The outlook on employee engagement has been grim recently. Unfortunately, low engagement at any organisation means that it will never achieve its potential. Disengaged employees are often just doing enough to get by. But just getting by isn’t the stuff of high performance cultures. Instead, developing a high performance culture requires cultivating an environment of high engagement and consistent improvement.

 

With more than half of the overall workforce disengaged, how do organisations cultivate engagement? Study after study indicates that staff want to be recognised for their efforts and that positive recognition boosts both performance and engagement. In a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute, inspiration and autonomy accounted for 24 percent of the responses. However, 37 percent of people indicated that recognition would encourage them to do their best work.

 

In addition to recognition, leaders and managers also want to do meaningful work and this combination is what drives high performance in values-based cultures. Of course, it’s important to measure performance, because that’s where leaders and managers get the information they need to provide feedback, both constructive and encouraging.

 

So performance management is one part of the engagement equation, the other part is a system of rewards and recognition. And while most organisations say they have such a system in place, most employees leave jobs because they aren’t getting enough positive recognition. This is likely an indication that the programmes are poorly implemented and ineffective.

 

Here are some things to consider when implementing effective rewards and recognition programmes that drive engagement and performance:

 

  • Be SMART. You’ve likely heard of creating SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely) goals; a good rewards and recognition programme should work much the same way. Rewards should be based on specific achievements tied to specific outcome objectives. What’s more, the recognition should be given based on recent accomplishments, rather than something done months ago.
  • Encourage peer-to-peer recognition. Being rewarded by a manager is one thing, but earning the respect of your peers is another. Create opportunities for staff to recognise and reward each other, whether it’s a simple system for thanking each other, or an elaborate organisation-wide vote for the member who most exemplifies the desired culture.
  • Provide development opportunities. For some people thanks is enough. However, there are others who would rather skip the public accolades and be recognised in the form of growth opportunities within the organisation. This also means preparing staff for opportunities with meaningful regular feedback.
  • Make it meaningful. Use recognition programmes to show people that they are a valued part of their team and to the organisation as a whole. This becomes particularly important for motivating employees during times of uncomfortable organisational growth or change.

Every organisation has a unique culture; likewise, the rewards and recognition programmes should take shape in alignment with the organisational culture. Keep the four keys above in mind to help ensure programmes work effectively to foster staff engagement and a culture of high performance.