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“At the very core of our humanity is our care for one another. Heartfelt appreciation provides sustenance for another day, especially in turbulent times.”
– Dana Ullom-Vucelich, CHRO, health care & senior services
Surviving and thriving through this pandemic, is not an easy task. We all know that by now. So now more than ever, businesses have got to understand how important it is to keep their employees happily engaged. To drive employee experience successfully, you need to transform your rewards and recognition culture into a virtual appreciation culture.
How do you do that? It’s not too difficult. Here are some easy and effective ideas for staff appreciation that you can cultivate in your organization:
Also read: Using OKRs In Startups To Measure Success
An article in O.C.Tanner on Appreciation suggests the SAIL method, in order to understand how we can personalise recognition as per individual employees. In their words,
First, think about the Situation your coworker was facing when they did what they did—perhaps a challenging customer situation, a broken process, or a missing team member.
Next think about the Action they took. What specifically did your team member do that turned things around—such as staying with a patient, rescheduling a stuck traveler, filling in for a sick employee?
Next think about the Impact this team member had, the difference they made. Was it saving a customer relationship? Developing a faster process? Averting a crisis?
Finally, Link what they did back to the purpose of your team or organisation.
Following this method can help in sharing a personalised appreciation, that makes it a lot more impactful and powerful at the same time. You can share this praise on the company wall, organization’s social platform or on email. Either ways, it is the content of the appreciation that makes the biggest impact in today’s scenario.
Who would have thought we will have to convert our private spaces into professional ones! But the pandemic has led us to do so. As we get a peep into employees’ private spaces through calls and video conferences, we can get a glimpse of families and pets, among other things. This creates a sense of deeper connection, if we allow so. So why not spice up the R&R programme to better suit our remote workers?
Think of tweaking your rewards and recognition programme to include family members. They’re making many adjustments, tackling different hurdles, yet working towards giving your coworker/employee the mental and physical space to work well. It’s important to be able to return the favour.
Due to the pandemic, we have to keep in mind that the appreciation process cannot remain as it was before. It needs to scale up and we must figure out various ways in which we can share positive feedback and praises. Recently we came across ALKU’s “T-Shirt Program”. It’s an interesting take on appreciation wherein they celebrate every time an employee achieves their company’s “Business and Personnel Development Principles.” When employees successfully represent one of ALKU’s principles, they get a T-shirt with a #hashtag showcasing that principle.
In the words of Rebecca Crossley, ALKU Marketing Manager
The best thing about this program is that it is employee-driven. Employees can nominate other employees for a t-shirt that represents one of ALKU’s business goals. Examples of T-shirts are #BeAPro, #PitchYourNiche, and #FollowMyLead. These nominations are posted to the company Slack channel so that everyone can celebrate the success, no matter how big or small.
It is always easy to notice and recognise those who are vocal of their accomplishments. But they are not the only ones achieving. As a people leader you should take time out to notice, how many other employees or coworkers have been ploughing silently through, without demanding any attention or accolades. But just because they are silent, it does not necessarily indicate that they don’t care for appreciations or recognition. In fact, when you take time to recognize their contribution, without them having to highlight it, makes them feel valued. This can lead to enhanced employee engagement and employee retention.
Also read: How Important is Feedback in Today’s World?
Our intention behind sharing this article is very simple. We wish for you to remain more informed about the changing trends in employee appreciation and ideas as to how you can implement it in your organization. If you have more to add to this topic, we would love to know your thoughts as well. Feel free to drop in your comments below!
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The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.
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