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Our hope is that your organization has the leadership and engagement of senior leaders, managers and staff to drive recognition practices and programs. But the reality is not every organization is fortunate to have a strong team that helps initiatives or programs move forward and progress in innovative ways.

It’s important to note that when I refer to leadership, it’s not about a title. A leader is someone who can take the lead in something like employee recognition and then show others how to follow.

Consistency with recognition requires a bit of focus and adherence to following the same principles and practices in expressing recognition, not to mention utilizing tools like online programs to help recognize others. But how on earth does one get more consistent?

Take a look at these things to think about when you want to build greater consistency in recognition giving.

In our review of what organizations are doing to optimize recognition this year, we learned that innovators are focused on helping managers improve their ability to deliver meaningful recognition. As one recognition leader put it, “We have the technology infrastructure in place. What we need now is to help people, particularly managers, better understand how to deliver recognition experiences that are meaningful.”

While widespread adoption of social recognition platforms has occurred, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% since 2018, the recognition programs and support delivered via these platforms become stale over time and need to be revitalized to remain fresh and relevant.

As the pandemic continues to take its toll in health, economic and emotional terms, employees everywhere need to hear that their contributions are valued. With virtual interactions now the primary form of engagement between many workers and their managers, meaningful affirmations that were once conveyed face-to-face are now delivered online. What managers say and how they say it matter now more than ever.

Our latest report, The Sound of Leadership, presents insights and expert advice on how managers can use verbal interactions to improve employee engagement and their sense of appreciation, purpose and belonging.