Research shows that a valued worker can be integral to a company, closing the era of the dissatisfied employee. To that end, many businesses are implementing employee recognition programs to acknowledge and show appreciation to those who contribute to the workplace.
Employee recognition isn’t a one-size-fits-all package. It’s adaptable, changing to fit the business’s and the workers’ needs. It might come from peers, managers, or leadership, and it could be anything from words of appreciation to a reward.
No matter what it looks like, employee recognition — done right — provides people with feelings of fulfillment, accomplishment, and belonging when it’s done right. These basic needs are crucial to our overall health but often overlooked in the work environment. Consider these two case studies that shine a light on the importance of recognizing employees for their contributions to your business.
Case Study: Heineken
Dutch multinational brewing company Heineken, founded in 1864, is well-known for its beer brands all over the world. But its original reward and recognition program, offering 40 rewards totaling $1400 to a team of 2400 workers, was unsuccessful, and leaders took notice.
With tweaking and research, Heineken revamped the program, including various awards that targeted behaviors that matched the company’s values. Without changing the amount of their budget, the recognition team adjusted the rewards to include something beneficial to everyone, regardless of their role in the company.
This analysis integrated diversity and inclusivity, which are key parts of overall worker satisfaction (for more on inclusion in the workplace, read this article by Obsidi®). They offered many smaller awards, implementing the recognition more timely for values that applied to everyone.
Renamed “BREWards,” the program created multiple titles using Heineken terms. Each reward targeted behaviors anyone could achieve and came with a monetary award, a “day off,” or dinner at a Heineken brewery.
In addition to a title and reward, the team established guidelines and training materials to give everyone a deep dive into how to achieve the target with fairness and consistency. Regular emails, social media posts, and other mediums encouraged the targeted goals.
Ultimately, this collective effort of encouragement and reward resulted in achievement for 54% of the overall Heineken workforce, an increase of 50% over the old program.
Case Study: ATCC
As a leader in science for more than a century, ATCC understands the importance of evaluating research and adapting to the results. So, when the company realized its profit and loss returns were being hit hard by turnover at a rate higher than the industry average, the management team knew something had to change.
Employee turnover is one of the most expensive costs a business has. Depending on the company, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and training a new worker can cost several times the annual salary for that position. Onboarding new hires takes time, training programs, and resources like mentors, who lose productivity in familiarizing the employee with the business and role.
Turnover costs if the person leaving is owed accrued vacation time and severance pay. Healthcare costs that overlap can add thousands of dollars to the expense budget.
Indirect costs are also significant. When employee turnover is the norm, it reduces morale for those who remain. They often pick up the slack until the open position is filled and the new hire learns the ropes. This lack of morale spreads into the company’s culture, creating an environment of dissatisfaction, disloyalty, and low productivity.
ATCC’s workforce is mostly hybrid, working remotely and on-site. While this work atmosphere makes offering flexible scheduling for employees easier, building team morale and reducing turnover can be challenging.
To make this happen, the company revamped its recognition program, adapting the system into one centralized platform and implementing feedback tools for employees to offer suggestions and criticism. They also developed a communication system that connected all employees to share news, updates, and encouragement.
Beginning on March 4, 2022, which coincided with National Employee Appreciation Day, ATCC launched its new employee recognition program, Connects. Day one brought one-third of the employees registered; to date, 83% of the employees are part of the platform. This positive reward system, based on the company’s values and recognizing workers for achieving them, increased retention by 10% in the first year.
Conclusion
Finding ways to make your employees feel valued and recognized is essential to establishing a strong workplace culture. While the initial investment will take time and money, the overall results, as shared in these two case studies, may boost your team’s morale and productivity — skyrocketing your profits at the same time.
