Do You Have a Culture of Recognition?

Recognition has always been the heart of employee engagement.  In fact it might even be the soul as well.  Nothing does more for an employee in the short term that recognizing their performance, either formally or informally....with any kind of physical award (either large of small).

The Internet lists the Top Ten  Employee Recognition Systems.  To name just a few, companies with such cute names as Motivosity, Guusto, Fond and Nectar all have the bells and whistles that will be a sure fire way in recognizing your employees to improve their performance and increase their engagement.  And our guess is that they will all work in one way or another.  They all tout a new and better way to improve your culture.  

What they won't do is instill a culture of "Thank You" within your company that comes as natural as breathing.  That has to come from executives above, the managers in the middle and the employees themselves throughout.  We can all feel a company who has this culture.  It permeates all that they do, we feel it when we do business with them.  We keep going back.

Saying "thank you" doesn't come naturally to people, it is something that has to be coached, it has to be repeated over and over again, and something that has to be sincere and be measured.  Employees and managers alike need to know when they are doing it, how well, and when they are not.

Take the test, spend a day watching interactions between your management and your employees and just count the times when a sincere recognition of performance or "thank you" takes place,  At the end of the day you'll know if you do or don't have a culture of recognition and to what degree.

Gift Cards Are Fun Money

 

The 2020 IRF Academic Review offers some interesting peer review research of articles found within the employee engagement industry regarding employee incentives and recognition programs.  Some of the significant points this year that could help inform you on the design and execution of successful programs include: 

• Gift cards have the potential to capture most – and perhaps all – of the well-known benefits of non-cash rewards. Program awardees categorize gift card awards as “fun money.” Many employers find gift cards easy to give and to administer compared to choosing specific tangible gifts or rewards. 
• The greater sense an employee has that a reward they receive is separate from their salary or wages, the greater improvement they showed in their performance. 
• Researchers found that workers classify non-cash, tangible rewards as distinct from monetary compensation, suggesting that delivering non-cash rewards is more likely than cash to result in improved performance.
• Gift cards continue to be widely used as awards, with median gift card amount remaining at $100 
• For many employees, it has become the soft rewards of work such as culture, relationships, trust, and purpose, education and direct management that matter most to them. 
• 94% of executives at top performing firms are strong supporters of incentive programs and consider them a competitive advantage 
• Companies conducting analysis on how programs change behavior increased to 44%, compared to 25% in 2019. 
• While it’s always difficult to establish direct casualty, most organizations measure results based on correlations. Metrics for tangible benefits include decreased staff turnover, increased productivity, sales, revenue, safety, market share, gains in customer satisfaction, and customer acquisition
• Even more difficult to measure, metrics for intangible benefits that include employee satisfaction, collaboration, and impact on company culture 
• Designers are structuring programs with a wider reach, with the goal of each participant receiving recognition or rewards of some kind, rather than exclusively rewarding just top performing program participants.

Do Employee Merchandise Awards Cost So Much More than Gift Cards?

 

Actually that’s sort of a trick question; the actual cost of a merchandise item doesn’t cost more than the actual cost of a gift card.  If you spend $50 on one item and $50 on a gift card, you’ve spent the same amount.  Your budget hasn’t changed.  What is definitely true is that the value of a gift card can change appreciably depending on when and where you use it and be worth more than what you paid for it.  In fact, most of the gift cards given over the Holiday season are used to purchase merchandise items on sale after the holiday season…often when the value can be double or even triple depending on the item.

From a recognition planner’s viewpoint, gift cards will have the effect of increasing your budget, where merchandise can actually decrease it.  Merchandise award companies need to start to develop their list or catalogs of merchandise awards long before clients will ever be buying or redeeming for them.  They will maintain pricing for a certain period, but after that period they have been known to raise them to cover increased costs, and thus increasing budgets.  As merchandise awards are also burdened with shipping and handling to the individual, their pricing is already higher by between 10-15%.

Take advantage of natural market downward price pressure during several times of the year.  When you use gift cards it will have the effect of increasing your budget by 50% or more, without increasing your cost.

Gift Card Usage as Employee Awards

How and why did gift cards become the dominate employee award in corporations today?  First because they are ubiquitous and people of any age group or ethnicity love them, and two because they provide the best value and choice of any other award.  Following are some of the ways they are used and why incentive planners like them so much.

