Employee recognition has never mattered more than in today’s workplace – this was echoed in a recent Forbes report which discussed how remote working has a direct impact on an employee’s need to feel more valued by their employer.

According to a Forbes poll, 46% of employees left jobs because of lack of recognition and 65% said that they would work harder if their efforts and contributions were noted by management. Employers have to make sure that, with today’s hybrid style of working, employees are still feeling that personal and consistent recognition for a job well done.

A further stat that caught our eye in the report was that a further 67% of those surveyed felt they would remain in a position with an unappreciative boss if their co-workers appreciated their work. It reminded us of what great recognition should look like and a recent employee recognition campaign for which we led the creative for our longstanding client National Grid.

In 2021 National Grid launched a peer-to-peer recognition campaign to celebrate colleagues who had been living their values every day through the tough and relentless times of the pandemic. In 2022 they built on the success by using Living our Values to communicate refreshed behaviours, aligned to their values, that would help drive cultural change by highlighting best practice. They tasked us with creating a visual identity and supporting campaign communication across all touchpoints, which they wanted to be celebratory, visible and ensure that it highlighted and focussed on the new behaviours in action across National Grid.. This year, the campaign has been built upon again – still recognising and celebrating the great things colleagues do day in, day out to live the National Grid values and drive the positive culture – but with a focus on specific actions, big or small.

Our campaign, now in its second year, delivered fundamental cultural change with record levels of engagement. All National Grid business units and functions in the UK and US continue to recognize and champion National Grid values and talent through the campaign.

Employee recognition strategies are a crucial part of your internal campaign strategy; here are three reasons why:

Decrease in absenteeism

Forbes have highlighted that the number of google searches for excuses to miss work has increased by a whopping 630% from 2018 to 2022. Showing gratitude for a job well done is crucial for employee motivation and keeps interest in the organisation high and connected.

Higher engagement and productivity

According to Deloitte, recognition is highly correlated with improving employee engagement, which in turn improves job performance. In fact, employee engagement, productivity and performance are 14% higher in organisations with recognition programmes than those without.

Increased retention and recruitment

Studies suggest that it costs, on average, six to nine months of an employee’s salary to replace them. That can add up quickly; the Forbes report shows that 68% of HR professionals agreed that employee recognition positively impacts retention, while 56% said it also helps with recruitment.

You can view the case study for this project here.