Since founding HeyTaco in 2016, I've spent countless hours examining the impacts of rewards and recognition in the workplace. I've studied the effects of incentivizing public recognition and have developed strong opinions on the subject. I don't have a Ph.D. nor studied behavioral sciences, but I have real-life stories and many years of data that support my beliefs.
Follow along as I share my "against the industry" point of view, reveal why most peer recognition programs are ineffective and often fail, and explain how developing a "giving mindset" culture can lead to greater business success.
Looking at all the peer-to-peer recognition tools available on the market could make you think you'll need rewards to launch a successful recognition program, as most bundle rewards and recognition. At one point, I thought this, so I added rewards to HeyTaco. The belief is that people need to be extrinsically motivated with rewards to drive engagement in the tool. Think of the carrot on a stick approach to getting people to behave a certain way. But from what I have learned, I can tell you this is untrue.
You don't need rewards for your recognition program to be successful. What's needed are people who genuinely want to recognize their peers on their own accord, and they do it intrinsically. People intrinsically engage because they enjoy how it feels. With extrinsic motivation, people engage because of an external motivation, like rewards. Intrinsic motivation is much more effective as true motivation must come from within.
Environments that make recognizing one another feel good are better motivators than rewards. To create these environments, you'll need to foster a giving mindset amongst your people. How do you do this? By celebrating the people who are your top givers of recognition. Many successful HeyTaco customers share one common trait. They are incredibly good at celebrating their givers. They've developed a "giving mindset" culture. While other peer recognition tools celebrate who's getting the most recognition, HeyTaco helps you celebrate who's giving the most.
In his book Give and Take, New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant identifies three types of employees: takers, matchers, and givers. Takers approach situations looking for what's in it for them. Matchers are willing to help those who help them. And givers are those who come to situations looking to help others. Grant's research suggests a strong correlation between companies with many givers and business success. These companies have better customer ratings, less employee turnover, and are more profitable.
Although rewards are not a requirement for successful recognition programs, they can have a positive impact if done mindfully. The most common rewards in recognition tools on the market are monetary rewards like gift cardsāmarketplaces where people can redeem their points for money. Financial rewards like gift cards are easy to manage but impersonal and lack creativity. One of the biggest risks with monetary rewards is that you end up in a situation where people only engage because they want the money. When peer-to-peer recognition becomes transactional, it's no longer effective. When it comes to rewards, I recommend experiential rewards.
Of course, every workplace is different, and what works for one company might not work for another. Just be conscious of why people engage with your recognition program and have a vision of what success looks like and feels like.
The way we work is changing. Remote work has become widely accepted, making it easier for people to get up and leave their jobs for better ones. We need to think about employees differently and build environments where people have autonomy, find enjoyment, and have a sense of purpose. It's now more important than ever to foster a giving culture. Deploying a peer recognition program will increase engagement at your company, but the impact will depend on how people are motivated.
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