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The work environment is still in turmoil, with many organizations trying to keep costs low and find success, all while wondering how to
retain their best employees. A robust, employee-centered total rewards strategy can increase employee engagement, retention, and satisfaction, which all lead to business success in hard times.
Employees need to feel seen, supported, and valued throughout their tenure, not just as new hires or during the holidays.
Enhancing total rewards, planning the employee journey, tying it all together...that’s enough to make anyone’s head spin! But the good news is that there’s one aspect of total rewards that will help you build up a culture of appreciation, support, and loyalty that spreads throughout each employee’s journey.
That aspect is employee recognition.
Overview of Total Rewards
Total rewards is the sum of everything an employer provides to their employee. Traditionally, this includes things like benefits, compensation, and perks. However, in today’s work environment, financial compensation is insufficient in attracting and retaining the best talent.
The trends of 2023 and beyond show that employees need more than traditional total rewards—they need to feel like valued individuals with purposeful work and a healthy work-life balance.
According to Gartner, while compensation is an important part of keeping employees engaged and happy, these aspects are growing in importance for employees:
• Deeper connections
• Greater flexibility
• Personal growth
• Supported well-being
• Shared purpose
While compensation and health insurance are less malleable—employees always expect what’s sufficient for their needs—these newer, more wellness-centric benefits open up much more freedom to surprise and delight employees.
Total Rewards and the Employee Journey
The concept of reimagined and revamped total rewards doesn’t have to be intimidating. When thought of in conjunction with the employee journey, creating an effective total rewards strategy becomes downright simple.
The employee journey, in simplest terms, is every interaction an employee has with a company, from before they’re hired to the day they quit. The journey can be broken down into five stages:
Your total rewards strategy needs to form the foundation for each of these stages—by doing so, you’ll create a culture where employees feel valued, supported, productive, and engaged whether they’ve been there one month or 10 years—which leads to
retaining your top talent.
After all, the top two reasons employees quit are not feeling valued and not feeling a sense of belonging at work. With effective total rewards that reach everyone throughout their tenure, people will want to stay, and new talent will want to join.
Where Employee Recognition Fits In
When talking about the modern total rewards that employees want, it’s impossible not to talk about employee recognition. Nearly 40% of employees report that employee recognition is the most important thing their leaders can do to motivate them. Employee recognition also:
When companies create and support a recognition-focused culture, it provides the sense of value and gratitude that employees crave. This culture also boosts everything from motivation and morale to retention and productivity.
However, nearly 50% of employees are recognized only once a year or less, which isn’t nearly enough to reap these amazing benefits. This is why recognition needs to be the key to the rest of your total rewards strategy. And just like the rest of your strategy, recognition can (and should) be integrated into each stage of the employee journey.
And the best part is? It’s easy—just follow the strategies below.
The Employee Journey and Recognition
To get the most out of your recognition-centric total rewards strategy, you’ll want to make sure recognition is a part of each employee journey stage. This will create unending feelings of appreciation and value for all employees.
Recognition Strategies for the Recruitment Stage
Recruitment is all about attracting the best talent to your open positions. The way to do that is to show them that the company takes care of their employees.
For example, a strong culture of recognition will inevitably lead to social posts and Glassdoor reviews from employees about the supportive things the company has done for them. Those are free endorsements that will stand out to potential employees.
Showing that the company is dedicated to recognizing and rewarding employees is a great way to attract the best talent.
Recognition Strategies for the Onboarding Stage
If recruitment is the tantalizing smell of a restaurant, onboarding is the first bite of food. This first impression is foundational for each employee’s experience, and it can be intimidating and difficult.
Good onboarding has a huge impact on employees—it increases retention by 50% and it makes 69% of employees much more likely to stay for at least three years. However, only 12% of employees agree that their onboarding was effective.
How can employee recognition make onboarding more rewarding and supportive for all new people? Here are some ideas:
The key to good onboarding is to show that the company will support and care for the employees beyond just the “new hire” phase. With a strong culture of recognition, employees will know that they’re appreciated and valued from day one onward.
Recognition Strategies for the Engagement Stage
Employee engagement is the never-ending, ever-changing challenge that all businesses face. Despite the fact that engaged employees are more productive, more loyal, more profitable, and more motivated, only 32% of employees are engaged.
Employee recognition is key for keeping your employees engaged throughout their journey—it’s no coincidence that employees are 4X more engaged when they feel recognized enough at work.
Here are some strategies to spread recognition throughout your workforce to keep employees engaged:
82% of employees don’t feel recognized enough. That doesn’t mean you need to plan out elaborate recognition plans and pour a ton of money into your efforts—the above strategies should help you increase frequency and effectiveness of your recognition without being overwhelming.
Recognition Strategies for the Development Stage
Over 70% of employees say that training and development are important for their job satisfaction. People want to feel like they’re learning, growing, and moving forward, and employee recognition can help you in this process.
Gaining more knowledge and skills as professionals is a big part of employees’ journeys. Employee recognition can incentivize this growth and drive behaviors that will level up your talent. Here’s how:
Recognition Strategies for the Separation Stage
At the moment of separation, employee recognition won’t have a big impact. At least, not on the employee that’s leaving. However, exit interviews are a vital way to improve your culture of recognition.
Talk with employees who are leaving and get candid responses about what the company can do better. Then, recognize where you can improve and try to do better with your remaining employees.
Executing a Recognition Strategy That Covers the Employee Journey
The above strategies may have been overwhelming—however, adding recognition into your culture in an effective way can actually be simple and easy, especially with some automation.
Below are three easy methods to increasing recognition throughout the employee journey:
What About the Budget?
Times are hard and many companies are trying to cut back on spending. But employee recognition doesn’t have to be a pricey addition to your total rewards strategy.
There are inexpensive ways to create a culture of recognition at your workplace, such as:
The Employee Journey and Recognition—a Perfect Match
To recap, modern total rewards are key to attracting, engaging, and retaining the best talent in today’s work environment. And employee recognition is a driving force behind the total rewards strategies that people actually want.
As you navigate the turbulent waters of the future, employee recognition is your lighthouse in the dark. Creating a culture of appreciation—one that spreads throughout the entire employee journey—is your key to not just surviving during hard times, but thriving.
