There was a time when employees would only be recognised and rewarded for staying at a company for a decade or more. Things have drastically changed.
Employee tenure has undoubtedly changed, with many unlikely to say past the 5-year milestone. No one, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, wants to wait a whole year before they receive recognition.
It comes as no surprise then that reward and recognition platforms are thriving. Many HR teams, leaders and managers are starting to understand the value of appreciation and ultimately go on the hunt for technology to help support their goals.
What is Employee Recognition Software?
Employee recognition software allows businesses to operationalise how they reward and recognise employees. It improves employee engagement and visibility across the company, develops trust, and improves employee relationships and collaboration.
When employees feel good about their role within the organisation, are happy at work, and feel a sense of purpose, they will be more loyal and productive.
In this article we’ll explain how implementing employee recognition software can be the most impactful thing you can do to build employee engagement and a recognition-rich culture.
Benefits of Employee Recognition Software
Given that we know it’s important to recognise people for their efforts, what are the benefits of using employee recognition software?
Instant Recognition
Forget waiting until you see them again in the office. With a recognition tool, you can recognise your team or peers instantly. When recognition isn’t received in the moment, you miss the chance to boost enthusiasm and encourage more positive behaviour. Late recognition = no recognition.
If recognition is left to one-to-one meetings or annual reviews, it reduces its impact on employees. For it to have the full effect, recognition should be done on time!
Global Recognition
Employee recognition software (well, most of them anyway) will be designed to work on multiple devices. You don’t need to wait until you’re back in the office to recognise someone or when you’re talking to them next on a Zoom call, because now you can do it from anywhere in the world!
Simple and Effective
Not only can you recognise instantly and from anywhere you want, but employee recognition software also makes the whole process much more manageable. In addition to reducing the time it takes, tools have reduced some of the problems associated with offline strategies.
How OVO saves days every month issuing rewards with Mo!
Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Recognition is important from bosses or managers, but peer-to-peer is equally important. Employee recognition tools (like ours here at Mo) encourage peer recognition because research has shown that peer recognition is a top factor that pushes employees to go the extra mile.
When peers recognise each other’s contributions, it will strengthen their relationships and build trust. Employees will feel more connected to the team, making collaboration more effective.
By adopting an employee recognition platform that offers opportunities for peer-to-peer recognition, you can create a dynamic and engaging workforce who are always ready to go one step ahead to achieve goals!
Employee Recognition Software: 6 Things to Consider
1. Structured vs Unstructured Recognition Programs
Before you even start looking at different software, booking demos or signing up for free trials, you need to think about what type of recognition program you are looking to launch.
Employee recognition programs can fall into two categories, structured and unstructured – from there, decide what you want to prioritise first.
Structured recognition programs tend to be more traditional and formal, top-down approaches. This type of program is where managers or leaders will provide recognition to employees at fixed times. If this has prompted you to think about an employee of the month award and work anniversaries, then you would be right.
You also have unstructured recognition, a relatively new concept soaring in popularity. These recognition programs are more modern because they offer a dedicated space for everyone in the company to recognise each other spontaneously.
Remember when we talked about peer-to-peer recognition as a benefit? It will only benefit your organisation if you adopt this more modern approach.
We aren’t suggesting that you pick one over the other. In fact, it’s better to use a combination of both. In doing so, you will help put the foundations in place to build a recognition-rich culture. Finding a platform (like Mo!) that can offer both is an excellent solution.
We often find that our customers will use our Nominations feature for Employee of the Month awards and our Occasion reminders to celebrate work anniversaries. You can even provide opportunities to share what matters most to your employees through Moments on the News Feed!
Transform your culture with Mo
- Improve employee engagement scores
- Reduce employee churn
- Build a collaborative culture
2. Determine Your Budget
You might think this is an obvious point, but it’s one of the most critical.
It’s just like making any large purchase – setting a budget will help you eliminate any options that fall outside it quickly, narrowing your search.
The Society for Human Resource Management says that HR departments normally spend between 1-3% of payroll on rewards and recognition.
3. Do You Need Reward Capabilities?
Rewards and recognition are not always delivered together. With Mo, they can be. In the HR tech space, many tools allow for recognition only, but more robust tools will allow you to reward employees as well! Here at Mo, we can offer monetary rewards through vouchers from top brands like ASOS, Caffè Nero, Deliveroo, Uber and more, as well as physical gifts sent to your colleague’s door.
4. Customise Your Integrations
Choosing employee recognition software that integrates with some or all of your existing software has many benefits, such as driving adoption within your organisation.
Integrations will allow you to set up your new system without the hassle, especially if it will sync everything from tools you already use. It also prevents having to update two different systems manually. You might also want to consider whether a program can integrate with Slack or Teams.
5. Determine Your Data Security Needs
Organisations have a responsibility to protect the personal information of employees. Your chosen reward and recognition software provider should have policies that show their commitment to enterprise-level security.
Security audits will be quick and painless if you have a provider that has a good track record for meeting the demands of enterprise data security requirements.
When communicating with potential providers, ask questions like whether or not there is someone dedicated to security and privacy in the organisation or what independent assurance you can provide over the security and privacy practices.
Mo is ISO 27001 certified and fully GDPR compliant. You can trust us to handle your data.
6. Does It Fit Your Company Culture?
If you’re looking for the perfect program that your employees will be keen to interact with, then it should be fun. Your provider will likely send out a detailed launch plan to help you create buzz and excitement around the launch of the new platform, outlining the top features for your employees.
With Gen Z and Millennials setting high expectations for workplaces across the globe, if you want to appeal to these generations, choose a program with social recognition activities such as liking, commenting, and sharing gifs and images.
Employee Recognition Software: Key Takeaways
- Employee recognition software offers effective tools for acknowledging and rewarding employees’ contributions within your company.
- Six key factors to consider when selecting such software include customization options, integration capabilities, reporting and analytics features, ease of use, scalability, and support services.
- Implementing effective employee recognition software can enhance employee engagement, boost morale, and contribute to a positive work culture within the organisation.
