By: Jason Brennan, Director of Wellness and Leadership at Wrkit

Recognition in the workplace is key to employee engagement, satisfaction and retention. It is one of the least expensive and most impactful ways to improve employee experience, which drives job satisfaction. However, in the new remote working world, businesses need to use new methods to ensure employees feelrecognised.

With remote working becoming the norm for many companies, business leaders must focus harder on creating and maintaining a workplace recognition culture. An innovative system of recognition is requirednow that the quick thank you or well done across the office is no longer as easy. Research highlights the importance of workplace recognition as 63% of people who feel recognised at work consider themselves very unlikely to seek a new job in the next three to six months.

So, what can businesses do to recognise the hard work of their staff, in this new system of working?

Personal notes of appreciation

A handwritten note or email recognising achievements is a great way to show the business has interest and appreciation in the work of their employees. Managers should make a conscious effort to monitor the work of their employees andto credit them when they succeed. It can also be beneficial for leadership teams as recorded notes of work going on within the team give greater visibility of accomplishmentsthat they may not have had sight of otherwise.

Caring for staff well-being

The Covid pandemic has further emphasised the need for employee recognition, and one aspect of this is recognising the importance of staff wellbeing. Adjusting to life during and after the pandemic has been difficult for many, with many people suffering mental health problems as a result. By showing staff that the business cares and takes employees mental well-being into account, team members are less likely to look elsewhere for employment.

One example of this could be allowing employees a monthly wellbeing day. This could be giving them vouchers to treat themselves to a manicure or providing them with tickets to a museum. By giving employees a break and allowing them to relax, business leaders are showing that they are invested in the health of their employees. Happier and more relaxed employees are likely to work more productively, alongside being content that their boss recognises their importance.

Encouraging co-worker recognition

Often those who are most aware ofpeople’s achievements are their peers, rather than managers or senior leadership. Encouraging employees to share the successes of their co-workers fosters a community within the business. This could be done by staff nominating their co-workers for special accomplishments or contributions. It is important that business leaders are engaged with the nominations, andoffer their congratulations and incentives for those commended by their team.

Hosting virtual celebrations

While people are currently not going into the office as frequently, this does not mean that businesses can’t celebrate their staff. Virtual birthday and work anniversary celebrations are great ways to ensure that businesses appear to be recognising and appreciating employees. Sending a cake or a bottle of wine to the employee’s home in celebration of their birthdays is a simple but effective way of maintaining employee satisfaction, which leads to retention.

Evidently, workplace recognition does not need to be an expensive ortime-consuming exercise. If businesses want to increase employee retention, offering simple recognition is a great method. There is a need for businesses to establish recurrent recognition strategies as currently 83% of organisations suffer from a lack of employee recognition.

Businesses that fail to recognise the importance of employee recognition, risk facing high levels of employee turnover, which can be costly and frustrating. To overcome this, a fresh approach to recognition and engagement is essential to fit in with the new business landscape, otherwise, companies risk losing talent to businesses that are committed to fostering outstanding company culture.

WRKIT is an employee engagement specialist with offices in Dublin, London and Sydney. WRKIT’s offering revolves around a comprehensive online suite of data-driven employee engagement, education and retention tools, which aid staff across the six pillars of wellbeing – life, mind, work, food, activity and sleep, and supporting businesses in creating happier, more engaged workforces.

For more information, visit https://wrkit.com

About Wrkit

Wrkit is a leading employee benefits and wellness specialist creating better, healthier working environments. By using their online suite of data-driven employee engagement & retention tools to help organisations successfully nurture talent. Wrkit has provided holistic solutions across the six different areas of wellbeing life, mind, work, food, activity and sleep to over 200 businesses, with a reach of more than 200,000 users.

Drawing from decades of experience, the team at Wrkit use their unique expertise in cultivating the effective use of surveys, the online wellbeing platform POWR, recognition, lifestyle savings and learning to enable businesses to retain and strengthen a powerful working environment and a better future for everyone.

Headquartered in Dublin (Ireland), WRKIT also has additional offices in London and Boston, where the business serves local and multi-national HR and business leaders around the globe.