How Are They Used?

• To recognize performance 70.2%
• As sales incentives 48.6%
• As business gifts 29.3%
• As non-sales recognition awards 30.4%
• As spot rewards 30.4%
• As years of service awards 47.6%
• For consumer promotions 14.9%
• As safety awards 9.9% • As dealer incentives 9.4%
• Wellness programs 6.6%
• To start/maintain business relationship (referrals) 6.1%

 Why Do Incentive Planners Like Them?

• Ease of administration
• Broad audience appeal
• Redemption & flexibility
• Perceived value Cost effectiveness
• Lasting appeal
• Backend ROI Tracking

Click here for a one page flyer on our five delivery methods to use gift cards in your company.

Rewards and Recognition Will Positively Impact Employee Engagement

Over the last decade employee engagement levels have barely budged since Gallup started tracking them.  This flat result comes in spite of extensive research identifying the logical links between the engagement and organizational success.  Maybe more importantly, it comes in spite of the billions spent on motivational speakers, leadership gurus, coaching, engagement surveys, technology, communication, training, rewards and recognition.  So where have we gone wrong? 

The state of employee engagement today might be best described by using the hiking term “false summit.”  That’s the disappointment one feels when reaching the crest of a ridge, only to discover that the real summit looms high above.  The good news is that despite the apparent lack of progress, the path to significant improvement in employee engagement remains, as more and more executives have a greater appreciation of the role of engaged people.  

The Question Is Always How? 

In decades of working with clients in the incentive rewards and recognition industry, we know the easiest way to begin a strategic connection between employees and the engagement needed to deliver your brand promises is to implement the principles contained in the employee behavior model. Executives, especially in HR are aware of the principles that great psychologists such as Watson, Skinner, Maslow and Thorndyke taught.  But it seems that the traditional thinking surrounding behavior has been set aside in favor of new approaches of the consultants of today that permeate the C-Suite. Through decades of implementing successful employee award systems that followed the simple approach of the behavior model, we know you can produce results. 

Employee Recognition Will Produce Results 

If you design and implement the right employee award system you will definitely engage employees. You don’t have to make it any more complicated than that.  

The sense of a false summit comes from the fact that the industry is replete with gurus delivering leadership advice, various performance apps, wellness programs, feedback surveys, all types of rewards and recognition items, and other measures to engage employees. HR and related technology trade shows and conferences feature education topics and exhibits on all manner of ways to engage employees—and yet employee engagement levels remain stuck well below 50%.  Why? 

People come to work each day because you’ve provided a contract of income to get them there.  But this contract doesn’t necessarily motivate them to perform at their highest level once they are there.  That’s where the connection to improved performance by implementing a well-structured reward and recognition system should begin.  

Where Have All the Experts Gone? 

The Reward and Recognition Industry began employee engagement long before it was ever titled that.  The successful incentive rewards houses made large investments in expertise in all the facets of the behavior model, and gave that expertise away in order sell their commodities of merchandise and travel.  Those companies became the floor upon which the entire recognition and reward business was built.  But the industry has changed, the new companies didn’t bring the expertise and now merely sell the rewards as consequences to behavior without regard to the other behavior pieces.  Studies from the Incentive Research Foundation clearly show that the vast majority of companies never look at their award supplier as someone who can assist them in building a strategic connection with their employees.  We believe that’s the first place you should look. 

Some Problems Still Exist 

If you want to break the 50% engagement barrier, you need to think in terms of systems not silos.  When you entertain experts, who remain firmly planted in their own curriculum you will not be able to connect all the behavioral dots.  When was the last time you had a training company present measurement and feedback coupled with rewards as part of their solution? When was the last time you had a technology company present an app or IT solution which included communications, feedback analysis and rewards necessary to make it effective?  When was the last time you had a recognition or awards salesperson concerned about anything other than how many awards you needed and when?  

There is no one cure-all for employee engagement.  It has so many facets and levels that it is difficult for any company to achieve.  The ones that have it didn’t get there overnight, and are constantly tweaking the pieces.  We’ve watched companies grapple with how to begin and spend countless hours arguing over the important pieces that make up the foundation and how to start.  If you want to delve into the world of employee engagement, look through the lens of the behavior model and you’ll find the best way to build it for yourself. You’ll know what pieces you already have, which ones you do well and which ones are missing, and if they are working in unison to produce your desired results.

