The workplace of the future starts with an employee-first culture

January 17, 2023

3 min read

January 17, 2023

3 min read

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This article was originally published on Fortune.

The workplace of the future starts with an employee-first culture

Workhuman’s employee recognition platform can improve turnover rates—and help build a culture of gratitude.

In a post-pandemic workforce, employee satisfaction canmake or break a company—research shows that employee engagement is strongly tiedOpens in a new tab to overall company performance. However, with quiet quitting and productivity paranoia on the rise, employers are facing retention challenges now more than ever, and employees are only expected to be more vocalOpens in a new tab about their needs in the workplace in 2023. To build a positive workplace where employees can thrive, business leaders will need to make staff satisfaction a top priority.

“For a long time, employee well-being was considered a ‘bonus’ or ‘nice to have’ for organizations focused on significant growth and financial success. But times have changed,” says Scott Dussault, chief financial officer at Workhuman, an employee recognition and performance development company that helps employers better connect with their employees.

Given that the cost of voluntary turnover due to burnout alone typically makes up 15% to 20% of a company’s payroll budget each year, prioritizing positive employee experiences amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars toward organizations’ bottom lines annually, making neglecting employee well-being a costly mistake.

A 2022 study by Workhuman and Gallup, an analytics and advice firm, highlighted that due to low well-being and its impact on performance, organizations can lose $20 million for every 10,000 workersOpens in a new tab. A sensible solution to mitigate those profit losses is prioritizing positive experiences in the workplace. Insights from Workhuman’s partnership with Gallup reinforce an effective strategy that is woefully underutilized by businesses: employee recognition.

Employees who strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their company cultures are up to 91% more likely to be thriving in their lives, and workers who experience high-quality recognition are up to 10 times more likely to feel like they belong. “It’s evident that recognizing employees boosts their well-being in many facets of their lives, and corporations need to make it a priority. When incorporated strategically, recognition provides a foundation for employees to flourish,” says Ellyn Maese, senior researcher at Gallup.

One proven hallmark of a successful culture of appreciation is when employees freely give and receive recognition. Workhuman’s technology has helped some of the world’s leading companies foster that culture—such as Eli Lilly and Company, an Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company.

“Recognition is an important part of employee engagement,” says Eric Dozier, chief human resources officer at Lilly. “One thing that has remained constant throughout my 24-year tenure is our team’s connection with our purpose and core values. Our people want to make a difference and work in an environment where they can be at their best.”

To foster employee engagement, Lilly worked with Workhuman to create the Lilly Inspire Program, a peer-to-peer recognition platform that allows employees to recognize their colleagues for outstanding work, which has been a key driver in employee satisfaction and retention. Dozier says that the company has also developed communication channels to drive engagement with workforce surveys that ask for feedback across several areas and insights about the culture of work groups and current leadership. Additionally, Lilly offers open forums, so employees have an outlet to ask questions or raise topics important to them, both in and outside of work.

Not only has this multifaceted approach helped Lilly keep a finger on the pulse of what its employees are thinking, but it has also led to the creation of the company’s recognition program—which offers workers a chance to shout out their colleagues and congratulate them on important achievements or milestones. Since the program launched in 2016, there have been 3.5 million recognitions logged at Lilly. Recognitions can be redeemed for a variety of merchandise and gift card options or charity selections. In 2022, nearly 1,000 U.S.-based employees supported the nonprofit United Way Worldwide through recognition points redemption.

“The data is clear: The more recognition moments employees [receive], the more likely they are to stay,” Dozier explains. “When employees feel engaged in meaningful work and valued for the work they’re doing, it helps create a sense of belonging that leads to an engaged workforce.”

Fostering this sense of belonging requires companies to prioritize the “human element” of their workforces. “By enabling employees to feel engaged, inspired, and connected to their coworkers, business leaders can energize their workforces and drive productivity and efficiency,” says Dozier. “It all starts with recognizing employees for who they are and what they do.”

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