What is peer-to-peer recognition? And why is it so popular?
Peer-to-peer recognition, in a nutshell, is recognition between colleagues. The alternative might be manager-led recognition, where managers recognise their team for their achievements.
Why is it so important? Because it supports the following:
- Timely and meaningful recognition
- Strong team cohesion
- Employee confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness
- Performance and output
- Employee wellbeing, morale and motivation
These are just a few ways peer-to-peer recognition can support your staff and your business.
Encouraging peer-to-peer recognition can support a culture of recognition which can be an incredibly powerful thing in any organisation.
Now, about those peer-to-peer recognition ideas!
Peer-to-Peer ECards through a Peer-to-Peer recognition platform
Peer-to-peer ECards are digital cards that can be sent between colleagues at any level to show appreciation and recognition.
Right now, with many working remotely and with remote working looking likely to stay for many businesses in some capacity at least, giving employees a meaningful way to recognise colleagues digitally has never been more important.
ECards can be tailored to suit your company’s employer brand and can be used to emphasise and strengthen your company values.
They can be fun, quirky and customisable to suit your company down to the ground.
They can even be used to by staff to celebrate occasions like Christmas with festive Ecards, or even Diwali or Eid for example.
They also have the added benefit of driving engagement on your employee benefits platform when hosted as part of a centralised system.
With all these benefits, ECards can really be used to drive and encourage a culture of peer-to-peer recognition within your business.
Micro-bonuses
With micro-bonuses, employees are typically allocated a pot from which they can hand out small monetary bonuses to their colleagues as a form of recognition.
These can simply be a few pounds here and there to colleagues as a thank you.
Micro-bonuses are timely and meaningful and can really help strengthen the bond between colleagues.
They also give employees a helpful nudge to give recognition when it’s deserved, which can be incredibly useful in implementing consistent peer-to-peer recognition.
However, parity is incredibly important when it comes to reward and recognition. Where micro-bonuses can fall down is how they might be used and it’s important to monitor them carefully to ensure they aren’t being used unfairly and that they don’t cause popularity contests.
It could be incredibly useful and insightful to test micro-bonuses as a peer-to-peer recognition idea within your business!
Carry out employee surveys beforehand, implement micro-bonuses, and then carry out further employee surveys down the line and compare the results.
Publicise rewards and recognition internally
Peer-to-peer recognition doesn’t just have to be kept between the parties involved.
An important part of implementing strong peer-to-peer recognition is demonstrating how it works across the whole business.
It could be in the form of monthly updates or hosted on a centralised system but finding a way to showcase the things your colleagues are recognising each other for can help foster a peer-to-peer recognition culture!
It also gives other colleagues a way to show their appreciation too and encourage even more peer-to-peer recognition.
This also has the added benefit of demonstrating how appreciated employees really are by the company!
Highlight milestones and key events
Another way to give employees a helping hand when it comes to peer-to-peer recognition is by highlighting your employees’ key milestones or events.
Recognition doesn’t have to be limited to just saying thank you. A happy birthday or a congratulations also count!
It could be a professional milestone like the completion of an apprenticeship or achieving a bonus, or it could be a personal milestone like beating a personal 5km run time.
Spread the word and celebrate your team’s milestones and achievements together! It doesn’t matter how big or small the recognition, recognition is recognition!
Get to know your team
One important aspect of any recognition is how personal it is. The more personalised, the more it will resonate and the more appreciated the recipient will feel.
Personalised recognition is as important with peer-to-peer recognition as it is with manager-led recognition!
For companies working remotely, getting to know your team better has been a challenge for many.
However, utilising Microsoft Teams or your company intranet to give your employees a platform to help their colleagues get to know them better can really support peer-to-peer recognition within your business.
The better your employees know each other, the more personalised their recognition will be and the better the effect it will have!
Encourage an inclusive workplace culture
Peer-to-peer recognition will thrive in a workplace culture that’s inclusive.
Not all employees have a strong attachment to their work or workplace, but inclusivity should be encouraged to help facilitate peer-to-peer recognition.
This can be even trickier where employees may work remotely or work from different working locations.
While this flexibility can bring with it many benefits, it means HR must be even more focused on ensuring staff don’t feel isolated from the rest of the team.
Peer-to-peer recognition flourishes in a workplace where everyone feels involved and this is absolutely what HR and businesses should be aiming for.
When executed effectively, peer-to-peer recognition can be hugely beneficial for any organisation. It all starts with effective peer-to-peer recognition ideas that consider the bigger picture of recognition.
Try these peer-to-peer recognition ideas with your team and implement a culture of recognition that builds a strong, happy, and high performing team!