How to Foster Strong Employee Recognition in a Hybrid Workplace

What does the future of work look like?

That’s the question that people are asking themselves as the COVID-19 restrictions that have upended our lives over the past 18 months finally start to ease. 

But as the world returns to something resembling normality businesses face a fork in the road. Do they continue to let their people work remotely? Or do they attempt to return to “business as usual,” by encouraging their teams to return to the office full time?

It’s a difficult decision, that’s why it’s easy to understand the appeal of hybrid working. 

There’s no doubt that hybrid working is popular with employees - one recent survey, found that 83% of people would prefer to work for an employer with a hybrid work model. But for businesses, the model raises a series of challenges. Indeed, there is genuine concern that hybrid working could lead to a divided workforce, potentially diluting core values and company culture in the process. That's when employee rewards and recognition comes into play as it can help combat this concern.

So how do you ensure that your people feel engaged, wherever they’re working? Fortunately, there are a whole host of ways that you can foster effective employee recognition in a hybrid workplace. Here are just four of the methods you should consider implementing:

1. Communication is vital

After almost two years of working remotely we’ve grown used to the tools that can help us work together, even when we’re hundreds of miles apart. Whether it’s email, Slack, Zoom, Teams or a combination of different platforms, it’s now easier than ever to communicate with one another. 

The challenge businesses face as we move towards a hybrid model, is how to find the right mix of tools to ensure that everyone feels connected. That’s something that’s made even harder when your teams are separated between home and office. Get it right and the process is seamless. Get it wrong however and there is a risk that some of your people will feel isolated or unrecognized. 

Constant communication can help you to overcome this by making it easier for everyone to feel like the role they are playing in your organization is being recognized. So make sure you take the time to find the right balance of technologies and techniques to maintain regular contact with your people. 

2. The awesome power of acknowledgment

Recognition is a basic human need, one which our brains are hardwired to respond to. We’ve previously written about the biology of recognition, but the bottom line for businesses is that employee recognition results in higher levels of motivation, engagement and productivity, lower staff turnover, and an increased ability to retain and attract top talent. 

Because of this, recognition is a powerful tool for businesses looking to keep their employees engaged, even when they’re working remotely. It’s easy to send someone a quick note saying “thank you,” for a job well done. But by investing the time to tailor your appreciation, you can take your recognition to the next level. Whether you tie your praise back to their personal development or the value they are adding to the organization as a whole, your specificity is a great way of making your employees feel connected to the company. 

3. Prioritize face-to-face engagement

Technology makes it easier than ever for us to connect with one another, but one of the issues that many people face when working remotely is that they lose the human touch. That’s bad news for employers because when something as important as employee recognition takes place through text only, you lose out on vital elements like emotion and non-verbal cues.

For this reason, it’s important to plan regular video calls with your team so that you can recognize their efforts face-to-face. Whether they’re conducted on a one-to-one basis or as part of your regular team meetings, this kind of connection can be a hugely effective way to foster strong employee recognition. 

4. Use a dedicated employee recognition program 

Employee recognition programs can play a vital role in helping you to build a high-performing hybrid workplace. Modern platforms make it easier than ever to reward your teams and help them to feel connected to your company’s core values. This is where Bucketlist can help. Bucketlist’s employee rewards platform is customizable to your business, making it easy and fun for managers to recognize and reward your peoples’ milestones, achievements and hard work. 

To find out more about Bucketlist’s platform visit https://bucketlistrewards.com/product/ or contact us for a free demo. We’d love to help you improve your company’s employee recognition program!