For 20 years, Achievers, an employee-recognition platform, has collected and analyzed data related to the impact that recognition programs can have on companies that use them. Over and over, the data has showed that implementing an effective program can improve retention, engagement, and thus the success of a company.

At a recent From Day One webinar, Achievers’ Chief Workforce Scientist Natalie Baumgartner, PhD, released some of the results from the latest research, The Great Recognition report, and discussed what makes for an effective recognition program with Teresa Logue, head of manager excellence for the insurance company Zurich North America.

The report, based on input from nearly 6,000 employees and HR leaders, had some thought-provoking results, which the two speakers outlined in the webinar, titled, “The State of Recognition in 2022: Empowering Managers to Create a Culture of Appreciation.” Among them:

• Employees are not willing to work for companies that ignore what workers view as important, including work-life balance, flexible work, and career progression.
• Employers are struggling to attract and retain talent.
• There is a strong correlation between frequent recognition and commitment to a job.
• Workers who are recognized at least weekly are twice as likely to say they rarely think about leaving their job as those recognized less often.
• Half of respondents said feeling recognized can outweigh a salary increase in terms of job satisfaction and loyalty.
• Training managers in recognition methods has a tremendous impact on retention and engagement across an organization.
• Organizations with optimized recognition programs are 39% more likely to have monthly recognition than those without.
• Managers who are regularly recognized are more likely to recognize others and this is a fundamental catalyst for building a recognition culture.
• The relationship between recognition and the likelihood of recommending one’s manager, or Manager Net Promoter Score, is three time higher among those who are meaningfully recognized.

Zurich North America’s recognition program began back in 2017, says Logue. It was created with use of internal data, as well as information from the Achievers Workforce Institute. One of the more recent endeavors involves collecting information from both managers and their employees regularly to determine whether and how well their recognition efforts are paying off.

The surveys were piloted in 2021 and began a full company rollout in the first quarter this year. Questions are keyed towards the main management framework, which consists of four areas: performance, development, engagement, and trust. Logue provided some examples of questions. In the performance category, one questions was, “To what extent did your manager engage you in goal-setting?” In the engagement category, one question asked if employees felt their manager cared about their well-being. For trust, there were just two yes/no questions: “I believe that my manager and I have a trusting relationship” and “I believe my manager follows through on their commitments.”

The surveys for Zurich are anchored to the manager framework, but also the performance-management cycle. “The timing of when we will go in and ask specific questions is very much aligned with it,” Logue said. For example, the survey most recently conducted was tied to the categories of performance and goal setting for 2022. As teams begin to migrate back to in-person work, there will be more questions about engagement.

The process includes robust support for managers, which Zurich is providing in part through peer-to-peer discussion groups. The 1,350 managers have participated in more than 550 of these groups so far, said Logue. Managers are required to engage with their teams prior to surveys and share expectations for the team members, as well as of themselves. After the survey results come in, managers should take time to self-reflect, says Logue “and sit with the results to give themselves time to absorb the data and the verbatim comments.”

Managers should ask team members clarifying questions based on the results. “These discussions are where the magic begins. While the data is important, it’s also important to marry the quantitative data with the qualitative information from the discussions that are happening after the survey occurs.” Finally, the survey should inform a development plan for action related to the results.

The survey was delivered to nearly all of the 9,000 employees at Zurich North America, and reports created for the 1,350 managers. Nearly ¾ of the employees participated.

While in 2021, 90% of managers used the spotlight recognition program at Zurich, it is a process that they will continue to try to improve, based on results from the surveys and conversations that employees and managers are having. Every month, managers get a dashboard of their recognition program use–who is being recognized, who isn’t. “That can help trigger actions to ensure we are leaning into the culture of recognition,” Logue said. On a monthly and quarterly basis, company “listening champions” bring back key metrics to managers to foster transparency and show where the successes and opportunities are.

While Logue said it’s too early to see if the efforts to empower managers through feedback and recognition efforts has had an impact on retention and engagement, company leaders know from the verbatim survey feedback that recognition is a way that helps workers feel cared about. “The most recent survey included a specific question about whether the manager regularly recognizes the employee in a way that makes them feel valued. We are very keen to study those results,” she said.

Getting managers to buy into this expanded use of surveys and recognition isn’t something that you can do a single training on and then be done with it, said Logue. “All of our managers have a formal accountability as a people manager. Recognition is also a core expectation.” To keep the program front-of-mind among managers, the company created a training module on the recognition programs for their onboarding process, as well as online resources, a playbook designed to give specific examples of good recognition and how to use elements of the program, and the peer-to-peer circles.

Continued training is important, said Baumgartner. While 90% of HR leaders in the survey said they provide training in recognition, only half of managers say they have received it. “I think part of solving that disconnect is ensuring that we’re providing the training in the in not only in the right way, but at the right cadence to ensure that employees and managers are really feeling like they’re being grown,” she says.

Achievers research has identified four guidelines for promoting a high-impact recognition program, said Baumgartner:

1.) Focus on both quality and quantity of recognition. “Having employees only recognized a few times a year does not move the needle on engagement and retention and neither does issuing of superficial recognitions,” she says, recommending that companies invest “in a platform that’s intuitive for employees to use, like those that mimic popular social-media sites, encourages at least monthly recognition, and has mechanisms to support recognition that is specific, personal and impact-oriented.”

2.) The program should make it possible for recognition to occur within the flow of work. “An effective platform needs to integrate with the tools your employees are living and breathing every day. More than half of employees want the recognition to happen in the flow of work rather than having to log in to a specific platform every time.” She also says to look also for a mobile app solution that’s simple to use, regardless of location, as that drives participation and visibility for both online and offline populations.

3.) Fuel your program with a proactive communication strategy. An effective platform will include turnkey resources for frontline managers to support their training goals in a continuous way.

4.) Measure the metrics that matter. It’s not just about retention and engagement. Track and monitor program usage, as it is helpful indicator of a recognition program and can also demonstrate sustained impact to the business’s bottom line.

Editor’s Note: From Day One thanks our partner who sponsored this webinar, Achievers.

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.