When it comes to keeping employees engaged, one of the most important steps companies can take is to foster meaningful connections between coworkers.
Helping people build relationships at work cultivates friendships, increases trust, and influences other
key drivers of engagement
. In fact, according to survey research, employees who have friends at work are
seven times more likely to be engaged with their jobs.
The problem? You can’t force friendships or police people’s relationships at the office. It just wouldn’t make sense.
However, you
can
nurture the level of interest employees take in one another. One highly effective way to do this is through employee recognition.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, it’s more important than ever to develop
employee recognition practices
that lead to real and measurable business impacts. More than 80% of leaders surveyed by SHRM have such programs in place, and the vast majority cite engagement, relationships, company culture and organizational values as the biggest benefits.
It’s easy to understand why. With people spending 40 or more hours a week together at work, recognizing one another’s contributions is a great way to break down silos and increase connections.
So, what’s the best way to start showing your appreciation? Most organizations have access to an array of
easy opportunities to recognize employees
, be it during regular huddles, through internal messages, or with cards of appreciation.
And then there’s one of our favorite forms of employee recognition, which often stands out as particularly effective in
15five's work with people leaders:
the employee spotlight.
Whether your employees all work in one central location or are
distributed across geographies and remote locations
, spotlighting employees can be an ideal way to keep people both inspired and connected.
How to create employee spotlights your people will love
If this is your first time featuring employees, or if you’re looking for a method that’s easy to replicate and repeat, you’ll be glad to know that spotlights are relatively easy to produce. Here’s the step-by-step process we recommend: Step 1: Showcase the right employee. While most organizations are likely to have “star” performers everyone’s familiar with, it’s important to highlight a wide array of team players and personalities. Focus on helping employees get to know one another — whether that means introducing someone to different departments, highlighting a recently-promoted supervisor or simply shedding light on a valuable colleague whose contributions might otherwise fall under the radar. Step 2: Create a list of insightful questions. Remember, this is an opportunity for your employee to shine. The more detail, the better the spotlight. It’s best to err on the side of open-ended questions and keep the “favorites” (“What’s your favorite…”) to a minimum. Some that we’ve seen work particularly well include:- What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
- What do you do at our company?
- What has been your favorite project so far?
- What’s something most people don’t know about you?
- What would you like to ask our CEO?
