by Shelby Jones
GREAT MONDAYS: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love by Josh Levine
There are many types of recognition companies use to encourage positive behaviors. I wanted to see if I could make sense of them all. Here’s what I found.
Dogs. Chimps. Humans. We’re a lot alike. In addition to our four-chambered heart and love of social interaction, advanced mammals share a need for positive reinforcement. Managers have known this since the very first sales associate, using recognition programs to reinforce desired behaviors. But in my time studying company culture, I noticed there are many kinds of recognition, more than even a total rewards program includes. So, I went about looking for and sorting the different types to see if I could make sense of them all. Here’s what I found.
To actively manage your company culture, look for opportunities to recognize associates in the four different styles.
1. Formal Recognition from Leadership
Congratulations! You’ve done it. You’ve sold the most, coded the best, innovated the hardest. Whatever it is, you are being called out. Formal programs developed and implemented by heads of state are the most common example of recognition inside companies. In the early 2000’s I was involved in creating an innovation awards program for HP globally. We would put out a call for entries, film the judges, host a celebratory dinner, and bestow the trophies. Sometimes these programs can have monetary rewards or other gifts. Like this, formal recognition programs tend to be on a grand scale, but really, they don’t have to be. At a modest retail start-up I know, they hold a quarterly company-wide night out at the local pub and hand out tokens of appreciation to teams for great work.
WHAT YOU NEED
- Leadership buy-in
- Employee buy-in
- Broad communications
- A committed budget
qual parts visual and verbal, Shelby dances between design and strategy at Great Mondays. She’s passionate about cereal, fashion, and family.