Productivity, Recognition

Using Technology to put peer recognition in employee hands

June 135 mins
Putting-Peer-Recognition-Back-In-The-Hands-of-The-Employees-Using-Technology

A couple of decades ago, every organization had a very distinct and different culture when compared to another. The process of recognizing and rewarding good work was either monthly or annually. While employees certainly looked forward to getting praise at the end of the month of the year, the excitement did go through different phases. Often, other good work done by another employee towards the end of that month ended up receiving the spotlight, while good work done early on was more like an afterthought in the mind of the management and peers alike.

The sense of accomplishment that recognition and reward offer is unparalleled, and time plays a huge deciding factor here. Every individual is constantly pushing themself to do their best every single day. They wish to maximize their time to ensure that they reap as much benefit from it as possible. In a world where we as humans tend to love everything “instant”, it is impossible to wait for a whole month, or leave a year to receive praise for work well done. Time is of the essence, and giving each employee a sense of purpose by recognizing their hard work and rewarding them instantly does serve to be a better motivator. The timely recognition of good work by peers does offer more meaning to the praise. This practice also helps lay down the foundation for developing a culture of regular and organic recognition in the organization.

However, things aren’t as simple as they were back in the day. Organizations are no longer limited by size and geography. Most of them have a large number of employees, and a great percentage of these operate from different countries across the globe. Additionally, the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 forced individuals to retreat back and work from home. This further created a major challenge to be dealt with as peers no longer shared the personal touch while working. The informal praises, recognition, and compliments which were shared at the workplace were also eradicated overnight, and only those who shared a personal bond beyond work interacted and motivated each other through difficult times.

Thus, it is vital to provide all employees with the tools to build a culture of recognition and gratitude via peer recognition. Considering all of the above, we need to understand that peer recognition is no longer organizational, rigid, or structured. It is meant to be open for all and accessible to all. To achieve this, we need to bring onboard technology that shall put peer recognition back into the hands of the employees. Meaningful recognition is undoubtedly more important than ever as it ensures the successful retention of employees and helps keep up productivity, all while ensuring a happy and inclusive workplace for all employees. This can be achieved easily by using a peer recognition tool such as PeerFives, as it is essentially a one-stop solution for all your rewarding and recognition needs. Listed below are the ways in which peer recognition tools such as PeerFives can help empower you and your organization to put peer recognition back into the hands of your employees:

1. Using a good peer recognition tool:

Every organization must stress subscribing to the best possible peer recognition tool to ensure that all employees get the best possible features under one roof. We at PeerFives dive into the minds of our users to try and understand what features they exactly look for while recognizing good work by their peers and rewarding them.

Features such as easy onboarding, integration with team collaboration software, ease of use, friendly pricing, and attractive user interface are just the essential requirements for any peer recognition tool. Further, market-leading tools offer custom pricing, an integrated marketplace for easy redemption of points and rewards, well-crafted broadcast messages for recognition, and detailed insights into the activities of all employees.

2. Consumer App like features:

Every task related to work is often conducted on PCs or laptops. In the modern age, when the world is digitally connected 24×7, there is a need for work-related tasks to be accessible via handheld devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Yes, we all access office email, chats, and even execute a few related tasks, but peer recognition tools always seem to receive the raw end of the deal and never come with on-the-go support.

Consumer apps that employees of an organization normally use are known to be the most convenient forms of apps available in the market. Users can make large transactions on banking apps and order food, groceries, and even medicines. So why can’t peer recognition be supported on the go?

With PeerFives integrated on Slack offers users on-the-go features. Users can whip out their phones, head to the Slack mobile app, which is available on both iOS and Android, and simply use PeerFives. Whether it is to check PeerFives balance or reward and recognize peers, everything shall be at the tip of your fingers to let you continue the chain of recognition and gratitude even when you aren’t at work.

3. Data:

The data that peer recognition tools such as PeerFives provide to admins and decision-makers within an organization helps them gain an insight into every employee; it helps them organize teams more efficiently and ensure that every recognition and reward is organic in nature. The insight that the data offers helps them understand the overall effectiveness of the peer recognition program while giving them the opportunity to change certain aspects to accommodate every need of the employees better and push towards the highest levels of productivity.

In conclusion, peer recognition tools are undoubtedly the best means to put peer recognition back into the hands of the employees as these tools are the best iteration of technology that is available and accessible to most individuals in a simple and easy-to-use form factor. If you are also looking to put peer recognition back in the hands of your employees using technology, schedule a demo with us now and make use of our free 30-day trial as well.