Why we consider employee peer-to-peer Recognition Program is a matter of great urgency.

How a Recognition Program Helps Build Trust between Employees

One of the controversial areas of performance marketing and management that remains essential for its proven efficacy is the Reward and Recognition System. In practice, recognition and praise often coincide with a reward due to the convergence of goal-means schemes and the constant expectation of achieving economic results (Bourdieu, 2017). However, in order to implement recognition methods with no subsequent failures for workplace sustainment, it is necessary to obtain a deep understanding of the implications of trust as a concept that lies behind work practices (Hansen et al., 2002).

Recognition as such concerns motivation, personal fulfillment, interpersonal communication, and identity issues. It drives not only a factual enhancement of productivity measured by formalized parameters, but it also necessitates for a broadened perspective on the rhythms of engagement and confines of wholesome dedication, sustainability of work-life balance, and the contingent, successive, tactful communication within teamwork and customer interactions (Brun et al., 2008).

Why a Recognition Program Helps Retain Employees

One of the most effective recognition actions that can be taken by supervisor is to act accordingly to situational conditions, adhere to an open-door policy, and following up scalable solutions in touch with what is stated. Being transparent about the processes and maintaining a trustworthy relationship with employees is vital, because Integrity is only achievable if management acts in accordance with the declared corporate values . Recognition, therefore, should be tied not only to build of trust and striving for profitable outcome out of employee activity, but also to the strategic development of competence that endures employee to be engaged for bigger challenges. Allowing employees express how they would like to receive feedback and prefer to be recognized put them in a position of trust, which helps improving key performance indicators (kpi).

How a Recognition Program Can Change the Corporate Culture

A recognition program can change the corporate culture relatively by accentuating various aspects of decentering work-life balance or accentuating virtue of the common labor. A decent program has to provide a set of tools that relates to HR techniques for managing the labor market and the production process (Glimstedt, et al., 2006). For example, application of a single material incentive for a notable advance could lead consequently to imitation of the top performing worker by his/her colleague. On the contrary, as showed Li et al. in their experiment study (2016, 926), employees in teams without a formally recognized member demonstrated performance decreases. In this matter, social influence processes, especially learning processes, are driven by numerous overt and covert factors beyond simply modeling behavior. Glimstedt et al. (2006, 171) recommend: «capture variation in individual characteristics of employees within a function that may affect the differential potential of those individuals for interfirm labor mobility».

To look further through of benefits to corporate education and culture, see one of our previous materials.

How a Recognition Program Motivates Employees

To motivate employees effectively, some formal recognition programs go beyond just acknowledging individuals and instead provide personalized and valued incentives, such as gifts or personal notes/letters, and incorporate day-to-day feedback and changes. However, although organizations may believe they already sufficiently acknowledge employees’ efforts, a significant number of employees may express a strong desire to be recognized even more, particularly for recognition stemming from their contributions to the company’s success (Luthans, 2000, 37). To cope with that, it is necessary to use creative techniques of non-financial rewards as often as possible, additionally, creating opportunities for non-represented teams, challenging them with respect and responsibility. (Li et al., 2016).

The timing of recognition also plays a crucial role in its effectiveness. When there is a large time gap between an employee’s effort and the recognition they receive, its impact may diminish. Therefore, it is advisable to also consider peer or subordinate evaluations, as their involvement is often anticipated and not unexpected. However, as we noted above (1.3) it is essential to be aware that informal communication can overlap with the positive effects of formal recognition,
potentially preempting its impact.

All of these aspects should coincide with transparency of decision criteria. As Anchor (2016) shares employees’ reaction to the implementation of their program:

«We found that presenting recognition in front of a large audience led to a feeling of “now what?” The learning was limited because communication of the problem and action was unclear, thereby impeding other employees’ ability to learn from the activity and replicate that learning across other groups.»

Why a Recognition Program Enhances Employee Engagement in Multinational Teams

Anchor (Ibid) suggests that tactical actions alone cannot lead to recognition if they do not align with the organization’s strategic vision. Therefore, both strategy and tactics should align with corporate values to ensure recognition and trust. It is especially important to consider the diverse backgrounds and behaviors of multicultural teams when implementing peer-to-peer and social influence approaches. Methods that are successful in one group may not be appropriate in another (Anchor, Ibid). In multinational teams, a recognition program should be used as a material for facilitation of collegial assistance, which implies fostering problem identification and encouraging interaction throughout the organization, enabling individuals to learn from one another.

To fully work off the potential of the recognition program and other formalized means of facilitation for your workplace improvement. We propose integrate it with our AlbiCoins platform that enables tracking down all of the inner performance activities, which reflect little victories and mutual support on daily route.

References

• Anchor, S. (2016).“The Benefits of peer-to-peer praise at work”, // Harvard Business Review
• Bourdieu, P., (2017), Anthropologie économique, cours au Collège de France, 1992-1993, Paris, Raisons d’agir.
• Brun, J.-P., & Dugas, N. (2008). An analysis of employee recognition: Perspectives on human resources practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(4),
• Forbes Coaches Council. 12 Ways Managers Can Establish A Trusting Relationship With Employees.
• Glimstedt, H., Lazonick, W., & Xie, H. (2006). The evolution and allocation of employee stock options: adapting US-style compensation to the Swedish business model. European Management Review, 3(3),
• Hansen, F., Smith, M., & Hansen, R. B. (2002). Rewards and Recognition in Employee Motivation. Compensation & Benefits Review, 34(5)
• Li, N., Zheng, X., Harris, T. B., Liu, X., & Kirkman, B. L. (2016). Recognizing “me” benefits “we”: Investigating the positive spillover effects of formal individual recognition in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(7), 925–939. doi:10.1037/apl0000101

Further Reading
London, C., & Higgot, K. (1997). An employee reward and recognition process. The TQM Magazine, 9(5), 328–335. doi:10.1108/09544789710178587
Reese, S. R. (2020). Developing an employee recognition program that promotes learning across the organization. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, 34(6), 45–48.
Tessema, M., Ready, K., & Embaye, A. (2013). The Effects of Employee Recognition, Pay and Benefits on Job Satisfaction: Cross Country Evidence. Journal of Business and Economics, 4 (1), 1-13.