Why employee appreciation should be part of any company’s work culture
Do you remember the last time you put your heart and soul into a project and how fulfilling it was to achieve a successful result?
Our job is a big part of our lives; it’s a daily commitment. And it feels great when we put all our effort, creativity, and care into a task and succeed at it – whether we successfully pitched at a presentation, closed a complex sale, launched a new campaign, or any other tasks. But it’s even more rewarding when we are acknowledged for it. From a “Great job!” from our colleagues to a personal note from our boss or a positive review from a client, these recognition gestures make us feel prouder and more valued, boosting our confidence and motivation for future projects.
Today the world is celebrating Employee Recognition Day. Still, we think this is something that companies should build over time with small (or more significant) recognition initiatives that can have a major impact on their work culture.
Even the simplest acts of appreciation can go a long way. Feeling appreciated makes employees happier and more satisfied with their professional life. It helps to create a stronger connection with the company and its values, and take ownership and pride in each project. And it’s a win-win: happy and engaged employees work harder to achieve organizational goals, are more likely to perform better, and stay with the company longer.
How do we do it?
At Emergn, we work towards employee appreciation and recognition daily. We know people do their best work when they are respected, encouraged, supported, and trusted. And that creating a workplace where people feel happy and fulfilled starts with a mindset of investment in people and their wellbeing. That’s why “We care and invest in our people” is the first of the three core principles that form The Emergn Way.
Our culture of employee appreciation gathers diverse, small initiatives that we incorporate day-to-day in our teams and recognition programs, and we set out throughout the year to reward employees that go above and beyond for the team.
It all starts with our frequent and transparent feedback culture. It allows managers and teams to align on goals and better understand their performance, highlights, and points of improvement. Managers are encouraged to reward their teams for their achievements, but we also believe peer-to-peer recognition plays a big part in creating this appreciation culture.
The “Thank you” Teams channel is our “go-to” place to thank each other publicly. Everyone has access to this channel and can share their appreciation for anything a teammate has done or achieved.
CEO and Above & Beyond Awards
Employee appreciation should be done consistently throughout the year and give an inclusive opportunity to everyone in a company. That’s why we have the quarterly CEO and Above & Beyond Awards, which offer a monetary reward to the winners. People’s performance varies throughout the year, and these frequent moments of recognition allow us to highlight different people at different times of the year.
Above & Beyond Awards
Our Above & Beyond Award is designed to recognize and reward the employees who contribute above and beyond the expectations of their professional role. Everyone from junior to senior levels can be nominated by their peers by presenting solid arguments that this colleague has exceeded expectations. These nominations then proceed to a yearly chosen panel of judges that evaluate the proposals and select the winners for this award – the strong and more practical the arguments are, the higher the chances of the nominee receiving the award.
“After a year full of intense challenges, it was energizing to receive this recognition from the team.”
Raquel Alves, Business Analyst
“I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Above & Beyond Award. For me, it meant that the client recognized my effort and commitment to improving how they operate.”
Daniel Naumovs, Senior DevOps Cloud Engineer
CEO Awards
Our CEO Award is designed to recognize and celebrate exceptional contributions. They are a personal ‘thank you’ from Alex Adamopoulos, our CEO, to show appreciation for those who have significantly impacted our people, our clients, and our company. A yearly selected panel of judges choose the nominees for this prize, and Alex selects the winner of this award. Having this panel nomination helps us recognize the work of people who might not have such high visibility work for all teams across the company but still make an incredible impact.
“A big thank you to my team lead and the company for the high evaluation of my efforts. I feel very honored to receive this award. I always try to do my work as best I can and learn new things – it’s great to see a good result and a happy client.”
Inta Pommere, .NET Senior Developer
“Winning the CEO Award meant so much. I have never won anything in my life. It was a fantastic occasion for me; it made me feel so proud and delighted. It validated my confidence and made me feel quite fortunate.”
Mihaela Mihai, UK Business Operations
Our recognition awards and initiatives have received great feedback from our teams. People are excited to highlight the work of their peers, and the winners of the awards feel valued and grateful for their recognition. They are also a great way to:
- Reinforce our values by awarding people that best reflect our core values.
- Help build a stronger company culture and encourage our employees to be our biggest advocates.
- Encourage peer-to-peer recognition in many ways.
- Motivate employee engagement and efforts to go above and beyond.
Appreciation efforts should be constant and come from different places and people within the organization, not just something the company does for you. It’s the culture that we’re all building together.
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