The Power of Recognition: Why Acknowledging Others is Essential for Success
- Zoran Vidovic
- Dec 5, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 20, 2024
How do we know we are appreciated and valued? How do we know our efforts to go above the norm have been recognized? What fuels our desire to take a step further than expected?
It is the recognition! When we get recognized for our hard work, it triggers a positive emotion and has us empowered to stay on a trajectory of excellence and ingenuity.
What is recognition?
As per the Cambridge Dictionary, recognition is: "the act of praising or rewarding someone for something they have done.";"public appreciation for a person’s or group’s achievements."
So, it is praising, rewarding, and appreciating someone's achievements. Now, we are only left to decide which achievements qualify for the recognition.
When we talk about the recognition, we can look at it from three perspectives:
Recognition for continuous great performance, within the norm.
Why would we recognize performance that is expected and well within the job description?
Because that performance shows dedication, perseverance, and focus. Recognizing it shows appreciation for the hard work and commitment to constantly performing within the set standard.
It empowers the employee to stay on the path of great performance with opportunities for growth and development.
Let's look at the positions with set targets to achieve, which could range from sales to customer satisfaction. We can have employees continuously hitting these targets, which is obviously desirable but expected and considered to be the norm.
Giving recognition for their performance will motivate them to continue good performance and allow the company to raise the targets when feasible.
Recognition for excellent performance, above the norm.
Why should we recognize performance that is above the standard norm?
To show that it has been noticed and appreciated. It shows that we pay attention and closely monitor everyone's performance and that we go out of our way to recognize any performance above the norm.
It empowers employees to stay on this trajectory and motivates them to continue putting their best foot forward and excel in the future.
It also allows us to establish a culture of transparency, ingenuity, and appreciation, fostering growth for the employees as well as the company.
Recognition for loyalty to the company.
It is important to recognize milestones of employment for each employee for two reasons.
- It gives them a sense of appreciation and belonging. This should not be taken lightly, as each employee is striving to have a fulfilled life and sense of purpose. Having been recognized for your commitment and dedication is an achievement and testimony to your professionalism and perseverance.
- It testifies to the company's dedication to recognizing and rewarding loyalty. This is important to send across as it resonates with our employees and employees to be. It testifies to the company's dedication to creating a culture that cherishes and rewards loyalty.
How do we decide on the appropriate recognition?
It will depend on the achievements being recognized. The rule of thumb would be to have the recognition proportional to the achievement.
Giving an expensive watch as a loyalty recognition to an employee celebrating 1 year with the company might be over the top. However, giving it as a recognition for 25 years with the company would be more appropriate.
Why so?
To prevent devaluing the recognition process. If the recognition is disproportional with the achievement, it then devalues not only the recognition but also the far greater achievements to come.
If we reward minimum effort with extraordinary recognition, then what is left for great achievements? The question is where do we stop?
We need to be cautious to set the recognition process in good practice that recognizes and appropriately rewards achievements.
To prevent it from becoming an expectation and not a recognition. When the recognition is above the norm, then it might become the goal for the employees as additional financial compensation.
It then becomes a goal instead of an incentive, which might make employees focus too much on it and render them ready to tailor their performance to protect the expected recognition.
This might put them on the path of least resistance and exposure to avoid making risky decisions in fear of jeopardizing the expected recognition.
We should look at recognition as a tool in motivating employees to maintain their focus and desire for growth.
There are various ways to show recognition. We can mention some:
Verbal recognition by leaders. This is, or it should be, practiced daily in the operation. Saying "Great job" and "Thank you for your hard work" is a simple but powerful recognition that is overlooked frequently by many leaders.
It is instant gratification that triggers positive feelings in employees but requires no additional work for the leaders.
Written recognition for extraordinary achievements. This should follow the verbal recognition. It could be part of the regular performance review, but the greater effect is achieved if it is delivered separately and recorded in the employee file.
This is very important as we prevent creating a culture of punishment by only recording poor performance in the employee file.
It testifies for both the leader and the company, as it shows transparency, fairness, and integrity and builds trust by having the same approach to documenting good and bad performances.
This then leaves no room for resentment and pushback from the employees when their performance quality drops and is documented as such.
Group recognition. This should be practiced constantly as it builds the team. It brings people together in their pursuit of belonging and achieving a greater cause.
It could range from verbal recognition to written recognition or in the form of a recognition party or team-building activities.
Formal or ceremonial receptions. This is a great way to make individuals or teams feel appreciated and even special. It could be a special reception with a recognition ceremony in honor of the employee's hard work and dedication.
This could be a special event or an integrated part of a greater ceremony. Either way, it will make the recipients feel special and appreciated for their achievements, providing an incentive to continue and even elevate their performance.
Financial rewards. It is safe to say that all employees are interested in advancing their financial status, so it goes without saying that financial reward is always appreciated.
This can be part of other recognitions, such as a bonus for exceptional performance, or a separate one like a raise.
Either way, it will leave a good impression on the employees and motivate them to maintain, or even elevate, their focus and performance level.
Plaques and custom awards. This is also good practice in recognizing employment milestones and extraordinary achievements. It is a visual form of testimony, usually very appealing and professional, that captures special achievements in employees' professional lives.
It is a testimony to employees' dedication and professionalism that can be displayed and admired by others. It is a form of recognition that is widely accepted and cherished across the globe.
Special deals and discounts. It is similar to the financial reward as it does provide monetary gain; however, it is more subtle in its form. This can be a very good way of showing appreciation, but it depends on the type of product or service it refers to.
We need to take into account whether those products or services are of value to our employees.
For example, there is little or no point in giving a discount to a product or service that is far out of the employee's reach. It needs to be something that all employees can benefit from and can afford to enjoy. Otherwise, it is just a tick in the box and not a real recognition.
Conclusion
Whatever we decide to go with for our company recognition standard, we need to take into account the following:
Is it proportional to the achievement?
We need to make sure we are not overdoing it and devaluing the recognition process while setting the expectations.
Is it beneficial to the employee?
We need to ask ourselves if our employee is going to benefit from it and, if so, how. The process needs to bring value to the employee, whether in the form of emotional, moral, or financial satisfaction, or a combination of.
Those are the main questions we need to ask ourselves before deciding on the appropriate recognition approach.
Either way, we need to understand that recognition is a crucial part of culture development, and it will positively influence our employees.
It is not necessary to break the bank with it, as a simple token of appreciation, a simple "thank you' goes far.
Sometimes we will not be in a position to offer financially valuable recognition packages, but we can always offer respect and appreciation, which will go far with our employees.
