A simple thank you note left on a recipients desk | Tell them directly via chat (informal), email (more formal), or mail them a hand-written card |
| Pick a good time to tell them directly, one-on-one | Themed virtual background congratulating the individual on their achievement |
Recognizing Employees Publicly
There are quite a lot of ways to publicly acknowledge deserving employees. A handful of ideas are included below:
1. Celebratory Events – Recognition ceremonies, celebrations, holiday party, etc.
2. Rewards – Can be monetary or a prize, simple certificate or plaque, lei, free parking for a week, paid time off, a gift with their favorite things, etc. (feel free to get creative, based on an individual’s personality and interests)
3. Announcement – Post (with recipient(s) permission) on company intranet, newsletter, bulletin boards, company email, etc.
4. Story telling – Allow employee a platform to share their story/achievement
5. Shout-outs in regular team meetings
Peer to Peer Acknowledgements
Colleagues nominating one another is an effective way of acknowledging good work by individuals/teams to people leaders and their peers. Consider setting up a way for colleagues to nominate and recognize colleagues via an anonymous drop box, as a part of your meeting agenda, or an online Kudo Board (kudoboard.com) if you're in a virtual work environment. Mechanisms for receiving recognition from external sources (e.g., customers) can also have positive impacts to the recipient’s morale, sense of self-worth, and serve as a qualitative indicator of performance.
Celebratory Events, A Team Building Strategy
A team gathering or celebration can also serve a dual purpose for team building. Not only are you recognizing deserving colleagues, but you are also providing an opportunity for colleagues to get to know one another so they work better together as a team. A quick online search brings up lots of options to consider for your next team gathering or celebratory event. The Blue Zones Project Hawaii team is planning an end-of-year gathering and based on our search, this list of Top-10 Team Building Activities on Oahu from Yelp.com was very helpful. Ultimately, the team voted and an escape room activity along with a sunset pau hana to connect as a team were selected. Allowing staff to choose how they want to celebrate can also help to drive engagement and reveals what your team is most likely to participate in.
If your organization is interested in learning more about workplace well-being and would like to work with Blue Zones Project to develop your 2023 Well-Being Program, please email us at bluezonesprojecthawaii@sharecare.com.
2 “Whole person” in clinical settings often refers to integrated care where the provider takes a holistic approach (vs. one solely focused on the patient’s physical health) towards the best possible outcome. Blue Zones Project’s emphasis on environment and community strongly aligns with the “whole person” concept.
3 https://hbr.org/sponsored/2021/03/good-leaders-acknowledge-their-employees-often
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