What some startups have understood, about acknowledging collaborators

Perhaps you’ve already noticed: several companies try to imitate the “recognition culture”, which we seem to find in some startups. With varying degrees of success, depending on the case. 

With more humble organizations and a strong corporate culture, some startups have turned recognition into a genuine lever of commitment and development. How do they manage working on the recognition of their collaborators? And Why? Office Managers, how can you get inspired in your own company? 

Acknowledgement is within reach for everyone, regardless of the hierarchy level

The traditional yet a little dated approach, in terms of the corporate recognition, goes from top to bottom. This means we have leaders, managers etc.…which are going to acknowledge their subordinates, through grants, bonuses, after the goals have been achieved, for example. But this approach can quickly turn out to be inefficient and mainly disconnected, from the evolution of working methods. 

Some startups have a completely different approach: recognition is practiced by everyone: gratitude, praises in public, everyone can give or receive, and one doesn’t care about the level of hierarchy. Each team member can recognize the efforts of a collaborator, regardless of one’s status. 

In your company, you can plan on implementing “a recognition program”, where each collaborator can give their own proof of recognition, throughout the organization. This can be done via dedicated Slack, WhatsApp, etc.…This program helps improve collaborator commitment, but you can also test the waters in terms of well-being of the employees, as an Office Manager! 

Recognition in real time

In classic companies, there are one or two performance interviews every year, during which your boss shows you (or not) his recognition for the work which has been accomplished during the past few months. In startups, where one has understood everything, we don’t expect these performance interviews, to report what one appreciates in the work which has been carried out: we grab onto just any opportunity, to do so. Recognition in real time is in fact one of the secrets of collaborator commitment. 

Implement a culture in your company, where one shows recognition, as soon as it’s possible, without waiting for a particular moment. You Office Managers, thank your collaborators for all the daily little things, like when they respect the procedures you’ve implemented or your boss when he/she gives you tips to work more efficiently. 

Offering gratitude: it needs to be simple

In startups which practice a culture of recognition, one uses new technologies to make things easy. This way, recognition is simple and part of our daily activities. 

There are also tools which are made for “recognition platforms”, but as mentioned before in this article, you can also use tools like Slack or WhatsApp. What’s important is that it everyone can access it easily, and these are part of tools which are already being used, so that recognition is properly democratized, within the company. 

If you already have Slack or WhatsApp, in which all the collaborators of your company are present, create a channel or a conversation, which is completely devoted to recognition and where your collaborators can send kind little words! 

Recognition, a genuine tool of collaborator commitment

Ok, so you’re going to tell us “a little thanks here and there, isn’t going to change much in my company”. Well, it will. In the long run, collaborators who feel acknowledged and gratified are more committed, have a better level of well-being and stay longer in the company. 

Start-ups who understand the importance of recognition, they know that it’s a genuine tool of collaborator commitment. These can measure the impact of recognition, in real time. They can also observe the transformation of the latter, in terms of concrete business results. If you also choose to use a dedicated platform for collaborator recognition, you can measure your company’s health, the level of your collaborators’ well-being and find out more about the business impact of your recognition program. 

Beyond just collaborator commitment: collaborator experience

Yes, some startups are known for their very strong culture and their very cool premises, which make everyone drool. But some are also known for their super collaborator experience, which is the main focus for companies. Recognition allows collaborators to forge strong ties between them and strengthen the collaborative aspect, on all levels. One naturally feels better in such an environment, and this isn’t only due to designer furniture. It’s no surprise, all this allows to create a crazy collaborative experience.