We all know how important it is to make sure our employees know they’re doing a good job, but have you considered the benefits of encouraging peer-to-peer recognition too?
Maximising feel-good moments and empowering employees to celebrate their colleagues’ successes can be a great way to revitalise the workplace and lead to greater success.
What is peer-to-peer recognition?
Peer-to-peer recognition allows employees to recognise and celebrate their teammates publicly. It differs from employer-employee or manager-team member recognition, although it can work nicely alongside both.
Peer-to-peer recognition is about people having the chance to sing colleagues’ praises without a power dynamic. They might praise specific moments, someone’s skills, willingness to learn, or how they handled a tricky situation. The reasons for the celebration can be far-reaching, and the effects of noting them can be too.
It can even be a way to improve your bottom line. A study by SHRM found that peer-to-peer recognition is 35.7% more likely to positively impact financial results than manager-only recognition.
Why is peer-to-peer recognition important for high-performing teams?
A high-performing team has high levels of trust and connectivity. Building a peer-to-peer recognition system offers another way to forge those essential bonds between team members, making it easier to work together as a whole and offering opportunities for personal fulfilment and growth.
Setting up a peer-to-peer recognition program provides a framework for team members who want to congratulate and support each other but might be short on time or unsure how to do it correctly.
The benefits of peer-to-peer recognition for your organisation
There are a few keys ways that peer-to-peer recognition can have some seriously positive impacts on your business, including:
It leaves employees feeling more satisfied and appreciated
It’s no surprise that knowing how much your teammates value your contribution can up satisfaction levels, but did you know that 90% of employees said that values-based, peer-to-peer recognition made them more satisfied with their work? That’s a stat that’s hard to ignore.
Public praise is more impactful than one-to-one
A manager’s quiet ‘well done’ can make a huge difference to an employee’s morale, but there’s also a lot of power in public praise. Peer-to-peer recognition makes it easy for employees to recognise each other openly and publicly, maximising the benefit from each moment of praise.
The social angle is an important one. Research by the Incentive Research Foundation found that millennials were particularly drawn to peer appreciation models and that all age groups like receiving private recognition least of all.
When praise is public, it can be given more fairly among teams
Recognition is important to most workers, particularly younger ones, but ensuring it’s equitable can be tricky – especially when trying to manage and motivate a large team. A recent Gallup study found that only 26% of employees strongly agree that they receive similar amounts of recognition as other team members with similar performance levels.
The great thing about peer-to-peer recognition is that it levels the playing field and gives many more opportunities for regular and specific appreciation from the whole team.
Builds links between day-to-day work and organisational goals
A good employee or peer-to-peer recognition program is a way to match your organisational goals with day-to-day tasks. By highlighting particular core values for your business – like empathy, innovation or ambition – and making it easy for your team to recognise and reward those attributes in each other, you are bringing those values into the fabric of your day.
Encourages a transparent culture
The public nature of peer-to-peer recognition means that everything is out in the open, which can increase feelings of transparency and trust. The more your teams feel they can trust management and each other, the better their performance will likely be.
Creates a self-fulfilling cycle of positive interactions
Once a team starts sharing successes and celebrating each other, its members are much more likely to start behaving the same way. The positive interactions and feelings increase, encouraging peer-to-peer interaction and recognition and continuing a positive cycle.
Increases self-sufficiency and motivation
By allowing your teams to reward themselves, you’re creating a space for them to work independently and rely less on management for guidance. This can help to improve self-management skills, which are vital for avoiding the perils of micromanagement and encouraging the autonomy and growth of individual team members.
How does peer-to-peer recognition work?
At its heart, peer-to-peer recognition is all about employees showing their appreciation for each other – and this can be done in many different ways. It might be verbal, an email, offering to make someone a cup of coffee or even picking them up a small treat.
On chilled days, doing those sorts of things sounds easy, but we all know those good intentions can get lost in the chaos of a busy day. There’s also the possibility that those well-meaning mentions may not quite hit the mark – praise isn’t specific enough, comes at the wrong time or falls flat because it doesn’t feel personal.
That’s where Mo can help. We close the knowing-doing gap by encouraging your team to share the Moments that matter, and our Boosts make it easy. Give your team a simple, straightforward, fun way to recognise and reward each other. We have a library of Boosts or you can create your own, empowering everyone to cultivate the habits of high-performing working, one moment at a time.
Transform your culture with Mo
- Improve employee engagement scores
- Reduce employee churn
- Build a collaborative culture
Mo is an employee recognition and engagement platform that can help leaders improve collaboration and morale, reduce employee churn and drive change.
Our platform creates a vibrant culture by developing team habits, encouraging people to celebrate success, recognise results and appreciate colleagues.
Your complete toolkit for connecting and motivating teams in the new world of work. Book a demo with our team today!
