Digital Peer recognition program – Why your workplace needs one

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Many organisations mistakenly believe that good pay is sufficient to make their employees feel valued. While salary is important, recognition is also crucial in motivating employees to do their best work. A digital peer recognition program is one significant way to do that. Read on to know why your workplace needs one.

Moreover, organisations generally reward their employees at the end of the year or quarter. And the recognition mostly flows downwards, with only the leaders or managers appreciating or acknowledging their team members. This appreciation is based on overall performance or given for mostly high-visible tasks. 

However, there are some behaviours or tasks in daily workplace interactions that go unnoticed by the management but are highly relevant and helpful for colleagues. Employees are more motivated when they receive compliments from their coworkers. 

The culture of mutual appreciation and recognition among colleagues is known as peer recognition system or peer-to-peer recognition. It is cherished by organisations for its multiple benefits, such as an increase in helpful conduct, positive vibes in the office, better individual performance, employee satisfaction, reduced turnover, etc.

In this case, digital peer recognition programs become pivotal as they provide simple and practical methods to boost motivation. The reward program incorporates both appreciation and reward vital for the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Effective digital recognition programs can scale organic praise, a high ROI, and higher employee performance and engagement levels.

Keep reading for:

• Digital peer recognition
• What is peer recognition?
• What are the formats for peer recognition?
• Value of Digital Peer recognition
• Creating Digital Peer recognition for employees
• How to plan Digital Peer recognition for employees?
• Implementing for success

Digital Peer Recognition Program

A digital peer to peer recognition system comes in handy here. The digital program is increasingly becoming a popular management control tool for its streamlined processes through which management can enhance mutual trust and strengthen relationships and cohesive working relationships among employees.

The ability of peer recognition systems to motivate the workforce across departments and skill sets is an essential aspect of the program. Recognition from peers encourages employees to enhance their performance.

What are the formats for peer recognition?

Social ties between employees are a must for effective peer recognition. Encouraging employees to recognize teammates for their unique skills and experiences publicly creates a sense of connection and belonging. 

Businesses can benefit from peer-to-peer recognition by emphasising diversity and inclusion. After all, digital peer recognition systems plays an important role in engaging employees across teams, groups, departments, units, and locations.

Two formats emerge in the workplace to effectively implement the peer recognition program:

In-group: Sharing appreciation and rewards within the social group of a team or a department.

Out-group: Sending rewards and compliments outside or across social groups of teams or departments.

Value of Digital Peer Recognition Program

Here are some benefits of integrating digital peer recognition into the employee reward program.

Positive behaviour: As coworkers can observe what management cannot, peer recognition systems provide a unique opportunity to motivate positive and helpful behaviour. It strengthens relationships when we appreciate those who work with us. 

This not only makes it easier for employees to get along and collaborate, but it is also one of the easiest ways for the workforce to be happy at work. Peer recognition improves employees’ self-esteem and confidence, leading to increased team spirit in the workplace, besides improving employee performance, a sense of belonging to the company, and lower employee turnover.

Appreciation culture: Most organizations have too many hierarchies and little cross-departmental collaboration, making it difficult for teams to connect and communicate. 

Peer-to-peer recognition eradicates the employer-employee power dynamic and facilitates a free flow of appreciation among colleagues. Concurrently, it works to enhance company culture and establishes a more collaborative and empathetic work environment. The team develops a feeling of community and works together to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.

Enhances engagement: Employee engagement is positively related to peer recognition. A compliment from a colleague is always held in high esteem as the peer has first-hand experience with the job and understands the challenges and responsibilities that come with it. 

Furthermore, acknowledgement from a coworker is worthy because it is based on daily interactions and achievements. The recognition uplifts employees’ happiness at work and engagement outcomes, such as positive work culture, loyalty, productivity, and employee retention.

Strengthen bonds: Positive work relationships are essential for keeping your employees satisfied. One of the most significant advantages of effective peer recognition is that it promotes collaboration, teamwork, and friendship throughout the workplace. Appreciation for one another’s efforts fosters a healthy and happy workplace culture. 

Peer to peer recognition breaks the ice and acts as a catalyst for collaboration among teams and colleagues. A conducive environment of cooperation and friendship boosts the team’s morale because employees are more likely to be involved in their work.

Boosts performance: Peer recognition can significantly and sustainably further performance and productivity. According to a Harvard Business School study, peer feedback can substantially boost motivation and performance. A positive compliment and appreciation of work by a peer elevates the mood and increases satisfaction in employees and teams, which reflects in higher work interest and performance.

Peer recognition is critical and should be prioritised in the employee reward system. It helps businesses succeed by strengthening their workplace culture and increasing employee contentment and commitment.

Creating Digital Peer Recognition Program for employees

Integrating digital peer recognition into your workplace allows employees to share positive feedback and celebrate accomplishments easily.

According to research, employees’ group affiliation moderates the effectiveness of peer recognition systems. Management should consider the needs of the social environment as well as employee affiliations when deciding what type of peer recognition system to implement.

A company, for example, that wants to motivate helpful conduct across teams will implement reward sharing in an out-group format and In-group format to strengthen team bonds.

How to plan Digital Peer recognition for employees?

As shown above, recognition is an effective tool for engaging and motivating employees and improving company culture. Here are steps to effectively plan a digital peer recognition program for your company.

