We all want to feel appreciated at work. But do we know how to accept compliments when we receive them? And do we say thank you and give recognition to others? To facilitate a culture of recognition, the wellbeing & Community Pillar of Projective Group Belgium installed a Recognition Mailbox in the office.
The importance of recognition
At Projective Group, we want to create an inclusive and engaging company culture – one where everyone can feel good and do their best work. Giving people recognition for their talents and achievements is a powerful way to help reach this goal.
We listened to the feedback of our employees, who shared that they didn’t always feel appreciated at work – though not necessarily because they didn’t get recognition. Often times, people find it hard to take a compliment to heart when they receive it. Especially in Belgian culture, people are quick to brush off praise, shrugging their shoulders and saying something self-deprecating like ‘it was no big deal’. “We wanted to raise awareness that we understand the importance of employee recognition and that we want to build a positive and supportive company culture,” says Claire Deconinck of the Culture & Community Pillar (CCP). “But we also wanted to give employees the message that they have a role to play in this as well and that there are many ways in which you can give recognition. So we gave a presentation on recognition culture recently, in which we explained what we wanted to achieve, and how.”
Giving people recognition for their talents and achievements is a powerful way to create an inclusive and engaging company culture.
Do it for the dopamine
When people feel appreciated at work, they will feel more connected to their team mates and the company at large. “Recognition culture fosters a sense of belonging, which is a very important factor of employee happiness,” says wellbeing officer Evi Buelens. “This in turn helps to improve our employees’ overall happiness. After all, we spend a fair amount of time at work. It’s part of life, you cannot separate the two.”
As human beings, we’re sensitive to negative feedback. We can get twenty compliments, but if one person says something critical, that’s the comment that we’ll remember. “For every negative thing – a mistake you made, a comment you received – you need seven positives to balance that out,” says Claire. “So if you do get a compliment or a thank you, take it in. Don’t go undermining it yourself. Take that shot of dopamine and let it make you feel good, because that happiness will follow you home and have a positive effect on your family as well.”
“Recognition culture fosters a sense of belonging, which is a very important factor of employee happiness.”
Recognition mailbox
“Step one was raising awareness through the workshop. Step two is taking action, enabling the culture of recognition that we want to bring to life in the organisation,” says Evi. They came up with the Recognition Mailbox Initiative. “The recognition mailbox is an accessible way to show appreciation. We provide fun cards and a mailbox, and we invite everyone to write something nice to a colleague that deserves some kudos. The wellbeing team then carries out the appreciation cards to all the recipients.”
The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. “This shows how important the initiative is, how much people appreciate it, and that motivates us to push the initiative forwards,” says Evi.
“Other Projective Group countries have launched different initiatives, so I think for our next step we can draw inspiration from them,” adds Claire. “For now, we’ve kept it low-key. The only people who see the appreciation cards are the people who write and receive them, and the wellbeing team who hands them out. But we believe that it would be even more powerful to share recognition publicly, and personally.” That’s why we have now launched it in our recurring update calls. Just like our UK colleagues. This way we hope to reach also the people we don’t often see in the office.
The recognition mailbox is a great first step. But we believe that it would be even more powerful to share recognition publicly, and personally.
Inspired by Projective Group UK
Our UK colleagues have taken the recognition culture even further. They have built the habit of adding a “kudos round” to every update call. For the kudos round, slides are shown displaying messages from one colleague to another, sharing the appreciation in a public forum. After the kudos round, there’s a “shout out open mic” in which the moderators open the floor to anyone who wants to thank or compliment someone else in the call. “We want to incorporate these initiatives as well,” says Evi. “We hope that giving recognition verbally will have even more impact.”
Making the implicit explicit
There isn’t just one way to give recognition, there are many. You can send an appreciation card, sure, but even acts much smaller than that can have a great impact.
- Using words: affirm, appreciate, thank, encourage, use someone’s name, …
- Giving rewards: a thoughtful gift, organising an offsite, …
- Making time: have lunch together, have a coffee, have a chat, show interest in each other, …
- Offering support: offer to help or guide a struggling colleague, listen actively and empathise.
Perhaps the key to all of this, is making the implicit, explicit. Often times, you’ll be happy when someone responds to your e-mail quickly, or you’ll appreciate someone’s friendly help, or you’ll feel grateful for their patience, or some banter by the coffee maker can help you turn a bad day around. But you won’t necessarily tell the person about the effect they’ve had on you. “People told us they didn’t think about the impact small acts could have,” says Evi. “That’s a shame, because by not making these thoughts explicit, a lot of recognition goes unnoticed. We’re very glad to see that our initiatives so far have made people think about saying these things out loud more often. The awareness is definitely there. Now it’s up to us to build on the momentum and keep the recognition culture alive.”
By not making thoughts of appreciation explicit, a lot of recognition goes unnoticed.
Benefits of recognition culture
You don’t have to do it only for the dopamine. A culture of recognition has many benefits, both for the organisation and for the employees.
Benefits for the company
- Increased retention: happy employees are loyal employees.
- Sense of belonging: employees who feel connected to the organisation, are more motivated.
- Heightened productivity: motivated employees go the extra mile.
Benefits for the employees
- Happiness at work: recognition culture can help make the office a place where people want to be.
- Fulfilment: Knowing that what you do matters and is appreciated, boosts motivation and job satisfaction.
- Mental health: expressing and accepting gratitude is a powerful way to strengthen your mental health.
Expressing and accepting gratitude is a powerful way to strengthen your mental health.
Hopes for the future
Claire and Evi are both happy with the way the Recognition Mailbox Initiative has taken off in the organisation, though they are hopeful for even more recognition in the future By doing it online and publicly as well now. Evi: “We hope it will become a part of the culture at Projective Group – both at the organisational as the individual level. We want it to become a reflex for management to voice their appreciation often, but we also hope that it becomes part of employees’ work ethic to give recognition to their colleagues. I would love to be walking down the hall and hear someone give thanks to a co-worker in real life, not just via appreciation cards or kudos rounds.”
Claire wholeheartedly agrees. “We shouldn’t be naïve: this cannot be a one-off effort. It will take work. But we will reach sustainable impact through small, consistent effort by all.”
Conclusion
Fostering a culture of recognition at work is a powerful way to create more happiness, motivation and resilience among employees and boost retention. Recognition should be given often and explicitly, though grand gestures aren’t always necessary. Small acts of kindness and gratitude can have a great impact on employees’ sense of belonging. A thank you goes a long way in creating magic in the organisation.
About Projective Group
Established in 2006, Projective Group is a leading Financial Services change specialist.
We are recognised within the industry as a complete solutions provider, partnering with clients in Financial Services to provide resolutions that are both holistic and pragmatic. We have evolved to become a trusted partner for companies that want to thrive and prosper in an ever-changing Financial Services landscape.