Unlocking The Power Of Recognition And Inclusion In The Workplace

employee recognition fosters inclusion

New data shows that recognition is top indicator for workplaces fostering inclusion

As a social species, humans are wired to feel valued and connected. The need for connection and belonging are only rivaled by our needs for food, water, shelter and physical safety. One of the ways to connect with others is through positive reinforcement.

But our brains have a negativity bias. For our survival over the past 200,000 years, negative primers have been more useful than positive ones. It is only recently in our evolution that this negativity bias has not been as helpful. This bias translates to diversity, equity and inclusion work, where we tend to overly focus on bias and microaggressions (non-inclusive behaviors) over positive ones like allyship and recognition.

A new report from Workhuman found that 84% of the value of an S&P 500 company comes from the talents, skills, knowledge, work ethic and health of its employees, and recognition is a top priority of talent management. In addition, they found:

  • Employees who strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their organization’s culture are 3.7 times as likely to be engaged, 3.8 times as likely to feel connected to their culture and half as likely to experience frequent burnout as those who do not.
  • Only 34% of employees say that their employer has a recognition program in place. And of those who do have one, just 13% of employees rate it as excellent.
  • Employees who say their recognition program is aligned with the values of their organization are 4.9 times as likely to strongly agree that they know what is expected of them at work compared with employees who indicate their recognition program is not aligned with the values of their organization.

Recognition can be achieved in the form of rewards for positive behaviors and modeling.

Proactively Search for Positive Examples of Inclusion

Challenge yourself to look beyond simple non-inclusive behavior (which is still important). As allies, put up your radar for inclusion, and try catching someone doing something inclusive. Set a goal to…..

Read the rest of this article by Julie Kratz on Forbes.com

 

At Next Pivot Point we have lots of resources to help you facilitate successful diversity and inclusion initiatives. Schedule some time with our team today to discuss where to start or how to do better. You can also check out: