Want to build the perfect workplace? Focus on relationships and do everything you can for your company to build them. That’s the topic of a recent article posted on LinkedIn. Author Geoff Colvin offers up a variety of creative ways that organizations have used to help encourage relationship building within their buildings; like offering free food at the company cafeteria, where standing on line encourages employee mingling and small talk. His main point is that relationships drive business to succeed further.
Here’s another idea on how to build relationships: social recognition. Today’s workers are highly mobile, often collaborating across departments, offices, and even continents. As face-to-face interactions become less frequent, organizations need new ways to help employees stay connected and engaged with one another. Social recognition programs—delivered through any web-enabled device—can play a vital role in developing and maintaining those positive relationships. By making appreciation visible and easy to share, these platforms create opportunities for employees to celebrate achievements, recognize everyday contributions, and reinforce company values no matter where they are working. The result is a more connected workforce and stronger relationships that extend well beyond the traditional office environment.
Through acts of recognition and appreciation, employees develop connections and associations. The giving and receiving of rewards triggers trust in managers and coworkers. That means that more employees are likely to share information and ideas, creating a cycle that strengthens productive working relationships.Those stronger relationships ultimately translate into higher levels of collaboration, innovation, and overall organizational performance.
Social recognition is especially important in businesses that rely on the intellectual give and take that feeds learning, innovation and newly discovered best practices. Keep in mind the physical distance that separates many of today’s global employees—people will never wait on line at the same food court—and you will begin to see how critical social recognition can be in todays world.
