Emily Mellwood
Social recognition is the public acknowledgment of employee contributions, achievements, and behaviors within the workplace. Unlike private recognition, which happens behind closed doors, social recognition promotes visibility across teams and departments, creating an inclusive environment where achievements are celebrated by all. This often occurs through digital platforms or public forums, reinforcing a culture of shared appreciation.
The benefits of social employee recognition
1. Improve employee engagement and morale
Recognizing employees “in public” boosts morale and encourages cross-departmental empathy, camaraderie and collaboration – all of which contribute to higher employee engagement. Employees who feel valued by their organization are more likely to put in more effort and perform at their best. And employees who can see the results of unseen hard work in other departments have a better understanding of how everybody’s role contributes to overall business success.
2. Strengthen company culture
Social recognition helps build a culture where appreciation and respect are part of everyday life, not reserved for special occasions. By openly celebrating successes, organizations create a positive environment that nurtures collaboration, trust, and mutual support among employees. Over time, these shared moments of recognition shape “how we do things here,” reinforcing the values and behaviors that define a strong, connected culture.
3. Reduce turnover and improve employee retention
Employees who feel recognized and valued are more likely to stay with the organization because they can see how their contributions matter to business success. Thoughtful, consistent recognition helps employees envision a long-term future within the organization, even during periods of change or uncertainty. Social recognition initiatives can even reduce turnover rates, saving companies time and resources while maintaining a stable, high-performing workforce and protecting valuable institutional knowledge.
4. Encourage team collaboration and connection
Publicly acknowledging employee achievements lifts team spirit and strengthens interpersonal bonds, whether they work side by side or are part of distributed, hybrid teams. When employees regularly celebrate each other’s successes, it creates a stronger sense of belonging, builds psychological safety and trust, and makes it easier for people to collaborate across functions, regions and levels of the organization.
Key characteristics of effective social recognition
There are a few key aspects of a social recognition program that set it apart from other types – and getting them right can leapfrog your program to success. To create a vibrant social recognition program that promotes inclusivity and a strong sense of community within your workplace, keep these characteristics in mind:
A. Public and visible
Effective social recognition is easily seen and appreciated by all, creating a shared experience of gratitude within the workplace. When employees get into the habit of publicly recognizing and thanking each other for their contributions, they form stronger bonds and empathize better when challenges arise.
B. Frequent and timely
Recognition should be given on a regular basis and as close to the achievement as possible to reinforce positive behaviors and actions. The closer to the inspiring action that recognition is awarded, the more significant said action feels and the more likely it is to be repeated.
C. Inclusive and accessible
A successful social recognition program ensures that all employees, regardless of their position or department, have the opportunity to recognize others and be recognized in turn.
D. Values-driven
Aligning recognition with organizational values helps to reinforce what is important to the company, ensuring that employees understand the behaviors and achievements that drive the business forward. If operational safety is a key organizational goal, including it in the recognition program is an easy way to drive safe behavior through positive feedback.
Examples of social employee recognition in action
Social recognition comes to life through various practical applications, from digital platforms to team meetings and beyond.
For example:
Digital employee recognition platforms and social walls
Utilizing digital platforms allows organizations to showcase employee achievements in real time, creating a virtual space where recognition is celebrated openly. Reward Gateway | Edenred’s employee recognition platform features a social wall where employees can not only share and see recognition moments, but also react, leave comments and even add a reward for truly outstanding actions.
Recognition in team meetings and all-hands
Incorporating recognition moments into regular meetings highlights individual contributions and encourages teams to acknowledge each other’s successes. As employees hear what is working across the team it also functions to share best practices that can help everyone be more successful. It’s also a great way to spend the first few minutes of a meeting and set a more positive mood – especially if times are tough.
Company communication channels
Utilizing email newsletters or internal social media to share shout-outs and recognition stories can keep appreciation at the forefront of company culture. Sharing stories of what is working between departments also can provide important context. Is someone in IT taking longer to respond than usual? If you know they just went through a major overhaul, that moves from frustrating and unexpected to understandable.
Peer-nominated awards and recognition programs
Implementing programs where employees can nominate colleagues for their achievements fosters camaraderie and a sense of community within the workplace. Employees collaborate every day and see not only the effort that goes in, but the impact that results most closely. Empowering them to recognize each other ensures that managers and leadership can see great work that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
How to implement social recognition in your organization
Implementing social recognition in your organization doesn’t have to be trial by fire. In just a few steps, you can establish a recognition program that not only acknowledges employee achievements, but also aligns with your company values and fosters a long-lasting culture of appreciation. These actionable steps provide a roadmap for HR leaders and decision-makers looking to create or enhance social recognition initiatives, ensuring everyone feels valued and celebrated.
1. Choose the right recognition platform and tools
Select a platform that is easy to use and facilitates public acknowledgment, ensuring it aligns with your unique organizational needs.
Evaluate the features on offer (such as form of recognition, addition and range of reward options, etc.), as well as access methods (e.g. a custom log-in, integration with your SSO setup, etc.) and privacy settings.
2. Train leaders and employees
Provide training on how to effectively recognize and celebrate achievements, so that everyone feels confident in participating. Ensuring managers understand how the platform works enables them to set the tone and push for greater usage.
3. Tie recognition to company values
Emphasize how recognition connects to the core values of your organization to enhance the meaning behind the acknowledgment. Create a set of eCards specific to your values and provide guidelines for how and when to use them.
4. Make recognition easy
Streamline the entire recognition process, from log-in access all the way through completion of send. The harder it is to use the recognition platform, the less likely your employees are to use it. Ensure that employees can see, send and receive recognition easily and efficiently for the best chance of program take-up.
5. Measure and celebrate impact
Regularly assess the impact of your social recognition efforts and celebrate milestones to keep the momentum going within the organization. Setting a KPI like number of recognition moments shared per month or number of recognizers per month is a good way to benchmark internal culture and temperature-check for any problems when usage patterns change.
Celebrate your team with Reward Gateway | Edenred’s social recognition tools
At Reward Gateway | Edenred, we provide comprehensive social recognition tools designed to help organizations create a culture of appreciation – we even use it ourselves. We call our platform boom! and our social recognition is the Wow! wall, where we share our gratitude, appreciation and wins with everyone at the company. Not only does the social wall let us spread good news further, it helps disparate teams who may not interact day-to-day understand what’s going on in different departments and even spot the ripple effects of other activities, further driving the interconnection of each role within the organization. Our platforms make it seamless for your team to acknowledge one another’s contributions and celebrate achievements together. Let’s transform your workplace into one where recognition thrives and employees feel valued every day!
Schedule a demo to learn more about Reward Gateway | Edenred’s suite of employee experience solutions and find out more about how we can help you make your corner of the world a better place to work.