Getting More From Holiday Gift Card Awards

The holiday season is here again, and for those looking to thank their employees, channel sales teams or clients, gift cards remain a favorite option.

What are the advantages of using gift cards as holiday awards? 

• Gift cards provide a real value and allow the recipient to get the merchandise item that they want, when they want it and from where they like to shop. 
• During the holiday season and beyond there are a myriad of items that will be on sale.  The value of the card you give is actually expanded, often by double, when used for discount bargains.
• From the buyer perspective, lead times on giving gift cards are far shorter than other merchandise items; you can get them quickly, often within 24 hours.he shipping cost of getting the cards to you is very small and doesn’t adversely affect your budget…almost 100% of the budget gets into the hands of those you want. 
• You can get gift cards in almost any denomination that fits your needs, large of small.
• You can get universal gift cards such as the Award of Choice that gives your award winner over 500 of the most popular brands to choose from.  You no longer have to agonize over what brand to use.  They will know what they want, let them have it. 
• You can use electronic gift card awards such as instant Award of Choice where all you have to do is order a certificate online, send it to the recipient and they can in turn order the electronic card they want.  All this can be done in minutes.

Many buyers we’ve spoken to over the years don’t like gift cards because they think they are too impersonal (or don’t want the recipient to know what they actually spend.)  Unless you plan to buy a specific different item for each recipient, at least 50% of what you give won’t hit the mark, and won’t be personal at all.  And with the ease of comparison shopping online, figuring out the cost/value of almost anything this side of a space ship is a breeze.

Research has shown that the recipients would much rather choose what they want rather than something they have no use for. Closets desk drawers and garage sales are full of items given that were never used. 

Why Gift Cards are More Compelling than Cash as Employee Awards

 

Executive responses to a recent Incentive Federation study on employee incentives showed that merchandise and travel are more compelling than cash as employee awards.  And specifically in the merchandise category gift cards were the most popular awards. 

The reasons most incentive planners feel why gift cards are more effective were listed as:

1. Trophy value: Gift card purchases are more memorable – they create a lasting reminder of achievement.

2. Viral value: Employees tell each other how they redeemed gift cards.

3. More discrete: It’s polite to mention non-cash awards.

4. True gift perception: Gift cards are not viewed as part of compensation.

5. Universal benefits: Gift cards combine the benefits of merchandise with the benefits of cash.

6. Guilt-free spending: Recipients don’t feel guilty treating themselves.

7. More likely to improve work performance: Studies show that cash doesn’t improve work performance – gift cards do.

8. Family support: Because the participant’s family is involved in selecting awards – they’re more likely to support the participant’s goals.

9. Pleasing loved ones: There is a strong motivation to earn an award for one’s significant other

10. Long-term positive feelings toward organization: Gift cards reinforce positive associations with sponsoring organizations.

To review the entire research click here.

Should You Have Year End Celebrations?

Clearly no one seems to be in the mood to celebrate all that has happened to us this year.  Businesses and employees are traumatized with the layoffs, closures, budget cutting and depression and anxiety abound in the workplace.

However, we would suggest that this is not the time to skip that holiday celebration; in fact it may be one of the best times ever to have one.  Granted, budgets have been cut and you may not be able to have the elaborate events of the past, but if there was ever a time to thank your dedicated employees it is now.   If 2020 taught us one thing it’s that our employees are tremendous people with big hearts and loyalty.  Now is the time to tell them you appreciate them.

Consider a simple note from middle management or executives personalized to the employees that speak to the things they have achieved, the hardships they have endured and the obstacles they have overcome often doing things outside their job descriptions to help keep the business going.  You might want to include with it some small token of thanks pertinent to your particular business…you can find hundreds of logo merchandise ideas in your ASI catalogs.  

Also consider bundling the ASI item with a gift card voucher for extra emphasis.  Gift cards are shared with the family.  Using a gift card voucher that gives your employee the choice of hundreds of gift card brands, allows you to give one gift and the employee gets something they want or need...a wide variety of merchandise, entertainment, restaurants or grocery stores.  If your employees are not in central locations, issuing gift card vouchers can be done electronically with very little effort on your part,

Say Thank You and celebrate those who make a difference.

