Building IMPACTFUL Recognition Programs – Without Breaking the Bank or Staff

By Nate Hamme

This blog is Part Two of a two-part series on the impact that employee recognition has on patient experience. The full series has detailed how misconceptions about employee recognition can be addressed with effective planning and cross-department leadership support.  

As I travel around the country speaking on the topic of care worker appreciation, I’m continually confronted with the belief that employee recognition isn’t a strategic priority because “it’s time consuming, too expensive, and insufficiently impactful.” My message to those leaders remains steadfastly the same: it doesn’t have to be. 

Let’s explore how misconceptions around workforce recognition can be addressed with effective planning and cross-departmental support to efficiently achieve your organization’s goals. 

Misconception 1: “Insufficiently Impactful” 

First and foremost, let’s focus on impact. As I detailed in Part 1 of this series, recognition absolutely has the unique potential to drive significant improvements in employee retention and engagement, patient experience, and the bottom line.  The caveat is that it must integrate into organizations as a strategic and cultural foundation, while adhering to what we call the “Science of Recognition.” 

Recognition efforts must embody several key characteristics to maximize impact. I teach best practices using the acronym IMPACT: Inclusive, Mission-driven, Public, Authentic, Consistent and Timely. As a result, a program’s construction and design dictates whether it is effective. 

Organizations often cite “lack of impact” for unsuccessful programs when the primary failure was an inability to shift organizational culture. Creating a culture of recognition takes commitment from the top down. This is often both a starting point and its biggest hurdle. Building recognition into the culture connects employees to the organization’s Mission and vision while ensuring accountability in efforts.  

Ultimately, it’s also essential to have personal insight into individual employees when providing recognition. For example, The Five Languages Of Appreciation: Understanding How To Show Gratitude In The Workplace provides an important motivational framework to better understand team members’ preferences. This research indicates that healthcare workers’ “language of appreciation” slightly differs from that of the general population, with most preferring:  

• Words of Affirmation (40%) 
• Acts of Service (32%) 
• Quality Time (20%) 
• Tangible Gifts (8%) 

During onboarding, ask new employees questions to determine how they like to be recognized—which makes recognition feel more Authentic. Understanding this personal preference will support managers in acknowledging individuals’ motivations. And taking a top-down and bottom-up approach will serve to greatly increase program impact. 

Misconception 2: “It’s Time Consuming” 

The recognition programs of yesteryear instilled the persistent belief that they’re too time consuming to manage. Comprehensive programs leverage human capital to ensure consistency and accountability. Siloed or competing initiatives, and inefficiencies like paper-based collection, require significant physical collateral and people to maintain. And while the most successful programs provide a pathway for hand-written acknowledgement, they do not make it the foundation of program structure. 

Technology can help immensely. Basic contact information and online forms, supplemented with a paper option, provide a centralized and Inclusive way for staff and the cared-for community to participate. Most recognition software platforms collect, store, and manage recognition and provide key data and performance indicators on program effectiveness. And if designed properly, can make recognition both Timely and Publicly accessible—for example, instantaneous notification of an employee being recognized and easily shared kudos on social media or a digital billboard. 

Misconception 3: “It’s Too Expensive” 

Let me share this insight. Research shows that top performing organizations typically invest 1% or more of payroll on recognition and value-based rewards. So, it stands to bear that implementing and managing effective recognition initiatives can be costly. But, like any investment, a “scientific” approach can create efficiencies and maximize benefits.  

Recognition platforms are typically priced on a “per seat’ model, costing up to $10 per employee per month on an ongoing basis. And while their capabilities are robust, with features to beautify, notify, share and measure, organizations of all sizes should be careful to spend wisely in this area, particularly if the system is not Inclusive and limits reach by engaging only one constituency—patients OR employees, or even only certain departments or job functions.  

There are platforms—and partners—out there that offer services at a reasonable price with core technology capabilities and that also absorb time-consuming management and administrative functions. 

Final Thoughts  

Recognition initiatives should not focus solely on high-profile awards and prizes. Programs often ask stakeholders to submit “nominations” to determine a “winner,” which results in people feeling compelled to write long narratives about a person’s career of accomplishments. This is a narrow misconstruction of recognition’s purpose and works against best practices that it be Timely and Consistent. 

Inclusive recognition programs don’t require a five-paragraph essay that will favor participants with substantial writing talents, and ostensibly exclude team members for whom English may be a second language. Asking both staff and the cared-for community to share stories and experiences is more likely to garner holistic engagement and participation—and provide opportunities to inspire team members with Authentic recognition that focuses on specific acts of care that reinforce company Mission and values. 

And lastly, building consensus across departments for recognition efforts is critical. With support from top leadership, consider how admission, marketing, support services, and patient experience departments ALL benefit, just as they all contribute to the Mission. 

Following the above recommendations, and ensuring all stakeholders have a clear picture of how it impacts individuals and benefits the organization as a whole, will provide a clear pathway to success. 

About the Author
Nate Hamme is a leading expert in the field of care worker engagement. As President and Executive Director of Ceca, a 501(c)3 non-profit “Celebrating caregivers”, Nate has worked with a range of senior living and healthcare communities and is an expert in finding innovative ways to recognize and show appreciation to our nation’s care providers.  

Nate has written and spoken extensively on workforce issues facing care communities, with features on ABC News7, in McKnight’s Senior Living, Homecare Magazine, Seniors Housing Business, Authority Magazine and Provider Magazine, as well as keynotes and education sessions to some of the largest state and national healthcare and senior living groups.