Hi Leaders,
Any group of people really functions according to how well they communicate with one another, and if your organization doesn’t have a culture of recognition and gratitude, then you’re missing out on a lot. Beyond heightened productivity and employee retention, several studies even show that recognition can create higher workplace satisfaction than a raise (assuming employees are paid fairly). If the above is true, we all need to be a little better at expressing our gratitude and doing it often.
Below are some tried-and-true ways to bake recognition into your company culture:
Have 3 moments of recognition at every team meeting
If you have weekly team meetings or wider meetings monthly, one of the easiest habits to get into is to set aside moments for employee recognition during each meeting. Put a section for recognition in the agenda template and poll your team(s) for stories. This helps make sure these moments are regular and planned for.
Celebrate with emails/slack messages
Never underestimate the power of an entertaining, well-written message. Whether it’s over Slack or email, having a culture where members of your team spout praises for one another with wordplay or fun stickers or GIFs is a real motivator and boosts team morale.
Keep a gratitude box
Keep a box around the office where people can put slips of paper with encouraging messages of gratitude. They can then be read aloud at team meetings.
Never underestimate an earnest 1-on-1 thanks
Some people work in smaller teams or are more introverted. If you are a supervisor or teammate, getting in the habit of walking up to someone and saying “Hey, I really appreciated this thing you did” can overcome massive barriers in all types of settings.
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