Create Employee Recognition That Builds Customer Satisfaction

 

Providing quality customer service requires engaged employees, and communicating to employees how much their work is valued is an important but often overlooked way to maintain high levels of workforce satisfaction.  Millennials especially want immediate acknowledgment that their performance on the job meets or exceeds expectations. 

Employee recognition programs can play a central role in increasing employee engagement and satisfaction.  There are many “how to” recipes for building the best recognition program.  Here’s a simple design that can help you get started in building what’s best for you.

 Create an Employee Reward and Recognition Team 

The main function of this team is to design your recognition activities to align with the organization’s standards of behavior. To ensure operational success, the team should routinely meet with company managers to discuss what is going well in their areas of the organization. These conversations remind managers how important it is to recognize outstanding employees. This constant reinforcement by your recognition team helps everyone realize that it is worth taking the time to recognize their employees.  

Measure How Employees Like to Be Rewarded 

This may seem like a simple thing to do, but it is very often overlooked. It is not uncommon for senior and even mid-level management to think they know what employees want.  It is not unusual to project their bias into the thought process.  They may be right, but based on past experience they are more often wrong.

This discussion should also touch on the type of awards the employees want.  Just remember that if you ask someone if they want cash or praise, it is just human nature for the answer to be the cash.  But cash will rarely be what gets the job done, especially when the budgets per individuals is likely minimum compared to income.  Two quotes to remember:

 

                           “ A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.”

                                        …Napoleon Bonaparte

 “There are two things people want more than sex and money…recognition and praise”

                                        …Mary Kay Ash 

By using some kind of motivational assessment tool during the hiring process, you can identify how each employee likes to receive recognition.  The tool can also give you valuable information about the employee to help design programs to achieve the employee’s desired outcomes. 

Tie Recognition to Employee Performance Management 

If you have implemented any kind of performance management system make sure you incorporate it into your recognition program reporting and use it so management can have more reasons for recognizing employee performance.  This helps your program feed on itself and grow from within.  We see many companies that don’t tie things together and miss out on this synergy. 

Correlate Recognition Programs with Employee Satisfaction and Customer Experience 

Use past, current and future employee satisfaction surveys and measure against the performance of your recognition efforts.  There are always a variety of reasons why employee satisfaction will have increased (hopefully) but reward and recognition programs will be a contributing factor.  In addition there is prevailing wisdom that a correlation exists between happy and more engaged employees and higher customer satisfaction.   

Employee recognition creates an important link between employees’ day-to-day actions and broader organizational goals and objectives. There are significant benefits that result from tying employee recognition programs to employee evaluations. Although reward and recognition programs require a small time commitment, they pay major dividends in terms of greater staff engagement, employee satisfaction, and better customer experiences.

 

 

 

Digital Gift Card Usage Rises During the Pandemic

 

With the pandemic disrupting how incentives are delivered to recipients, there has been a significant uptick in companies using digital gift cards as rewards, according to new findings from prepaid technology company NGC. 

In its annual survey of gift card usage in B2B incentive programs, they reported that they were already seeing a heavier shift to digital gift cards in Q2 of 2020 as many brick-and-mortar retailers and restaurants are closed or operating under limited hours. Digital card offerings are out-pacing physical card distribution. At Ultimate Choice we have seen over 80% of our redemption for electronic cards.  It just makes sense for companies to use digital as it the easiest, most cost effective way to recognize performance on the spot.  Awards are often given to a worthy employee who receives it and spends it all within just minutes.  It is the truest definition of immediate reinforcement for positive performance.  It helps to turn those performances in habits that the employees will repeat. 

This has continued a trend that NGC noted last year where digital card redemptions rose from 30% of the total cards redeemed by B2B customers in 2018 to 45% in 2019. It was found that big box retailers (Walmart, Target etc., and the large discount chains of Costco and Sam’s) were the top categories of redemption with 31% of total redemption volume.

Many clients are taking advantage of this trend by using electronic mail merge to issue gift card rewards to home office employees which makes the process very easy with little effort for the client, quick turnaround and instant reward and tremendous choice for the employees.

