To truly excel at work, people need to feel engaged with their work. Feeling valued is one of the five pillars of employee engagement. The easiest way to help someone to feel valued is to give recognition for their contribution.
When someone is engaged they reward you in return with:
What is recognition?
Recognition is simply calling out someone's contribution. This can be done publicly or privately, by a manager or a peer.
Peer-to-peer recognition tends to have more impact on employee engagement than manager recognition because it feels genuine. That's because you expect your manager to recognise you, but not necessarily your colleagues.
Recognition is saying "Thank you" for going over and above on a project or stepping in to help someone. It's giving praise when a colleague has delivered exceptional work or completed something early. Recognition is also saying "well done" when your colleague or employee had worked under challenging conditions.
Why does employee recognition work?
The simplest answer is that we’re just wired that way.
Our brains are built to thrive on recognition. It causes the production of dopamine by stimulating the hypothalamus, where the brain regulates things like stress and metabolic processes. Dopamine is basically the chemical our brain uses as a reward response for doing things.
You might feel good for getting through that stack of paperwork, but what makes recognition so potent is that it’s an external confirmation that you’ve done a good job.
Read why financial rewards don't create long-term engagement here.
How to give recognition in Perform & Engage 365
During the Perform & Engage 365 check-in
The quickest and easiest way is to use the @mentions feature during your Perform & Engage 365 check-in. This sends a notification to the person you're recognising and their manager.
Pass-up and Pass across
Managers can also use Pass-up or Pass across to send parts of their direct report's Perform & Engage 365 check-in to their manager or a peer.
This is especially useful when an employee has had a great idea or delivered an exceptional piece of work. It's a quick and easy way to shine a light on your team members.
Employees can mark some of their Perform & Engage 365 check-in private. This means that particular item can't be included in a Pass-up or Pass across.
What happens with recognition @mentions in Perform & Engage 365
Employees
- Employees get notified via email or Microsoft Teams when they're @mentioned during a Perform & Engage 365 check-in.
- Employees can see how many @mentions they've received, and dig into the details, from their 'Me' Tab in Perform & Engage 365.
- Employees can pull these @mentions into their performance conversations, including 1:1s, performance reviews and appraisals, and ad hoc conversations.
Managers
Managers receive the same notifications as employees (as above) plus,
- Managers get notified via email or Microsoft Teams when their direct reports are @mentioned during a Perform & Engage 365 check-in.
- Managers can see how many @mentions their direct reports have received, and dig into the details, from their 'My Team' Tab in Perform & Engage 365.
- Managers can view these @mentions in the performance conversations they run with their direct reports, including 1:1s, performance reviews and appraisals, and ad hoc conversations.
How to use recognition to impact employee engagement
Being recognised is in itself a self motivator for feeling engaged. Read this article for some ideas on how to use your Perform & Engage 365 recognition @mentions to impact employee engagement.