Every person, word, action, wall color, email, and vending machine snack at an organization ultimately shapes its company culture, but nothing can chisel, sand, and refine company’s vibe like employee recognition – especially when it’s digital.
It’s been shown time and time again that praise from a manager and peers is an effective motivator at an organization. Unfortunately, tired ideas like employee-of-the-month programs and showers of gift cards just don’t cut it anymore. Today’s employee recognition needs to be timely, visible, and come from every level of the company – not just the top down.
That’s why digital employee recognition is sparking fires across the country. Savvy leaders are taking note of the impact employee recognition can have on morale, company culture, and the bottom line. They are embracing employee recognition software as an important spoke in their strategic wheel – one that will give them the ultimate competitive advantage: a thriving company culture teaming with engaged people.
Employee Recognition Builds Company Culture
It’s certainly not a silver bullet, but digital employee recognition can build and maintain positive change more efficiently than other methods. Here are five ways employee recognition can shape company culture for the better:
Reinforces Positive Behavior
Traditionally, praise is a one-on-one transaction between a team member and a supervisor. This can create a positive effect on both people, but what about the rest of the company? When someone is recognized in a visible, public manner, the positive behavior is seen by the entire workforce. This encourages others to do similar things because they know leadership will approve. This is a “culture multiplier”, and can greatly accelerate the impact of an employee recognition program.
Exposes Good Deeds
Digital employee recognition spreads easily through intranets, feeds, social media, and email. A by-product of this is improved employee communication across an organization, as all employees are exposed to projects, results, teammates, and ideas that would normally go unseen. Most leaders have improved employee communication as a goal, so cranking it up a notch while delivering much needed employee recognition is a no brainer.
Identifies Influencer Org Chart
Every company has an org chart – an evil, top-down document that leaves so much to be desired. In reality, most leaders care more about who is supporting, working, and interacting with each other than whose box connects to whose. This means digital employee recognition can reflect how an company is truly structured: by influence! Digital tools can easily dissect the chatter and identify who really works with and helps each other, making it easier to align teams with company objectives.
Enhances Employer Brand
All companies want to attract the best talent, so having a positive employer brand is something that should be top of mind. Digital employee recognition can easily be shared via social media, which improves the visibility of all the great things happening within an organization. All the shout-outs, props, kudos, and thank-yous that end up on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can paint a picture that shows the world how great your company culture really is, ultimately leading the best talent right to your front door.
Provides Data for Awards/Rewards Programs
Digital employee communication, whether it’s email, project updates, or social media, can be tracked, measured, and reported on. Digital employee recognition is no different, and the data it provides can be valuable when administering awards and rewards programs. It’s easy to see how much employee recognition someone received, how much they gave, which teams got the most praise, and so on. People give the employee recognition, and leaders can use that data to reward, acknowledge, and review performance.
In the end, company culture is the product of everything in your building – from the coffee to the employee recognition. And while I’m not ready for eCoffee just yet, I certainly like my digital employee recognition visible, timely, and easy to share with friends.
How is your organization embracing digital employee recognition?
Sign up for Teamphoria employee recognition software today!
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