{"id":51921,"date":"2021-11-19T12:22:19","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T17:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=51921"},"modified":"2026-04-28T05:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:46:16","slug":"employee-recognition-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-recognition-program\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that by simply recognizing the contributions of your employees, you can greatly improve retention? What\u2019s more, you could see a productivity boost as well: Some 40 percent of employees would put more energy into their work if they were recognized more often.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>We explored what it takes to build a recognition program that gets results in our November 17 webinar, \u201cThe Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Here are some of the key takeaways from the webinar.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>What does it actually mean to recognize people?<\/h2>\n<p>There are five levels of recognition:<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Awareness<\/strong>: Being aware of who is on the team \u2014 knowing names and roles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Acknowledgement<\/strong>: Recognizing the value each member brings to the team.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Engagement<\/strong>: Interacting on a deeper level with team members to accomplish goals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Outreach<\/strong>: Recognizing team members as experts for the value they bring.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Celebration<\/strong>: Openly and publicly acknowledging team members and their accomplishments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Too often, however, companies build recognition programs around milestones (the \u201ccelebration\u201d) \u2014 work anniversaries, etc. \u2014 when building a culture of recognition around smaller, more frequent achievements is often more effective.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-51926\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-1000x563.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6-50x28.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide6.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>Why appreciation and recognition deserve renewed attention in today\u2019s workplaces<\/h2>\n<p>Of those looking for a new job today, fully <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/workplace\/351545\/great-resignation-really-great-discontent.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">74 percent<\/a> are disengaged, while <a href=\"https:\/\/goremotely.net\/blog\/employee-recognition-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">63 percent<\/a> of employees who are recognized for their work are unlikely to leave their jobs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>However, in companies with a culture of recognition, employee engagement, productivity and performance are <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/ie\/en\/pages\/deloitte-private\/articles\/recognition-programmes.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">14 percent<\/a> higher.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>These numbers are important to point out if you\u2019re trying to point to ROI with decision makers when budgeting for a recognition program.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-51927\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-1000x563.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9-50x28.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide9.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>Practical tips for building a strategic recognition program<\/h2>\n<p>Some important questions to consider:<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>What are your business objectives?<\/li>\n<li>What are the metrics that matter most?<\/li>\n<li>Whose job is recognition?<\/li>\n<li>What does recognition mean to your team members?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s critical to build a culture of recognition. Be cognizant of how your team members like to be recognized: some prefer to be called out by name, while others might not.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Each and every team member should be empowered to recognize the work of others. This can take the form of ad hoc recognition through tools or programs such as <a href=\"https:\/\/survey.sogosurvey.com\/survey1.aspx?k=RQsSWSVQsVUSsPsPsP&amp;lang=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SoGoMatic<\/a> to make it easy. More structured forms of recognition can occur through newsletters, performance reviews, and so on.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Regardless of the form it takes, recognition should be specific, measurable, relevant, and timely.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-51929\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-1000x563.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15-50x28.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Slide15.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>3 ways to measure the success of your recognition program<\/h2>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Measure ROI: Know your baseline and track the impact. Some of the areas you can track include impact of recognition initiatives on employee engagement, productivity, turnover, or even customer satisfaction.<\/li>\n<li>Measure employee satisfaction: Through employee surveys, pulse checks, or polls, directly ask employees questions, like whether they feel valued for their contributions, or how they would like to be recognized for their work.<\/li>\n<li>Measure participation: Keep tabs on things like active users or budget utilization across employee groups, locations, or departments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most importantly\u2014don\u2019t be afraid to experiment and try new things in order to get a recognition program off the ground.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/webinar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">webinar page<\/a> to view this and many other presentations at your convenience.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Want to speak with someone about how Sogolytics can help you build a culture of recognition at your organization? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/request-a-demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Connect with us<\/a> today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that by simply recognizing the contributions of your employees, you can greatly improve retention? What\u2019s more, you could see a productivity boost as well: Some 40 percent of employees would put more energy into their work if they were recognized more often. We explored what it takes to build a recognition program that gets results in our November 17 webinar, \u201cThe Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works.\u201d Here are some of the key takeaways from the webinar. What does it actually mean to recognize people? There are five levels of recognition: Awareness: Being aware of who is on the team \u2014 knowing names and roles. Acknowledgement: Recognizing the value each member brings to the team. Engagement: Interacting on a deeper level with team members to accomplish goals. Outreach: Recognizing team members as experts for the value they bring. Celebration: Openly and publicly acknowledging team members and their accomplishments. Too often, however, companies build recognition programs around milestones (the \u201ccelebration\u201d) \u2014 work anniversaries, etc. \u2014 when building a culture of recognition around smaller, more frequent achievements is often more effective. Why appreciation and recognition deserve renewed attention in today\u2019s workplaces Of those looking for a new job today, fully 74 percent are disengaged, while 63 percent of employees who are recognized for their work are unlikely to leave their jobs. However, in companies with a culture of recognition, employee engagement, productivity and performance are 14 percent higher. These numbers are important to point [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":5040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,156],"tags":[164,241,440,168,385,455,626],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works - Sogolytics Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Simply recognizing the contributions of employees can increase retention and boost productivity. Here are some tips from our November 17 webinar.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-recognition-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works - Sogolytics Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Simply recognizing the contributions of employees can increase retention and boost productivity. Here are some tips from our November 17 webinar.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-recognition-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sogolytics Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-19T17:22:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T09:46:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/emp-3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"487\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"714\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason Smith\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-recognition-program\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-recognition-program\/\",\"name\":\"The Value of Appreciation: How to Build a Recognition Program that Works - Sogolytics Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-19T17:22:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-28T09:46:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4e0a1d178091a8145127dfb6d39c0d41\"},\"description\":\"Simply recognizing the contributions of employees can increase retention and boost productivity. 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