“The happier we are, the less likely we are to burn out, the more likely we are to have opportunities to feel our creative juices. And all of that means that people are going to be more engaged at work,” said Morgan Chaney in a recent presentation at From Day One’s recent virtual conference on upskilling, coaching, and recognition.

Sounds great, but how can organizations achieve this lofty goal of maintaining employee happiness? One of the keys is to give them the recognition that they deserve for their work and efforts, said Chaney, senior director of marketing at Blueboard, a platform dedicated to fostering meaningful recognition opportunities in the workplace.

Amidst the exodus of employees from the workforce known as the Great Resignation, one thing is clear: people across industries have become hyper-cognizant of the things that matter to them. This exit has been primarily driven by the sheer force of workers reorganizing their lives and priorities, with numbers predicted to rise even higher in the coming months.

With the surge in job opportunities, the struggle for fair wages, the rise of flexible and remote work options, and the intolerance for unhealthy work environments, businesses are now tasked with determining how to retain their top talent and slow down rising attrition rates.

Companies can do a better job of retaining employees by valuing the individual and their role and correlating their work to an impact on the company’s mission. In her presentation, Chaney explored the scenarios driving people away from their jobs–and how individual recognition can help foster and maintain talent. Highlights:

Top Reasons People Are Exiting the Workforce

Many workers and experts alike point to burnout as the root of these departures. For those used to working from an office, the pandemic’s erasure of the boundaries between work and personal life has fostered an always-on approach to work, as digital communication tools such as Slack and Zoom led to easy accessibility to employees and almost constant connection.

Yet this increased pressure has come without the resilience-building aspects of human contact and camaraderie. “We lack physical celebrations like the high fives and hugs we used to get, so that also contributes to burnout,” said Chaney. “When you’re feeling more remote and separated from the humanity of people, you’re having to work through a lot of the emotions that you’re experiencing outside of work by yourself without having those co-workers to vent or talk to daily.”

This always-on mode affected everyone from individual contributors to senior-level managers, with the result that hard work went unrecognized or taken for granted. Many felt unseen in their efforts, as though their long hours were unaccounted for. That sense, coming on top of social isolation, resulted in a double-whammy on the psyche, said Chaney.

For those in the hospitality industry­, the segment impacted the hardest in the past two years, both business owners and employees struggled as customers disappeared. Millions suffered the precariousness of furloughs, while others were left to continue work on the front lines without the option of flexible environments.

Finally, always-on remote work and social isolation was concurrent with the atmosphere of bleak uncertainty that overtook the world, leading many to consider what was truly important to them, such as a job that allowed for flexibility or one that provided meaning and purpose to their lives.

What’s the Solution? 

It’s easy to feel like just a cog in the wheel in these conditions, which is probably why 70% of employees say that they are more likely to stay with a company if they receive more meaningful recognition. According to Chaney, there are three primary ways recognition for hard work can be so effective in retaining talent:

1.) “It helps connect work to a purpose: When you celebrate wins–big or small–you acknowledge the impact of an employee's contributions and influence their intrinsic desire to do better. This is particularly critical as motivation has waned lately due to overwork,” she said.

2.) “It helps connect people: Public recognition gives people an opportunity to celebrate each other. This fosters increased belonging to a group and helps combat isolation. It contributes to an abundant company culture of open communication, feedback, and praise.”

3.) “It helps connect people to their lives: Not all recognition programs will accomplish this. But experiential rewards and recognition give employees the opportunity to nurture a healthier life outside of work. Whether they use their reward to hone a skill, spend time with family, or go on an adventure, it gets into their lives.”

Some of the ways in which HR staff have relied on the above themes and successfully implemented programs that highlight employees involve focusing on two areas: rewarding those who have gone the extra mile to keep team culture alive and thriving in this new world, and rewarding those who demonstrate company values, either through their work or behavior, Chaney said.

Reward initiatives can vary. For example, The Trade Desk, a tech company, used Blueboard's platform to create a spot recognition program that offered such rewards as spa days or skydiving vouchers to employees who went above and beyond during the pandemic to foster team culture. The company expanded the program to enable colleagues to publicly laud their teammates. GoPro, the video-camera maker, relied on Blueboard’s program to run a manager-driven spotlight program, which enabled people managers to spontaneously reward team members for displaying admirable work efforts or showcasing company values.

“It's really important to have repetition and frequency” in such recognition programs, said Chaney. To measure their effectiveness, companies use engagement and sentiment surveys that ask specific questions in order to develop success metrics. Employees are free to share their feedback and thoughts on the progress and impact of such programs.

All in all, said Chaney, installing a consistent practice to recognize and reward employees across all job functions has proven to be a valuable strategy when it comes to employee retention, engagement, and creating a sense of belonging in the midst of a prolonged and sometimes painful transition to new ways of working.

Editor's Note: From Day One thanks our partner for this thought-leadership spotlight, Blueboard.

Tania Rahman is a native New Yorker who works at the intersection of digital marketing and tech. She enjoys writing both news stories and fiction, hot chocolate on cold days, reading, live music, and learning new things.