Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are incredibly effective communication tools because they empower users to create posts and instantly share them with an online community. Other users can respond to those posts (through comments or "likes," for example), which in turn spurs even more responses. As a result of those interactions, the original content has the potential to spread rapidly to a very wide audience.
Social recognition in the workplace operates in a similar way. In this case the community comprises a team, a division, or even the entire company. The social feed -- usually a component of the company's employee recognition platform -- becomes a powerful channel for recognizing and rewarding employees or praising the good work of top performers. Just as with a social media post, a community of employees can respond (with comments or "likes") to a recognition post, which helps spread the news and increases the number of coworkers who participate in the celebration.
Most importantly, social recognition helps employees make positive, measurable impacts on their company culture. It allows them to celebrate successes together and build meaningful relationships with each other. For these reasons, social recognition is an essential component of successful employee recognition programs.
Benefits of social recognition
It's a best practice to make employee recognition announcements public (which social sharing can do seamlessly), because although social recognition is gratifying for the individual who is being singled out for great work, sharing that recognition can boost employee motivation and benefit the entire workplace:
When news of success is spread across the organization, there is a 44 percent increase in feeling that the organization is successful [and] a 57 percent increase in feelings of appreciation, and employees are 82 percent more likely to have a strong understanding of what success looks like at their organization.1
When success is shared, more employees feel that they are part of that success. A good social recognition effort can yield several other positive outcomes:
Helping more employees participate in success. Incorporating a social recognition feed (sometimes called a social wall) into a recognition program allows more leaders, team members, and other coworkers to participate in recognition celebrations. When comparing potential social recognition solutions, HR executives should ensure that the leading contenders include a robust set of social recognition features.
Building a connected company culture. Employee recognition solutions with effective social components can positively influence company culture. Effectively communicated recognition gives the entire organization visibility into the contributions and achievements of team members, which helps employees feel more connected to everyday successes and to each other.
Increasing employee engagement and trust. Employee engagement is key to productive, happy, and loyal teams that have low turnover, high profitability, and high productivity. Sharing recognition moments through a social channel can help increase engagement and create peak experiences that employees will remember. Additionally, when leaders or team members comment on recognition to share positive feedback about a coworker's accomplishments, the organization can achieve a higher level of team camaraderie and trust.
Promoting peer-to-peer recognition of great work. This type of recognition (which can include both formal award nominations and everyday, casual acknowledgements) is important because it can happen in real time, whenever and wherever good work occurs. When shared through an internal social channel, peer recognition helps leaders and other teams become aware of great work they might otherwise miss, and it gives others a chance to share in the success and inspire even more team members to recognize their peers for outstanding work.
Gaining insight into what's happening. Monitoring a social recognition feed to see who is being recognized and how often is a fantastic way for leaders to measure employee engagement within teams. A manager who blocks off time regularly (say, every week) to read and comment on the recognition given to their employees gets a better sense of what is happening throughout the organization and has more opportunities to acknowledge the great work of individual team members.
8 Ways to Amplify Social Recognition Success
Social recognition is most effective when it fully leans into the "social" element. Here are some ways to increase the spread -- and the impact -- of this good news.
Share with as many as possible. Maximize the community of employees who will see social recognition of team members. Don't limit the audience to only the immediate team -- make sure that employees throughout the entire organization can see those successes.
Recognize often and in the moment. Don't wait for the end of the month or quarter to recognize outstanding work. Encourage teams and individuals to call out achievements in real time, noting top performers or unsung heroes who exceed expectations.
Ask leaders to set the example. The best way for leaders to promote a program among their teams is to teach them by example. Leaders should show their commitment to employee appreciation by initiating leader-driven recognition as well as participating in peer-to-peer recognition.
Set up social sharing communities. Take advantage of an employee recognition platform's technology by leveraging its built-in capabilities for amplifying social sharing. For example, configure social recognition feeds to include activity from all of a team's coworkers and direct reports. Also, maximize social sharing communities by allowing individuals to "follow" additional leaders and coworkers from other teams or divisions.
Encourage peer-to-peer sharing. Peer-to-peer recognition works hand in glove with social sharing and is more effective when it's timely, genuine, and specific. When shared throughout the organization, peer recognition can become a regular part of the company culture.
Celebrate other types of recognition. A social sharing strategy should incorporate recognition not only of performance but of events such as service milestones and other achievements. For more opportunities for engagement, a company can also choose to include everyday recognition events as part of its social feed, alongside nominations for specific performance awards.
Share on public social media sites. Internal social feeds aren't the only places to share recognition. Many types of service or performance recognition can be appropriately shared on public social media sites, such as LinkedIn or Twitter. This can help companies improve engagement with Millennials and the members of Generation Z, for whom significant use of social media is second nature.
Consider monetary rewards. Sending everyday, casual notes of recognition promotes greater feelings of appreciation, but the effect is substantially increased when the recognition includes a monetary component. A monetary reward also enhances peer-to-peer recognition and public recognition.
Get the most from social recognition
When an employee recognition program has social feeds enabled, spreading appreciation throughout an organization becomes automatic and seamless. The entire team (or even larger group) can share in others' success and also feel inspired to recognize their own peers. By building a culture of appreciation, the organization will also enjoy greater levels of engagement, productiveness, and trust.
1O.C. Tanner Institute. 2018. "2018 Global Culture Report." O.C. Tanner website, www.octanner.com/content/dam/oc-tanner/documents/white-papers/2018/2018_Global_Culture_Report.pdf.