Give Recognition This Holiday Season

This holiday season, I’m asking you to please give a great gift that’s free, easy to wrap and always appreciated.

And that’s recognition.

Before we go forward, pause reading this column. Set your timer to three minutes and ask yourself three questions:

1. When was the last time you gave deep, profound recognition to someone for a job well done?
2. How often do you do so every week?
3. How often do you receive recognition?

Why is this important? Only 23% of employees feel “meaningfully recognized at work, and over half are recognized just a few times a year or less,” according to an Achievers Workforce Institute report.

Recognizing others has a profound effect on the well-being of your employees, and subsequently your company. 

The same report says, “When employees feel recognized by their managers, they’re up to 19 times more likely to trust them, 16.5 times more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work, and two to three times more likely to feel engaged, productive and connected.”

When I shared this data recently during a keynote conversation I hosted with 400 business leaders, I paused to gauge their reaction. I saw a lot of head nods, and I asked people to share their reactions. 

“We’re not taking the time out to show we care,” one attendee shared with the audience. “And I feel it too. Does my manager even know what I do?”

“I have good intentions,” another attendee shared. “But I just tell myself, ‘Oh, they already know how much I appreciate them!’”

“I still think about the praise I received 20 years ago from my first managers,” a third said. “I need to thank them for what those words still mean to me!

How to recognize your colleagues

A few tips on recognizing your colleagues. First, consider how you and others prefer to be recognized. I categorized them into three types:

• Private praise: Feedback given directly during a 1:1 conversation
• Group glow-up: Praise shared during a team meeting
• Spotlight shout-out: Communication in an all-employee meeting, on an intranet or through a social media post

When I asked the same audience how they prefer to be recognized, 66% of the respondents said they want private praise, with group glow-ups and spotlight shout-outs each receiving 17%.

Next, ask your teams how they like to be appreciated. Even if you don’t manage people, then it’s essential to ask your managers, peers, partners, vendors and anyone else you work with regularly. 

Create your team’s own ways to celebrate. My first company had two primary ways to show recognition: one was a small piece of paper that thanked someone for living by a specific company value; the other was an all-company email to recognize a significant milestone. Receiving them and delivering them meant everything to me.

Are you working with HR or internal comms teams? Make this a part of the onboarding process.

Are you in a leadership role? Please ask your managers to ask their teams. 

Ways to show gratitude

Most of us will focus on “why” we’re receiving this recognition. It’s one thing to say, “great job.” It’s another reason to say, “great job because you led this research by yourself and came up with proactive recommendations I barely had to edit. It helped save me time, allowing me to spend more time with my family last night. By the way, the client was floored by the recommendation. So much so, they’ve asked me to have you play a more active role on the account.”

How to put this into action? Schedule 30 minutes every Thursday afternoon. Within a few weeks, you will have reignited relationships with your managers, direct reports, peers, vendors and those who, like you, are human and appreciate when others show their gratitude.

May you and those close to you have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season.