Are Points-Based Rewards Programs Really Super Meaningful?

 

When a company budget only allows for nominal reward amounts like $25 up to per $100 person to incentivize or recognize employees, the typical award program options available to them are cash, points for awards and gift cards. Researchers have conducted many studies on the benefits of cash versus non-monetary rewards, but it is rare to find research to compare a points based reward system to other types of awards deliverable. In fact we’ve never seen one.  

The single biggest benefit of using a points based award system is being able to combine budgets from disparate departments, or over longer periods of time which allows the employee to grow their points account so they can redeem for larger more significant awards, and in many cases even travel.  When your total overall awards per employee is a less significant amount ex. $100 or $150 in awards, the excitement and motivation can wane especially considering the time between the issuance of the points and the redemption for a suitable award.

 Another benefit of a points based system is that it allows you to have a large array of award options in one place and promote them often.  Just make sure that if your assortment of awards includes very desirable and costly items that you have enough earning power in the program to be able to redeem for that item, and it doesn’t take an overly long time to earn those points. Check the average expected points issuance cost per employee during the program.  If that won’t allow the average employee to be able to redeem for 75-80% of the items in your catalog, your program is either underfunded or your award catalogs has too many high priced items.  Be realistic, it will save you a lot of complaints down the line.

 If you are going to implement a points based system, you need to be very diligent in your supplier search and be able to compare costs accurately.  Most award companies that sell their points system at low or no cost will make up that price difference making you use their awards in the system.  But those awards are usually priced unreasonably high compared to retail.  Everyone knows about the bank reward points you earn on your credit card.  But anyone you ask will also tell you that the prices of the award items in those programs are ridiculously high.  The best way to test the pricing is to look at the gift card section.  If a $25 gift card doesn’t cost you $25 in points issued, you are probably paying too much.

 Frankly points based systems can be the best type of incentive or recognition program you can implement, if you take the time to think through the steps above.  Here is a blog post we wrote a few years back that will delineate all the caveats you need to consider before you implement a program.  Don’t get caught up in thinking that a points based system will be the cure-all for your recognition needs. There are other ways.

Employee Health and Fitness Programs Will Save You Money

Consider the following:

 

Findings from 56 studies of worksite health promotion programs showed an average: 

• ·     27% reduction in sick leave absenteeism
• ·     26% reduction in healthcare costs
• ·     32% reduction in workers’ compensation and disability management cost claims
• ·       $5.81 to $1.00 ROI ratio 

In addition, with Wellness programs you win both ways: 

Michigan Research center estimates that your company can achieve substantial per employee savings when employees with low risk health remain low risk and when high-risk employee health risks are reduced.

The majority of employers with more than 200 employees now self-insure. When an employer self-insures, the company owns the "health-risk" of its population.

Effective prevention, wellness and improvement of the health of your workforce will result in your company increasing bottom line profits. Many experts agree that the current and future spending on employee health is not only unsustainable, but also poses a significant threat to the overall competitiveness of businesses within the global marketplace. 

Here’s a simple road map to build a great wellness program: 

Invite employers everywhere to participate and challenge them to create Healthy Moments, form Healthy Groups and then develop a timely Culminating Project. 

Healthy Moments are focused on the individual, and are occasions of healthy eating, physical activity or personal/environmental health. ​​ 

Healthy Groups are small groups of employees formed to create  sustainable activities throughout the year.​

Culminating Project is an event or series of events that promote health through the whole company or community. ​

Gift cards are arguably the easiest to use, most cost effective award to use in wellness programs.  They also provide exactly what your employees want. 

Following are some ways companies have used gift card awards to achieve objectives: 

• ·       Increase Program enrollment
• ·       Completing health assessments
• ·       Encourage class involvement
• ·       Achieve weight loss
• ·       Improve smoking cessation
• ·       Increase exercise
• ·       Complete program milestones
• ·       Encourage better reporting
• ·       Increase the use of fitness trackers
• ·       Help employees form “healthy groups”
• ·       Encourage sharing healthy eating recipes 

Wellness programs benefit employees by lowering stress levels, increasing well-being, increasing self-image and self-esteem, improving physical fitness, increasing stamina, increasing job satisfaction, and controlling BMI and blood pressure. 

