As our lives continue to be restricted in the Asia Pacific region due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, it is even more critical for us as leaders to challenge ourselves to enhance our workplace culture (virtual or otherwise).
A massive lever is to dial up recognition, and ensure it becomes a natural part of the company’s DNA. I was fortunate to work in one of the most recognition-orientated companies in the world, YUM! Brands. The founding CEO, David Novak, did an amazing job driving recognition as a strategic point of difference. I highly recommend his book, .
The reason why recognition works at increasing team engagement and retention is that it demonstrates that you, as the leader, and the “company”, care about them and the value they add to the business. “Purpose and Pride” is another phrase that is relevant; recognising an individual increases their personal pride, which again increases their engagement.
Maintaining a culture of recognition is surprisingly easy; the hard part is the first six months of changing your own and the leadership team’s behaviour … once that happens and habits set in, then the recognition becomes natural. Like so many things in business, creating a culture of recognition is simply a process, requiring both informal and formal initiatives. Some informal ideas are laid out below:
The informal initiatives must partner with formal recognition. Some ideas include:
When you start on this recognition journey, it may feel clunky and unnatural, but then it becomes ingrained and expected by the team.
My final comment is for the skeptics out there thinking, “this won’t work in my country because our culture is different”. Having worked in global organisations my whole career, I guarantee this works in every country. can assist you on your journey to imbed a recognition culture in your business.
Originally published on LinkedIn. Read the original
