EMPOWER ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
THROUGH RECOGNITION

An organization is only as strong as its work culture. In fact, studies have proven that the majority of the value of an organization comes from the talents, skills, knowledge, work ethic and health of its employees. But, as daily stress and discontent remains at a record high and the majority of the world’s workers are not engaged, organizations must ask themselves: What can be done to foster a strong culture of connection and engagement?

 

It starts by investing in people!

 

To assemble and energize the workforce of the future, organizations must prioritize the “human element” of their business, recognizing that productivity and efficiency come when employees are engaged, inspired, and connected to their coworkers! And one of the best ways to do that is to recognize employees for who they are and what they do.

 

Every organization is unique. The culture that spurs one organization toward future success in alignment with its corporate ideology (core purpose, vision, core values, value proposition and business model) may look much different from another organization’s ideal way of working. Fortunately, strategic recognition can be a flexible and potent tool to shape and reinforce workplace culture in any organization. In fact, when employees strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their organization’s culture, they are many times as likely to strongly agree that they feel connected to and engaged with their culture.

 

Recognition and praise not only help to build strong organization cultures, but it also makes good business sense. It is estimated that if an organization doubled the number of employees who strongly agreed that they received recognition or praise for doing good work, they would see a significant increase in productivity. The productivity gain can be exponential taking into account the number of employees in the organization.

 

Despite the importance of culture to an organization, a clear understanding of culture is often covered up by varying interpretations. This makes defining workplace culture difficult and changing it even harder. This newsletter defines what workplace culture is, why it matters and how recognition can be leveraged to build it. This newsletter also explains how recognition can vitalize the culture of an organization and generate employee motivation, satisfaction, and engagement.

 

What is workplace culture?

Workplace culture is a function of how people within the organization interact with one another and how they get their work done. An organization’s culture clarifies what its employees, as well as its customers, can expect when they interact with one another. While the effects of a workplace culture can certainly be good or bad, the construct of culture itself and its components are neutral; not inherently right or wrong. The optimal culture is unique to every organization and should reflect its past and present along with its goals and vision for the future. Strong cultures emerge when there is cohesion and unity in how individuals do things in an organization. Furthermore, the best cultures align how people do things with what will best help an organization to engage its employees, achieve its goals and accomplish its mission.

 

Why does workplace culture matter?

The world of work has shifted. In this regard, employees’ needs, demands, wishes and expectations have changed dramatically. Employees have found and embraced new ways of completing their work and have adjusted their expectations in alignment with these changes. Employers and employees remain in a push-pull relationship regarding remote work and the market for top talent continues to be competitive.

 

In this new playing field, leaders need to forge and leverage a culture that attracts talented employees to their organization and engages them in driving it forward. However, most organizations are failing to do so. The way employees experience their organization’s day-to-day culture matters. When organizations do not have a clear purpose or culture that unites their employees, it can feel like the only reason work is done is to make money. While “money” and “profit” are essential to the success of an organization, focusing disproportionately on financial outcomes and neglecting the journey to achieve them can cast an organization adrift without an identity. Disengagement rises, and organizations may soon find themselves with a “horrible” culture that cripples morale and performance. Instead, when organizations rally employees around their purpose and values, they find their employees become passionate brand advocates who stay longer and drive results. Workplace culture matters in organizations because it has a profound impact on a.o. employee engagement, talent retention, productivity, innovation, employee well-being, teamwork, customer satisfaction, adaptability, ethical behavior, and the overall reputation of the organization. A positive culture contributes to a healthier and more successful work environment as well.

 

Culture is the soul of an organization. Organizations accelerate toward their goals when they define and reinforce the values and causes that motivate employees to give their best every day. In this way, a strong culture acts both as a catalyst to generate engagement and as a road map to channel that engagement in a way that best serves an organization’s goals and mission.

 

Recognition clarifies and amplifies workplace culture

Having established what culture is and why it matters for an organization’s bottom line, this newsletter will now highlight recognition as one of the strongest forces for building and maintaining culture and engaging employees.

 

Recognition stands uniquely as an element of culture in and of itself, while also wielding the power and flexibility to bolster other elements of how work gets done. Through positive reinforcement, recognition spotlights the behaviors that best exemplify the culture an organization is aspiring and motivates employees to model those behaviors more often. When leaders practice recognition and emphasize its importance, it sparks a chain reaction. Leaders signal to employees, and soon employees signal to one another, what is important to them by expressing recognition, gratitude, and appreciation for the things they want to see more of in their organization. Recognition can be targeted to promote the desired cultural elements of any given organization. It can also be adjusted and fine-tuned over time to adapt to changing workplace demands. Recognition is a consistent, direct tool for leaders to communicate their cultural goals and expectations. It is essential in helping employees develop a robust connection to their workplace culture. It also helps create unity not just in stated values, but in the way, work gets done across an organization.

 

Strategic recognition generates employee engagement

The value of using recognition to link employees to their organization’s culture can be easily observed through the relationship between consistent, quality recognition and employee engagement. Employees who strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their organization’s culture are more likely to be engaged and less likely to experience frequent burnout than those who do not.

 

Research shows that strategic recognition is most effective when it is fulfilling (the amount employees receive makes sense), authentic (it is not just a "checklist" thing) personalized (one size doesn't fit all), equitable (it’s given fairly, without playing favorites) and embedded in company culture (it’s integrated into the day-to-day).

 

When leaders practice recognition that is perceived as excellent across each of the above-mentioned five pillars of strategic recognition employees become energized and buy into how people interact with one another and how work gets done within their organization. It has been proven that employees who receive great recognition are much more likely to be engaged than employees who receive poor recognition. “Poor recognition” being the worst recognition experiences across all the pillars.

 

Leaders play a critical role in promoting a culture of recognition within organizations. Their accountability extends to setting an example, fostering a culture of appreciation, providing clear criteria, and ensuring that recognition efforts are inclusive, timely, and aligned with the organization's values and goals. Effective leadership in recognition can lead to increased employee engagement, motivation, and overall organizational success.

 

By promoting great recognition, organizations can create strong, embedded cultures and tap into the sweeping benefits of an engaged workforce. Research on employee engagement has consistently confirmed the relationship between engagement and key business metrics, including customer loyalty, profitability, productivity, turnover and safety.