If you don’t have a wellness program, start one today and watch bottom line profits increase. 

Incentive Programs Can Help Your Safety Program Succeed?

Traditional safety award programs were originally designed to decrease accidents and almost all of them rewarded employees based on the number of accidents reduced.  Unfortunately poor design, using team goals and lax supervisory attention lead to non-reporting of incidents by employees in order to get their awards.    

Today safety award programs are used to reduce the leading indicators of accidents and reinforcing other major components like training and education.  In any award program, a key first step is to challenge employees to participate in these programs, and here incentives play an important role.  

Other Ways Incentives Can Work For Your Safety Program 

Safety Incentives Change Behavior

Behavior Based Safety probably gets as much negative press from safety professionals as not.  For many reasons it’s just not well liked.  But like so many business strategies, it’s not always the strategy that’s at fault, but the implementation.  In its simplest form, BBS is the monitoring of safety behavior by management and peers and the reinforcement of those behaviors when they are positive.  When you use minimal awards reinforcing the behavior, you can turn it into a habit. Regrettably too many companies used these programs negatively, which does nothing to improve performance

Safety Incentives Promote Healthy Work Culture

Incentives can be used to motivate your workforce to enroll in wellness programs and then actively participate in them to achieve their individual results. They have proven very effective for this objective especially in gaining introductory interest.

Safety Incentives Engage Employees to Drive Overall Results

Safety programs are connected to your overall business goals because when your workplace is safe, there are reduced work-related injuries, burnout, and employee turn-over rates. Through communications, the right awards, surveys and other feedback mechanisms you can ensure that your safety program has high participation and engagement. 

Safety programs not only build a good safety record, but also help build your company culture and connect employees to the core values of your business. A successful program can also ensure a return on the investment, proving that when employees look out for each other, they also look out for the health and wellbeing of your business.  Allow you employees to participate in profits with year-end recognition events that will further strengthen your safety culture.

These Blunders Will Damage Employee Recognition Programs

We’ve researched hundreds of employee recognition and incentive programs over the years.   We often have prospective clients who say they have used employee recognition programs in the past and the programs just don’t seem to work for them.  They say they get relatively little return for their investment and these programs are often the first budgets to be cut when economic times are bad.  Frankly, in most cases executives are completely in the right to discontinue these programs.  

When recognition programs don’t produce desired results for your company the reasons why will typically fall into one of these categories. 

Track Your Performance

Lack of measurement is without a doubt the biggest mistake companies make when they implement an employee recognition effort.  Set the expectations of what you want them to do and then give honest measurement of how you are performing.  Not all recognition will have objective measurement, but surely the collective actions of employees against a set of values can be seen.  You can virtually follow the line between what was recognized and what happened because of that action.  It does take some effort, but the results of that measurement will be readily available when your executives ask you what you’re receiving for the time and money spent.  Anyone who sat in a budget meeting to retain or increase a recognition budget knows the importance of this.

Let Your Employees Choose What They Want

Don’t use awards that you think your employees want, or what appeal to you, or your executives or what your award vendor says they want.   Within reason, let your employees choose.  People are far more receptive when the award is what fits their own needs and wants, and that want can change constantly. 

Keep Everyone Informed

Good communications is the heart and soul of any great employee recognition/incentive effort. Showing what individual employees are doing to receive recognition makes it easier to motivate more employees to do the same. 

Involve Upper Management

We are constantly perplexed when company executives are not as involved in these efforts as much as possible.  If it wasn’t for the heartfelt work of the human resource professionals, many programs would wither and die. Executives stand to benefit the most from proud, enthusiastic engaged employees.  Get your executives to be your cheerleaders and provide ongoing involvement and enthusiastic support.  If you have any kind of spot awards, make sure they do some of it.  

How to motivate Your Remote Team During These Stressful Times

From a recent edition of Incentive Magazine comes these simple yet effective ways to acknowledge and value your team members now and after the pandemic.    

Meaningful recognition is more important than ever with more employees now working remotely and with the other restrictions and regulations in force.  The job market is sure to change and many good employees will fluctuate on where to spend their future.  You can keep them with some concerted recognition planning.

1.  Show more care and concern

Many people are dealing with serious personal and financial issues right now.  Show them that you care, drill down into physical and emotional well-being offering support where possible.  Sometimes just listening can make a difference.

