What's the key to authentic employee recognition?

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it, as William Arthur Ford once chimed. And it seems as if now, in the midst of the festive period, this rings truer than ever before.

A recent report from Recruiter Box found that organizations with effective recognition programs have 31% lower turnover – in fact, 90% of employees agree that their recognition schemes positively impacts upon their engagement levels.

But be warned – it’s not enough to simply pay lip service to reward initiatives.

HRD spoke to Tom Short, president and founder of Kudos® and speaker at our upcoming HR Leaders Summit, to find out the secret to authentic employee recognition.

“Companies that get it and realize culture is critical for their success are empowering everyone to be keepers of their culture, making recognition ubiquitous, transparent and central to their operations,” explained Tom.

“When they commit to this open format that appeals to Boomers and Millennials, they’ll experience a more authentic connected culture. Empowerment is the key and leadership will come from all levels. Authentic recognition is earnest, timely and focused on the positive behaviours that lead to success versus success itself.

However, Tom had a stark warning for those archaic companies who insist upon adhering to a broken system or rewards.

“Organizations that are sticking to old methods and methodologies around employee recognition and who are afraid to invest in new systems and philosophies because they cannot measure the impact and ROI of having a better culture, enhanced morale, or engaged team will find themselves at a disadvantage in the competition for talent in the millennial era.”

To hear more from Tom on all the pressing HR issues of the day, book your ticket to our upcoming HR Leaders Summit in Calgary.

Originally posted on HRD Canada Online.