Adapting the “Thank You” business to new work realities, with recognition expert Derek Irvine

Engagement, retention, productivity, and so many other business outcomes are affected by the amount your employees feel recognized, so leaders need to step up and get this right!

• Businesses that have consistently outperformed others know their humans are their greatest asset.
• There are clear positive business results that come out of good recognition programs where employees feel valued and connected.
• But how, in today’s new work realities of more hybrid and remote practices, can employers still create meaningful relationships and drive purpose and productivity through such a human-centric process like recognition?

Derek Irvine has been working in the “Thank You” business for about 20 years. He is the co-author of a number of books on the topic, including “The Power of Thanks: How Social Recognition Empowers Employees and Creates a Best Place to Work”, and the most recent book, “Making Work Human”. Over those 20 years in the industry, in his words, he has “had the privilege of working with some of the world’s most admired companies, as they boost their company culture and engage with their employees on a different, more human level”.

UNLEASH was thrilled to sit down with Derek to discuss how the new realities of work in today’s context have instilled the need for a culture of recognition in the workplace now, more than ever. We discussed the importance of recognition, after such a disruptive and unprecedented period of work for so many and the impact good recognition practices can have on key business outcomes like engagement, retention, and productivity.

“Employee recognition has changed beyond belief!”

Given Derek’s tenure in the recognition industry, he’s seen the transition from, as he termed, “old school recognition programs”, where the elite few within an organization (largely managers or upward) were praised in an Oscar-style ceremony, to the sorts of programs that modern organizations employ nowadays.

Today, Derek told UNLEASH, modern recognition programs are about “creating meaningful human connections”.

Some differentiators for the newer approach to employee recognition programs that he highlighted in our conversation included:

• They’re much more inclusive, as about 80% of employees get to participate in them.
• They are much more frequent as, “you can have recognition happening 4, 5, 6 times per year, at least”.
• They are also much more peer-to-peer focused, rather than the traditional top-down approach of old school programs.

So why the shift? What’s not to like about big, flashy award ceremonies where you get to dress up and give out trophies?

It’s all down to the data and evidence, Derek explained.

Employee recognition really is a strong, strategic lever and it’s all there for us to see. It creates human connection. It creates great cultures. And, it’s a boost to employee engagement.

Derek Irvine, Senior VP, Client Strategy and Consulting at Workhuman

The numbers speak for themselves: The benefits of recognition

Workhuman iQ leverages more than 70 million data points of human connection on the Workhuman Cloud. From this data, the team at Workhuman is able to provide insights for understanding the workforce and able to uncover key trends about employee performance, diversity, equity, and organizational culture.

Derek walked us through some of this exciting data, sharing insights from the likes of Merck and LinkedIn’s recognition programs too.

Engagement Benefits:

It’s really about, ‘I see you’, ‘I saw what you did’, ‘I value what you did’, and of course that has a significant impact on engagement.

Derek Irvine, Senior VP, Client Strategy and Consulting at Workhuman

Retention Benefits:

Productivity Benefits:

The numbers speak for themselves. It pays to create a culture of gratitude. Plus it’s better for all of us humans.

Derek Irvine, Senior VP, Client Strategy and Consulting at Workhuman

Great human connection is important now, more than ever

If you’re a follower of UNLEASH, you may have seen Derek make an appearance earlier in the year, speaking on a webinar session with Claire Whieldon who is the Global Reward Programme Director at AstraZeneca (AZ) plc. In this session, which took place in March 2021, the pair discussed AstraZeneca’s CatAlyZe program, where AZ leveraged peer-to-peer recognition to strengthen their culture and encourage innovation.​

“Claire and her team knew that with the new CatAlyZe approach they were presenting, they’d be able to unlock invaluable data-driven insights by having all their recognition data in one place to then be able to understand their return on what they were spending, but also what skills were being recognized and the day-to-day culture of connection within the organization.”

And the need for celebrating values, creating bonds between employees (that are remote especially), benefiting DE&I initiatives, and creating a culture of psychological safety – all things that strong recognition programs have proven to do – has not been diminished, and in fact, the need has largely intensified.

With the talent market as it currently stands, having a differentiator that is proven, time and again, to impact business results for the better, is critical.

Derek’s Top tips for getting recognition right

UNLEASH asked Derek for his suggestions for ways organizations can succeed with the employee experience. Here are his insights:

• THANK colleagues for a job well done – if they feel valued, then they’ll value you back, and others too. Thanking is contagious.
• TALK authentically and often – regular check-ins and continuous performance, are proven to make people feel safe, comfortable, and engaged.
• CELEBRATE – work and life and everything that happens in both worlds, often – this can cultivate a sense of belonging and is a foundation stone of a truly human workplace.