Operational efficiency Recognition webinar
Sing their praises
Our latest webinar explored employee recognition and how
to implement an effective strategy. RACHEL SHARP reports
linking the club’s motto Nil Satis Nisi
Optimum (meaning nothing but the best
is good enough) to the annual staff
awards and the values employees
must demonstrate to be recognised.
“It’s about how people go about their
jobs rather than just what they deliver,”
Kearney explained. She added that while
“first team performance is at the heart of
what we do”, it’s also important to
“recognise the team behind the team”.
Moussa said technology poses a big
opportunity for organisations to deliver
real-time manager-to-employee and
employee-to-employee recognition.
“Recognition needs to be authentic,
timely and consistent, and technology
enables that,” he said, highlighting its
importance for teams working across
different offices.
However, despite the benefits,
uptake of recognition tech seems
slow, with just 7% of poll respondents
having an online recognition
platform and 2% a mobile-ready
online recognition platform.
The two Rs
Those polled were more likely to link
recognition to bonuses and financial
rewards (16%). Which is nothing new;
the ‘two Rs’ of reward and recognition
have long gone hand in hand for HR.
But Moussa pointed out that linking
recognition to reward isn’t always the
most effective approach.
“If we have agreements that say ‘if you
do this then you get this’ the reward is
expected,” he said. “However, it’s more of
a hygiene factor and that’s not going to
create an emotional connection.”
Creating this kind of connection is
more powerful than linking recognition
to financial or even non-financial
rewards, he explained. It’s more
impactful, for example, for a boss to take
a team out for dinner and tell them how
well they’ve done rather than giving
them a gift card, he said.
The element of surprise can also be
powerful, he added: “So it’s absolutely
right to give someone a reward if they’re
not expecting it, if there is genuine
surprise and you can be clear on why
you’re giving them it.”
Empoweringmanagers
Creating this emotional connection –
and a culture of recognition – involves
empowering managers to recognise staff,
Moussa continued. “HR should empower
managers so it’s not about having a
central team that says ‘this percentage of
employees get rewarded’,” he said.
“Empower managers to give them
trust but also give them the capability to
do that,” agreed Kearney. “Ultimately you
want to get to the point where managers
own that responsibility...
“It really comes down to competent
management. You can design
programmes but, to be successful, you
need line managers who get it, live it and
breathe it so that it becomes the natural,
organic way,” she added.
“If you know your people and have
good skilled managers then I think
recognition is one of the simplest things
you can do.”
“We’re seeing a big shift in how
people are working. Work is
getting done differently and the people
strategy is at the forefront of that,”
according to Denise Willett, senior
director EMEA at Achievers.
“Employee engagement is key and
recognition is part of that. Recognition
is the simplest and top trigger of
employee engagement.”
Willett was speaking at HR magazine
and Achievers’ ‘Recognition for
recognition: Why it’s important and how
to get it right’ webinar. She asserted that
while recognition is “not new” the way
organisations are now approaching it is.
“It’s moving away from a culture of
people being recognised once or twice a
year to people being recognised for what
they’re doing every day. And it’s moving
away from everything having to be tied
to big rewards,” she said.
But despite this shift, a poll taken
during the webinar found that many
organisations are not yet treating this as a
strategic activity.
When asked how extensive and
sophisticated the recognition strategy
at their organisations is currently, 43%
said not very and 36% said somewhat.
Additionally, 15% said they had no
recognition strategy at all.
And so Willett, together with Everton
Football Club’s head of people
engagement Clare Kearney and
Wealmoor’s former director of HR
and talent and client partner at Let’s Talk
Talent Chadi Moussa, set out to discuss
how to get recognition right.
Recognition offerings
Staff awards were found to be the most
popular offering, with one in five (19%)
reporting that these are part of their
firm’s strategy. Also popular are
celebrations of career milestones (18%)
and staff suggestion schemes (13%).
Kearney shared details of Everton’s
staff awards – part of the football club’s
journey on recognition. This includes
It
works by
reciprocity
– if you’re
recognised
you’re
more
likely to
recognise
others
Watch the video now
A recording
of the webinar is
available at
bit.ly/
HRrecognition
for those
who missed
the live event
42 HR October 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
/hrmagazine.co.uk