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02 Sep 2019
by Kathryn Kendall

How to use peer to peer recognition to improve inclusivity

Inclusion, diversity and equality are major strategic focusses for most – if not all – organisations. The benefits of a diverse workforce that feels able to be their authentic selves is well-documented, but this isn’t something that happens by chance, it’s something employers must strive to achieve and sustain.

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It’s important to acknowledge that inclusion in the workplace is not the same as diversity:

  • Diversity is representation; who is being recruited, trained and promoted
  • Inclusion is focussing on the environment employers foster and how employees experience their workplace.

While both aspects require board-level support and strategy, inclusion can also be nurtured from the ground-up through peer-level strategies like recognition. It’s important to not rely solely on recognition to ‘solve’ inclusivity, but it is a powerful tool to strengthen your overall diversity and inclusion strategy.

So, how can recognition help?

Recognition is an equaliser

A crucial element of diversity and inclusion at work is that it must be wholly inclusive and intersectional – having an equal male/female split in your workforce is not enough. Diversity means gender diversity, neurodiversity, diversity in religion, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, race and ability. Ensuring this diversity in your employee base is a huge recruitment undertaking, especially when it comes to enabling everyone to feel equal and fostering an inclusive environment at work. Here, recognition can help.

One of the most important things to focus on when addressing inclusion is putting all individuals on an even playing field, regardless of any differences. This doesn’t mean just employees of the same professional level, it means all employees, no matter their job title, qualifications, income, background or identity. Peer-to-peer recognition enabled by technology is a powerful equaliser, as it puts every employee on the same level by giving them access to the same tech and award benchmarks.

Technology democratises reward and recognition

Recognition is already an incredibly successful engagement tool: it provides an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ for the little things, which previously may not have qualified for reward under a traditional reward and recognition scheme. Similarly, these traditional schemes often suffer from bias (unconscious or otherwise), meaning certain demographics may be overlooked for commendation.

Recognition technology is a brilliant democratiser as it empowers all employees to award recognitions where they see fit. Furthermore, it provides equal-level standards for everyone to be recognised against, removing any bias in recognition qualification.

Using recognition, employees tend to naturally acknowledge those they previously may not have, meaning a diverse array of employees are celebrated publicly for their contributions. Recognition also has a domino effect – seeing one person recognised makes us likely to recognise someone else, and so on and so forth – which will further improve wider inclusion.

Recognition shows the big picture and amplifies unheard voices

A huge part of diversity and equality is raising up the voices of those normally talked over – that’s not to say these people haven’t been talking, but HR now have an opportunity to enable employees and diverse groups to be heard. Here, peer-to-peer recognition is the ideal tool to aid your diversity and inclusion strategy – its entire purpose centres on recognising people who are often overlooked and achievements which go unnoticed!

Recognition can also promote the specific contributions different people offer towards the business’ shared mission. While traditionally, the kudos for a project might have been awarded to an individual (the head of a team, for example), we know that no project or accomplishment is ever down to one person. Recognition technology gives us the opportunity to award highly specific, personalised acknowledgments to everyone involved – celebrating collective achievements, and the contributions made by individuals at every stage to reach that goal.

Final thoughts

Everyone in your business is connected, and all employees affect one another as part of the overall organisational culture. Recognition helps increase visibility for employees of the impacts and contributions from colleagues, including and celebrating those who may otherwise be excluded or forgotten. Over time, this enables an organisation to improve its inclusivity and recognise the positive impact of a diverse workforce.

Recognition provides business leaders with a tangible, interactive way to showcase everyone’s value and contribution. Delivering it on an all-inclusive technology platform ensures each employee is afforded equal importance when it comes to giving and receiving praise for a job well done.

The author is Kathryn Kendall, chief people officer, Benefex

This article is provided by Benefex

In partnership with Benefex

The home of award-winning employee benefits, reward, recognition, & communications.

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