Igniting Employee Engagement

While more than half of managers believe they do a good job of appreciating their teams, only 17% of employees agree. 65% of North Americans report that they weren’t recognized even once last year, and 79% of employees who quit their jobs claim that a lack of appreciation was a major reason for leaving.

75% of organizations have a formal recognition program. Why, then, do so many employees feel unappreciated?

Because recognition and appreciation are not synonymous.

If you really want to create a culture of engagement, loyalty, and high performance on your team, it’s important to understand the distinction.

Wait, is there a really a difference between recognition and appreciation?

Harvard Business Review says, “Yes.” Recognition, they say, “is about giving positive feedback based on results or performance.”

Appreciation, on the other hand, “is about acknowledging a person’s inherent value.” Brené Brown expands this definition, adding that “appreciation is about making others feel seen, valued and heard.”

Though the majority of companies have a formal recognition program, recognition is often focused on performance and “above and beyond” results. Most employees are fortunate to receive this type of formal recognition once or twice a year.

To enhance employee engagement, managers must supplement formal performance recognition with more frequent, genuine, and meaningful appreciation that makes employees feel seen, valued, and heard throughout the year.

I’d like you to reflect on the last 5 times you acknowledge someone at work - and remember, this can include recognition or appreciation.  What did those people do to earn your acknowledgement?    

So many times when I ask this question, a majority of acknowledgements are around performance or achievements.  Someone exceeded their sales goal. They completed a project ahead of time.  Numbers, numbers, numbers.

This is the first of four acknowledgement categories we’re doing to discuss:  

1. Performance and Achievements  

This type of acknowledgement focuses on what someone DID, like:

• Delivering exceptional results

• Meeting or exceeding a goal

• Completing a project

• Improving a process

• Solving a difficult problem

• Delivering project milestone

Being acknowledged for performance and achievements makes others feel VALUED for their hard work.  This is the category that we find is most often recognized in the workplace.  It’s tangible, it’s easy to observe, and it’s usually combined with recognition.  

Like I said before, we love recognition!  But because recognition is often tied to performance, it tends to happen less frequently.

But there are 3 more acknowledgement categories that we see less often in the workplace.  

2. Behaviors and Values

This type of acknowledgement focuses on who you are, how you behave, and the values that guide you, like:

• Taking time to help someone

• Sharing knowledge with a new team member

• Acted as an ally to someone

• Encouraging someone when they’ve had a bad day

• Having the courage to disagree in a meeting

Being acknowledged for behaviors and values makes others feel SEEN and VALUED for who they are. Unfortunately, because values and behaviors don’t always have a tangible impact, we find that they are often overlooked.  But acknowledging someone for behaviors and values is a perfect way to make them feel appreciated in between formal recognition moments!

3. Life Events

This type of acknowledgement celebrates personal milestones that someone is celebrating inside or outside of work, like:

• Being promoted to a new role

• Celebrating a company service anniversary

• Earning a professional certification or diploma

• Celebrating a birthday

• Buying a new home

• Getting engaged or married 

• Welcoming a baby

Now, there’s an interesting nuance to note in this category. When you celebrate someone’s life events at work, it’s not the celebration itself that has a positive impact on engagement.  The engagement boost comes from that person feeling accepted and included, because you are taking an active interest in what’s happening in their personal lives, vs. just caring about what they do at work.  Being acknowledged for life events makes others feel SEEN and is another great way to male them feel appreciated in between formal recognition moments.

4. Critical Thinking

This type of acknowledgement celebrates someone’s brain. Here, you’re telling someone that their voice matters in the workplace by:

• Asking for their ideas, or giving credit for those ideas

• Seeking their opinions 

• Involving them in the decision-making process

• Welcoming their debate and dissenting views

• Empowering them to lead a project with minimal oversight

• Trusting them with transparent communication and information

When you acknowledge or seek someone’s critical thinking, you make them feel SEEN, VALUED and HEARD.  You’re giving others a voice and showing them that their opinions matter.  While acknowledgement in this category has a positive impact on anyone who receives it, recent statistics suggest that this is most critical for Gen Z employees.

Defined as the generation of individuals born between 1997 and 2012 (who in 2023 are between the ages of 10 and 25), Gen Z has never known a time without smartphones and social media.  Because of that, they are eager to share their ideas and opinions and have no problem challenging the status quo.  Gen Z employees have experienced a life where everyone has a voice through social media, and they expect to be heard in the workplace as well.  If you do this well with your Gen Z team members, you’ll create an environment in which they will thrive!

Conclusion

If you want to amp up your appreciation and creative a vibrant workplace, you’ve got to be deliberate about offering acknowledgement across all four categories.  Why?  Because employees feel most appreciated when they’re in an environment that celebrates the whole person, not just what they deliver.  Because making others feel SEEN, VALUED and HEARD requires more than just thanks for a job well done a few times a year.  

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Erika Migliaccio is Founder & Principal Consultant of Upstream HR Strategies. Erika is a spirited and innovative Human Resources executive with twenty years of executive HR leadership experience guiding large, multi-national teams through a variety of business cycles in both generalist and specialist roles. Combining deep business acumen, creative courage and strategic vision, Erika shatters the bounds of “traditional” Human Resources and measures success by the value she delivers to the employees and businesses she serves. “Her imagination and organizational understanding combine to create ideas - like bolts of lightning - that she not only gets started, but knows how to implement all the way.” This innovative approach - combined with her perseverance, willingness to push boundaries and heart - has driven significant business results while inspiring and engaging employees. Check out their Employee Appreciation App – Greetings of Gratitude.