Recognition Advisor: Empowering Your Team Through Language
We’ve all heard the adage that “actions speak louder than words.” How we show up in the world and conduct ourselves day to day are supposedly more indicative of our character than the words we choose to speak.
We’re here to argue that the two are inextricably linked. To take it one step farther, we’re here to prove that not only are words as important as actions, but that speaking is an action. Writing is an action. Communicating and sending messages are all actions.
Showing recognition and expressing gratitude are all powerful, valuable actions, especially in the workplace. Words are powerful little things. They help us articulate the spectrums of emotions we experience on a daily basis. Most importantly, they connect us more deeply to one another, and to ourselves.
However, it can be difficult to find the right words, even in the most heartfelt moments. Verbalizing thoughts and feelings is not everyone’s strong suit, although we can all benefit from extra suggestions for improvement.
That’s why we created Recognition Advisor®.
What is Recognition Advisor, and how does it work?
Recognition Advisor is an AI-powered tool designed to help you unlock the full potential of your recognition messages. When you begin typing a message in Spark, this plug-in-style tool builds off your ideas and input to help create a more impactful, well-rounded message that can have a more meaningful effect on the recipient.
Recognition Advisor is yet another example of Workhuman’s mission to harness the power of AI for good, empowering individuals and businesses through highly-specified tools. By providing personalized, real-time suggestions to strengthen the writer’s language, this tool can create a ripple effect of positive influence. Through writing prompts, examples of successful recognition messaging, and other helpful suggestions for more poignant wording, Recognition Advisor improves the experience for both the giver and the receiver.
This tool has the power to transform a simple recognition moment into a profound moment of reflection, helping the receiver see how truly valuable they are. Recognition Advisor also helps each employee become a better writer who’s more in tune with the fundamentals of effective recognition, reducing the need for continuous coaching and training from senior leaders.
By increasing the level of specificity and depth in each message, companies that use Recognition Advisor will achieve what we call Human Intelligence. Human Intelligence uncovers deeper insights about what skills are on display and which need more attention; mentorship and team building opportunities, and overall help leaders make more well-rounded talent management decisions.
Besides utilizing Recognition Advisor, how else can I ensure that my recognition strategy is as strong as possible?
Through our work with Gallup, we’ve identified five pillars of strategic recognition.
Fulfilling
While the perfect frequency of recognition can be difficult to determine, only 23% of employees strongly agree that they receive the right amount of recognition for the work they do. Ensuring employees are genuinely and consistently recognized for their work is a great first step toward creating a more fulfilling recognition strategy.
Authentic
Empty, routine “thank yous” or platitudes of gratitude simply don’t have the same impact as genuine, heartfelt recognition. Employees can sense when they’re being thanked with empty words or with the intention to “check off a box.” Taking the time to truly reflect on what they’ve done right and how impactful it was will help you create a more resonant message.
Personalized
You know that your employees have different personalities, values, and goals, but their preferences can be just as specific when it comes to recognition. While some workers may feel deeply honored to be publicly acknowledged for their accomplishments, others may prefer private, one-on-one conversations.
Tailoring the recognition experience to each employee’s individual preferences can help each instance of recognition feel even more nourishing. Exploring our six types of recognition can help you create custom strategies for each of your employees.
Equitable
We’ve unearthed a sobering truth in much of our research: recognition statistics can reveal deeper inequities within an organization. An analysis of a company’s recognition data and statistics may reveal that certain teams, various groups, or even select individuals are being thanked more often, while others are being thanked infrequently, if at all.
By using this data to uncover where there may be subconscious biases within the organization, leaders can ensure that every employee is being valued and thanked for their unique contributions. Our Inclusion Advisor tool, which forms a dynamic guidance duo with Recognition Advisor, can also help you mitigate unconscious bias in real-time by providing private moments of microcoaching and suggestions for more inclusive language.
Embedded
When recognition is embedded into organizational culture, it becomes a new way of working, not just a fleeting initiative. In order to decrease absenteeism, reduce safety incidents, and increase productivity, recognition has to become part of the fabric of daily life at a company. This helps it feel less artificial and superficial, and gives recognition the power to drive real, measurable change in your organization.
“If you think back to something unpleasant that happened at work, and the ripple effects of that, it probably all happened through someone’s poor choice of words, or egregious choice of words, or careless, unthinking choice of words. For me, there isn't really a clear line between actions, talk, behavior, language, they're all sort of the same thing.”
-Elizabeth Stokoe, Professor of Social Interaction at Loughborough University
Wrapping up
At Workhuman, we’re committed to maintaining our status as the #1 leader in recognition. In order to maintain that status, we’re constantly evolving our offerings to help your team run the most efficient, impactful, educational recognition possible. This elevates our platform from a gratitude program to an instrument of cultural change and individual transformation.
Recognition Advisor is our latest offering in a long line of tools designed to harness the power of AI for the good of the workforce, and to make technology work for us not in place of us. By emphasizing the power of words within the workplace, this tool will help your team maintain an even more robust recognition program.
Coupled with our five pillars of strategic recognition and used in tandem with our Inclusion Advisor, Recognition Advisor can empower your team on a daily basis, beginning with the simple click of a button.
About the author
Anna Picagli
As a CYT500 yoga instructor and a certified reiki practitioner, Anna is an advocate for holistic wellness, especially within the workplace.
She’s extremely passionate about the brain-body connection and exploring how mental and physical wellness intersect.
Anna has experienced firsthand how chronic stress, overworking, poor management, and other organizational issues can lead to extreme burnout. Knowing the impact that a toxic work environment can have on a person’s body, psyche, and general sense of well-being, she now works to direct others away from facing the same fate.
As Workhuman’s Content Marketing Senior Specialist, Anna is a regular contributor to Workhuman iQ reports and aims to create resources that company leaders can reference to help improve their culture and empower their employees, creating healthier workplaces for everyone.
In her free time, she’s a voracious reader and a seasoned home chef. You can learn more about Anna’s work on LinkedIn or through the Yoga Alliance.