2.  Connect with them

Some people have a hard time being alone right now, so reach out and connect with them as often as you can.  Loneliness is a fear that real. 

3.  Create an online employee community

Set up a social recognition program or an online bulletin board for employees to express what they're grateful for. Each person can share a "success of the week." For some people, coworkers are the only "community" they belong to.

4.  Share positive news

Share positive stories on the company and industry organization with your team to boost their spirits. Bad news can travel fast; make sure the good news travels ahead of it.  Some people are just not feeling very happy right now.

5.  Honor people along their work journey

People are pulling out all the stops with creativity, new ideas, and getting the work done. Take time to appreciate them for who they are and recognize what they do. Some people's work has drastically changed or diminished.

6.  Be mindful of the stages of grief

Staff may go through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance when their workplace implements changes and job cuts. Some people will experience survivor's grief if still working. Acknowledge their emotions.

7.  Offer support to worried staff

Many of your employees know someone with COVID-19 or have family dealing with serious health issues. Make sure your employee assistance program and/or counselors are available to staff.  

8.  Add cheer to your meetings 

Are your Zoom meetings feeling rote right now? Liven them up with  upbeat music, a chant or cheer at the beginning or end of the session.

9.  Make time for recognition

With many new and additional tasks on your plate, it's easy to neglect employee recognition. Make it a priority to schedule time each day to give thanks and praise to a member of your team, via an online recognition program, personal call or a handwritten note.

10. Hold virtual celebrations 

The show must go on and you should continue to mark achievements and milestones in these stressful times. With the pandemic preventing live events, get creative: organize online virtual celebrations, with special goodies and gifts delivered to people's homes, so everyone can participate.

Great opportunities surround us every day.  Don’t lose them; use them to make that proverbial glass of lemonade from the lemons we’ve all had to deal with.

Help Your Remote Employees from Becoming Disengaged

Since the onset of Covid-19, many employees had to begin to work remotely.  In addition, the prevalence for working from home has also increased in recent years.  This may be a novel concept for some, but it could become a the reality for many.

Whether you are new to having employees working remotely or have veteran telecommuters, employees often begin to feel disconnected from their colleagues and organization when they spend the majority of their working hours logging in from home. Research shows that even in the best of times, only 19% of employees consider themselves ‘very engaged,’ so the question for remote employees is how to keep them feeling content and being productive?

Stay connected through Culture Continuity

Maintaining a consistent organizational culture for remote employees plays an important role in keeping them engaged.  The old adage can easily run true…”out of sight, out of mind,” but it doesn’t have to.  Here are some things you can do to help.

Through video conferencing, extend in-office experiences such as yoga, mindful, and company-wide meetings. These shared experiences help colleagues to feel more connected despite their physical distance.

Strive to maintain your culture of recognition

Employee recognition is a primary driver of engagement. In a Harvard Business Review report that studied “The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance,” 72% of respondents agreed that recognition given for high performers had a significant impact on employee engagement. In addition, current industry research has shown that up 82% of employees would like more recognition at work.

In the month following the onset of the pandemic, one recognition company noted a 14% increase in the number of recognitions sent across its platform. This demonstrates that many organizations are getting it right during times of crisis by increasing the frequency of peer-to-peer and leader-led recognition.  Additionally you can look for new ways to recognize milestones outside of performance, such as birthdays or personal achievements.

The basics of a well implemented recognition program are vastly important during trying times. Make sure you use sincerity in recognizing your colleagues. Leaders must lead by example, recognizing employees for living the organization’s values, supporting their team members, hitting prescribed targets, etc. Propagate the recognition using executives on down throughout the organization.  It is especially important to allow for peer to peer recognition which can be the strongest of all. 

Measure activity

Whether your telecommuting continues to grow or your business goes back to normal, make sure you measure employee activity during the cycle.  You may see increased productivity within some departments and challenges within others. Watch for attendance at company-led virtual social events and examine their impact on overall engagement. Collect as much data as you can to understand what the ideal state of employee engagement looks like at your organization—whether it’s in-office or working from home. This data is invaluable to evaluate how heavily your culture is tied to being in the office and to understand how best to maintain continuity during organizational change and times of uncertainty.