Four Ways Managers Can Effectively Use Recognition

Recognition is a necessary action and tool to be a successful manager. Here are four ways to effectively use it.

March 21, 2022
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A good leader knows that recognition is important to managing a productive and happy team. Publicly recognizing good work or appreciated characteristics shows the team not only what matters, but that they matter as well. It also just feels good to be recognized and appreciated, which can lead to increased employee morale and retention. 

But how do you make sure recognition is effective and will have a positive impact? We’re here to help. Here are four ways managers can effectively use recognition to boost morale for their team. 

Reflect Your Company’s Values

If you’re not sure where to start with recognition, look towards your company’s values. Company’s values, also known as core values, are guiding principles and fundamental beliefs about the company’s vision, mission and principals. They are often characteristics that the company and its employees want to be known for. Good managers will know their company’s values and look for them in their team.

For example, if one of your company’s values is collaboration, you would want to recognize your team members for working well within and outside the team. Perhaps this is someone who freely offers their help to others or makes sure that all the stakeholders are updated and involved. Recognizing these efforts will really show that the company (and the manager) values collaboration, encouraging more of that characteristic. 

An easy way to connect your company’s values to recognitions is to use customizable templates, like Assembly’s Employee Recognition Template, to make it easy for anyone to recognize someone for acting out those values. 

Recognize Frequently and Regularly

Because of how valuable recognition is as a driver of company culture and employee retention, it has to be done frequently and regularly. Recognizing your team mates every once in a while or randomly just won’t have the positive effect recognition can have on your team. When you make recognition a frequent and regular part of your work habits, it will create a culture of recognition. Imagine how great it would be to work for a place full of people that recognizes each other for their achievements and hard work! 

The best way to create this awesome culture of recognition is to make it a part of your workflow as a manager. You don’t want to rely on yourself to remember to recognize and to encourage others to do the same. You also don’t want this to become a responsibility to one person or a specific team. Recognition should be a part of every employee’s workflow. Learn how easy that can be with Assembly’s Employee Recognition here

Make it Seamless 

Since it should be every employee’s regular activity to recognize their coworkers, you want to make sure that it is not a responsibility or a burden. Recognizing one another should be as easy and seamless as any other work activity like messaging on slack or creating a shared document. If recognizing a coworker takes multiple steps and a separate tool or log-in, it makes the process feel like an interruption from their work routine. 

To make recognition seamless, integrate with the other tools in your tech stack. It can be integrated with an HR tools like Workday or Bamboo or a security tool like Okta, ADP or OneLogin. Make it part of your work platform like Google G Suite or Office 365. Slack is also a great integration for recognition. And guess what, Assembly integrated with all of these and more! Learn about all the integrations Assembly offers to make recognition absolutely seamless

Recognize and Reward

Lastly, make the recognition worth it. Being recognized can be its own reward, but it can be even more impactful when it leads to an actual reward! By recognizing and rewarding, you’re telling your employees that you see their work and who they are AND you want to celebrate them! 

This combination can be done in so many ways! Keep track of the recognitions so you can call out and reward employees who have been recognized multiple times at a company’s all-hands or quarterly meeting. Amplify special recognitions by adding a gift, like a gift card or a meal, with it. Getting access to company swag is also a special treat. Get a demo of Assembly's employee recognition workflow to see how recognizing and rewarding can go hand-in-hand

So, there you go. To effectively use recognition you need to reflect your company’s values, recognize frequently and regularly, make it seamless and add a reward. Have questions or need real-life examples of how this works? Contact us today and we’ll show how you can effectively use recognition. 

Browse our Free Employee Recognition Guide

Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.

Explore Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Assembly SOC 2 compliant?

Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.

What's the ROI for employee recognition?

There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.

Does Assembly offer longer-term contracts?

Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.

The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.

Does Assembly offer onboarding support?

We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.

Is there a free version of Assembly?

Yes. We offer a completely free plan for up to 50 team members. This plan is intended for teams or organizations that are looking to get started with an employee engagement tool. Keep in mind, this plan is limited in features.

All customers can open an Assembly account for free and get started without a credit card. Then you can change plans as necessary.

How much do rewards cost?

At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.

The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.

Does Assembly offer discounts?

We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

How do I cancel my plan if needed?

If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.

If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.

What customizations are available?

Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!

Who can give or receive recognition?

While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.

What integrations are available?

Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.  

Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.

What's your average adoption rate?

That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.

Must rewards be set up to use Assembly?

They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.

Are points required to use Assembly?

No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.

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