{"id":1016,"date":"2022-11-28T09:12:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T09:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mo.work\/uncategorized\/is-your-recognition-program-failing-do-this-instead\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T14:32:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:32:06","slug":"failing-recognition-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mo.work\/insights\/failing-recognition-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Recognition Program Failing? Do This Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019ve understood the benefits of employee recognition and invested in setting up a program. Now you just sit back and reap the rewards \u2013 right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When an employee recognition program works well, it can give your company\u2019s culture a huge boost. Gallup<\/em> found that employees are five times<\/a> as likely to be connected when recognition hits its mark. If your recognition program isn\u2019t working as intended, it can lead to confusion and, in extreme cases, resentment across the company. So, what do you do if your recognition program is failing? We have the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Recognition Program Problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your recognition program is struggling to take off or isn\u2019t leading to the results you originally hoped for, here are a few reasons why that could be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A lack of leadership buy-in<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For a recognition program to be successful, it has to be an integral part of your company\u2019s ecosystem. If your leadership team doesn\u2019t buy into it, why should your employees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your leaders are one of the most significant pieces of the puzzle when trying to roll out an employee recognition program. Their lack of buy-in will add an immediate obstacle to any new initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders can easily shift their focus onto something else and lose interest. Still, you need them to be engaged in the program and model consistent interaction with it from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to fix it:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you think the problem is because your leaders haven\u2019t bought into the program, it\u2019s essential to communicate how beneficial a successful recognition program can be. Back up your discussion with stats and the expected ROI when the program works as expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you could refer to a recent employee engagement study from Psychometrics<\/a> that found that 58% of employees wanted their leaders to give them more recognition and praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could also be because they don\u2019t understand how exactly the program works. If you decide to use employee recognition software, it might be beneficial to have regular sessions on how to use it correctly, where to find certain features in the platform and why they are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You waited too long to start your program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recognition programs are very powerful \u2013 but they are only successful if everyone is excited, energised and involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main reasons why employee recognition programs fail is because they are launched after significant harm has been done. If engagement and morale are already at an all-time low, it might be too late for an employee recognition program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees may also be reluctant to participate as they may feel you\u2019re adding more tasks to their daily lives rather than creating a better work environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to fix it:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The big issues here are communication and presentation. Start by discussing the program openly and regularly, explaining the benefits and focusing on how it can reward individuals. Once that\u2019s established, use company or team meetings to highlight great things from the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure all your managers know about the program so they can showcase it to their teams and include all the details in your onboarding process<\/a>. Check in on the various ways people can get involved too \u2013 the easier you make it for employees to get started, the more likely they are to use the program as intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. There\u2019s a transactional feel to your program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When employees start to feel as though a program might be transactional, it undermines the whole purpose of the endeavour. While this tends to be a problem faced by bigger companies, where it can be harder to hold on to that personal touch, it can affect smaller organisations too. A few common causes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n