Company cultures are under pressure - recognition is the solution

February 22, 2024

2 min read

February 22, 2024

2 min read

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This article was originally published in Fortune.

Company cultures are under pressure - recognition is the solution

Employee recognition programs that are personalized, offer tangible feedback, and go above and beyond a pat on the back can boost employee morale and drive measurable returns on investment.

The introduction of new technologies, work arrangements, and ever-evolving rules of the employer-employee relationship has caused a decline in two of the most important elements of the workplace: community and loyaltyOpens in a new tab. The shifts that leaders and employees feel are far from imagined. There’s a distinct sense of attritionOpens in a new tab in companies across industries, and businesses are feeling the ramifications. ResearchOpens in a new tab continues to show that employee satisfaction is a key driver of business profitability and productivity. But without a company culture that knits employees together and makes them feel valued, employee experience might continue to plummet.

“Moving forward, company success will come down to culture,” says Zoe Peterson-Ward, chief customer officer at Workhuman, an employee recognition provider that helps employers better connect with their workforces. “If employees are struggling to understand how they fit into the bigger picture of your organization, meaningful engagement will only get more out of reach.”

A 2023 Workhuman and Gallup research report Opens in a new tabreveals just how fragmented some workforces may be. Just two in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree they are connected to their organizations’ cultures. However, the addition of one key element shows a reinvigorated bond in the workplace: recognition. Among employees who strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their company cultures, seven in 10 strongly agree that they feel connected to their organizations’ cultures—an important indicator for engagement, well-being, and workplace satisfaction.

“What employees really want is to feel seen, heard, and valued,” says Peterson-Ward. “When leaders can create a workplace culture that achieves that, employees feel the sense of belonging they crave, and the business gets the results it needs.”

Gallup researchOpens in a new tab from 2023 estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion. And from quiet quitting to high turnover to general apathy and a lack of passion for the company mission, disengaged employees negatively affect culture in the workplace, and, ultimately, impact the bottom line. Employee recognition has historically been seen as a “nice to have”—but this data reveals that recognition can make all the difference between engaged employees who feel their company’s culture is innovative, inclusive, and caring, versus a team of disengaged employees, who might call it toxic and stressful.

“Rewards and recognition are two of the most fundamental levers organizations should be considering as part of their overall compensation strategies—and for their bottom lines,” says Peterson-Ward. “These elements drive measurable return on investment in terms of engagement, because they bring together the fundamental need for employees to belong and the robust culture organizations need in order to grow and succeed.”

Of course, not all recognition programs are created equal. Authenticity and personalization go a long way. An effective program identifies and rewards specific behavior rather than doling out generalized acknowledgement.

Workhuman’s cloud-based platformOpens in a new tab enables organizations to build customized employee rewards and recognitions programs. A single platform can be used to manage multiple employee experience touchpoints that holistically celebrate employees’ work milestones, anniversaries, and accomplishments, as well as personal life events, group achievements, and community activities.

“The goal is not just to recognize employees’ work but to also recognize individuals’ personal contributions," says Peterson-Ward. "Doing so helps a company evolve its culture over time.” And the benefits of a recognition program are clear: Companies that strategically invest in such programs have a savings of $16.1 million annually for every 10,000 employees, according to Workhuman and Gallup.Opens in a new tab

“Recognition helps to reinforce the bigger picture of the company’s value to all the people within your organization,” says Peterson-Ward. “When employees can distinctly understand how they fit into that bigger picture, they’ll feel more connected to the culture and see their roles as an important part of the value stream within the organization—which will create long-term results. After all, a strong culture is what makes companies more adaptable and able to meet the challenges of a turbulent market.”

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