Step 1: Build a culture of recognition

It is imperative to make recognition a part of your core values and a frequent habit within your organisation. A robust recognition culture fosters trust and security, and the employees are more inspired to keep up the excellent work. Generally, employees follow their leaders and emulate their behaviour. Therefore, create a culture where people in higher-level positions set a good example by celebrating team success and taking pride in their work.

Step 2: Define the objective for program

Outline your purpose for the peer recognition program. Is it to boost employee morale, engagement, or retention? Or is it to promote productive collaboration, positivity in the workplace, productivity, or any other business objectives?

Whatever your objective is, peer recognition is a powerful program that can boost employee performance, engagement, productivity, and retention. And by strengthening these, an organisation can achieve its targets and goals.

Step 3: Select manner of peer recognition

The manner in which the peer recognition program is carried out is crucial to its success. Peer recognition must be clear, simple, convenient, and consistent to ensure that more employees participate in the recognition program. The important thing is to create a program of genuine and timely praise. Maintain a peer recognition system that everyone can easily participate in and allows coworkers to instantly give their recognition to peers from anywhere, at any time.

Step 4: Display examples

Leaders and managers should encourage their teams to recognize and appreciate each other. They can set examples by regularly recognizing each other and the employees to show how it is done effectively. The digital peer recognition program makes it simple for employees to learn how to appreciate, from when and how often to acknowledge to what constitutes excellent recognition.

Step 5: Add some fun

Making the peer recognition program fun and interesting is the best way to ensure that it is engaging and liked by employees. Employees will not embrace a culture of recognition If the experience is not enjoyable. Including incentives in the program will ensure employees look forward to sending and receiving appreciation from their peers. 

Digital peer recognition programs offer some exciting features, such as fun imagery, gifs, gamification, points, badges, and personalised messages. These enjoyable aspects are critical to a widely used recognition program. Participating in the program is enjoyable for both the sender and the receiver, as the person receiving the recognition feels even more appreciated and satisfied.

Step 6: Pick reasons to reward

Go over the objectives you hope to achieve through your peer program. They will indicate which actions or behaviours should be appreciated and rewarded. The goal could be productivity, performance, employee satisfaction, or all of these. 

Some critical points to consider when selecting reasons for reward include: what types of actions and behaviours should be appreciated by the employees, how they will benefit your business goals, and how the chosen behaviours should be rewarded.

Step 7: Go Digital

Employees benefit from public recognition in ways that private recognition cannot. Recognising the workforce in public encourages the recipient and other employees to follow suit. Recognition programs that use social and monetary components, such as a point-based system, are the most successful. Employees can personalise their rewards experience and choose gifts that are meaningful to them, thanks to point-based recognition.

Finally, track your peer-to-peer recognition program using metrics like the number of peer recognitions sent and received, the activation rate, and so on, and correlate them with critical business metrics like employee engagement and retention. Slow activity may indicate that you need to think of more creative ways to make the program fun and user-friendly.

Implementing Digital Peer Recognition Program for success

Yes, peer recognition programs benefit both employees and employers; however, implementation presents practical challenges that can be overcome with a digital peer recognition system:

Achieve a bias-free environment for peer recognition

As personal relations amongst colleagues influence peer recognition, personal bias could make the recognition meaningless. The recognition is restricted among closed-relationship employees or favoured toward popular employees. This type of preferential recognition does not motivate or boost employee morale.

A recognition program will be effective only if it serves the true purpose of recognizing accomplishments and providing equal opportunities for all. The success of a peer recognition program is dependent on the establishment of an appreciation culture within the organisation. Managers can be active on the platform to set an example and use a bottom-up approach to remove personal bias and involve employees from the beginning. 

Overcome challenges in competitive workplace climate

Peer-to-peer recognition may face challenges in a highly competitive workplace, where coworkers may forget or ignore sharing recognition due to jealousy and internal conflict.

Implementers must communicate to employees the benefits and ease of the digital peer recognition program in order to generate excitement and increase early adoption rates. The communications may focus on why it is vital to recognize your colleagues and how it benefits you and creates a positive working environment.

Create nomination policies that are acceptable to everyone

Each organisation develops guidelines and criteria for a peer-to-peer recognition program based on its core values and goals. Different teams or departments may interpret the set of nomination policies, procedures or standard differently. Some people may consider the police unfair or biased or find it confusing or difficult to understand. It can be challenging to please every employee.

The best option, however, is to establish simple recognition criteria that are brief and easy to understand. Try involving employees as much as possible from the beginning of the planning process and incorporate their feedback. Connect these ideas to the company’s and department’s missions and goals while taking employee feedback into consideration: a well-designed nomination rule and criteria would aid in meeting the requirements of a good recognition program.

Maintaining employees’ interest in the program

As employees lose interest in the program and engagement declines, peer-to-peer recognition is subsequently taken for granted. This is most common when a suitable and tangible reward does not accompany the award. Improper rewards not only demotivate employees but are also contentious if they are not appropriately valued.

Recognition and rewards must be practical, sincere, specific, and above all, valuable to the recipient to be effective. When tangible or monetary rewards accompany the praise from coworker, Peer-to-peer recognition becomes more effective. Furthermore, allowing the recipient to select the most meaningful gift option will increase engagement with the digital platform.

Peer recognition programs are evidently proving to be practical tools for bringing about positive change in the workplace. Since they are based on minor accomplishments and good behaviour, the recognition feels more equitable and valuable, making employees proud of their efforts.

Along with increasing employee engagement, a well-executed program provides a slew of other advantages, such as an increase in the number of positive interactions among employees, increased trust, strengthened relationships, and a positive work environment.