How to foster a culture of transparency with a rewards and recognition program

When we discuss transparency in the workplace, what we're really talking about is trust. Just as consumers expect a level of transparency about the products they purchase, employees also expect transparency from the companies they work for. Lack of trust between employees and business leaders can influence an employee’s decision to leave their position or to seek out alternative employment.

Embracing a culture of transparency and building trusting relationships by showing appreciation, giving constructive feedback and showing mutual respect for one another goes a long way in boosting morale and can foster overall job satisfaction.

In 2018, The Work and Well-Being Survey found that 89% of respondents who said they trusted their employer reported being satisfied with their job and were motivated to do their best work. (This compared to a mere 46% who said they didn’t trust their employers.)

‍So how can we build trust in the workplace and foster a culture of transparency?

By constructing a proper business strategy around recognition that encourages Communication, Feedback, and Achievement.

Building trust with communication

Employers can help build transparency and trust with open, honest, continuous, two-way communication. A program, like Qarrot, can provide the medium in which we build these lines of communication with an open social feed to recognize employees and encourage an open dialogue. This transparent approach to feedback allows managers to comment on the achievements of their staff where everyone can see it. It also offers the opportunity for peer-to-peer feedback and support. When given this opportunity, employees are more likely to foster positive feelings towards their work, and the work of their coworkers resulting in higher levels of performance.

Help employees thrive with continuous feedback

Younger employees have accelerated this demand for continuous feedback. They expect an ongoing relationship with their supervisors, and they demand responses to every inquiry. It’s true! When you think about the fact that this generation has been brought up in a digital age, with extreme connectedness through the use of mobile devices and social media, it’s no surprise that they have these expectations for work as well. For years business owners and management have ignored the requests of these employees. For years we’ve been reading about the 20/20 workforce, and how the millennial workers will surpass existing workplace populations, but here’s a newsflash for you: That day has come and gone. That’s right! The youngest of the supposed, “Millennials” in June of 2019 will be graduating from a 3-year University program, many of which have already finished college, and those that didn’t attend post-secondary education have been in the workforce for a few years already. If you haven’t already given consideration to their requests in the past, it may be time to discuss a new strategy to engage younger employees. Collaborative social feeds and feedback mediums are an excellent place to start.

Give employees goals to meet

People feel comfortable when they know what is expected of them and when they can see what others are working on with an obvious measurement of their performance. By creating goal-based award campaigns for employees and their teams to participate in, you encourage motivation through friendly competition. When people can see the goals others in their office are meeting, and are given the opportunity to support them along their journey, it motivates them to participate and meet their goals as well. An awards program can offer an excellent opportunity to reward employees for these achievements. Making the entire process come full circle in a continuous support loop.

Make it simple for people to participate

If leaders want people to engage with their rewards platform they have to be given a flexible and supportive environment in which to do that. Modern rewards and recognition programs are no longer considered "perks" they are essential elements to encouraging a transparent and trusting workplace.
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Discover how Qarrot can support your culture of transparency - Book a Demo today!