How businesses are using recognition tools to boost take-up
Australia is racing towards the magical 80% double-dose vaccination rate in a bid to finally secure the country’s path to reopening.
Business chiefs and state premiers have been leading the charge, acknowledging that a high level of vaccine coverage is one of the key measures in keeping people safe, kickstarting the economy and living life free from lockdowns. But for businesses that do not have the ability to mandate a vaccine for its staff – and that is the vast majority – leaders have had to rely on other measures to encourage take-up.
In an upcoming webinar, employee success platform Achievers will look at how big businesses have used recognition as a tool to boost vaccine take-up among workers. It’s a divisive issue but employers do play a key role in communicating clear and accurate messaging to keep their people safe.
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Emma Harvie, Achievers’ manager client services APAC, said HR leaders can use recognition strategy to amplify other business initiatives and combine messaging.
“HR leaders play a role in creating campaigns to drive those things that are most important to the business,” she told HRD. “That includes recognising and incentivising vaccinations, recognising employees in lockdown for their continued commitment, empowering leaders with the ability to recognise and reward, and using your recognition program as a culture hub to amplify those driving and following safety protocols.
“Ensure that recognition is not thought of as just another thing to do, but becomes a normal part of every initiative.”
Looking back on the challenges of the past 18 months, Harvie said recognition is more important than ever as businesses head into the final quarter of another challenging year. But it’s vital to remember that the way managers and colleagues recognise one another has also fundamentally changed.
“For most of us, gone are the days of celebrating milestones and birthdays over a cake in the office. Gone are the days of walking past someone’s desk to say well done,” she said.
“Before the pandemic, research suggested that people leaders only saw around 30% of the work their direct reports did day to day. Now that so many employees are working remotely, that number is likely to be even less.
“That’s why public and transparent peer to peer recognition is key to staying connected, to ensuring great behaviour is seen, and ensuring that employees feel valued.”
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As part of the free, virtual webinar being held on September 29, Achievers’ customer success manager Jeremy Salter will delve deeper into the power of recognition and share how organisations are recognising, rewarding, and incentivising their employees during the pandemic. He'll also discuss how and why Telstra used their Achievers recognition program to encourage vaccinations.
Click here to register for next week’s webinar: How organisations are driving change for their employees and the community with recognition.
