Companies that embed meaningful, frequent recognition into daily culture see stronger retention, better performance and loyalty
Employee engagement isn’t just about compensation — it’s about connection. Pay may get people in the door, but it doesn’t keep them motivated, inspired, or loyal.
But recognition, when done well, bridges the space between what an employee earns and how they experience their value within the company, says Jackie Stinnett, VP of People and Great Work at O.C. Tanner.
“Recognition kind of fills a gap,” she says. “It’s that extra boost employees had that not only helped them feel seen and heard, but it also tied them to the organization.”
Her perspective is shaped by research that introduced the idea of a “survival continuum”—a scale measuring whether employees are merely surviving or actively thriving in the workplace. Recognition, she argues, is one of the most powerful drivers pushing people toward the latter.
Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to say they'll quit in the next year, according to research from Gallup released last year.
According to research from the Incentive Research Foundation, when recognition is delivered promptly after an achievement, employees perceive it as more authentic. Delayed or generic praise, on the other hand, often feels like a formality and fails to have the intended impact.
Plenty of leaders assume the best solution to disengagement is to increase salaries or bump up bonus pools. But for Stinnett, those strategies are only part of the equation/
“We’re not able to change pay structures. We have limitations as far as how much we can pay people or what our pay structures look like,” she says. “And so, it's really important for us to find other ways to motivate and make sure our employees feel a sense of belonging.”
“Integrated recognition lets an employee know not only what they're doing well, but it’s specific to the job they did, the impact they had and the connection it has in the company."
The IRF report found that authenticity and fairness in recognition programs are more impactful than material rewards. A sincere ‘thank you’—with context and meaning—often resonates more than cash incentives.
When employees feel like they matter, they tend to stay and burn out less, but when recognition is missing, there is potential for the creation of toxic environments at work, Stinnett says. And when toxicity takes hold, brand damage often follows
“When people leave your company for whatever reason, if they haven't felt a sense of belonging at your company, that goes with them,” she explains.
For companies trying to fix that—or build something new entirely—Stinnett has three key principles: frequency, inclusivity and specificity.
“In order to really feel recognized, employees need to be recognized every seven days,” she says, citing a Gallup study. “But usually [recognition is] a bigger event, and it's maybe once a year, or every five years, when you're having your work anniversary or something like that. The little things more frequently almost have more value than the big things less frequently.”
This aligns with IRF data showing that regular, ongoing recognition fosters stronger trust between employees and leadership. Rather than diminishing its value, frequent praise—when sincere and targeted—enhances credibility and engagement.
Specificity, the final element, addresses one of the most common traps: generic, one-size-fits-all approaches. It also needs to be adaptable across different types of workers—those who are remote, those who are in the field, and those who don’t interact with digital platforms often.
The IRF report highlights that peer-to-peer recognition tools are disproportionately accessible to higher-paid employees. Only 18% of lower-income staff report access to these platforms, compared to 58% of higher earners. Organizations must ensure that recognition systems are available to everyone—regardless of role, rank, or location.
This level of integration is where the results start to appear. One example is CIBC, which had a recognition program that was mostly milestone-based and wasn’t personal.
“They were hearing from both employees and leaders that really wanted more frequent opportunities to sort of recognize people that they worked with,” Stinnett says.
The overhaul tied recognition to strategic pillars—especially mental health and wellness, a major focus for the Canadian bank. CIBC’s new program, called MomentMakers, shifted ownership from HR and into the hands of more than 150 “recognition champions” across the organization.
“It decentralized the recognition program, and it started to embed it into the whole organization,” she says.
The results? Award nominations increased 9x compared to the previous program, and more than 70% of employees received individual recognition in the first year.
At Navy Federal Credit Union, the shift was also significant. After launching their “Bravo Zulu” recognition program, they saw stronger relationships across departments and higher employee satisfaction. As the program matured, employees shared stories of recognition in town halls and cross-functional meetings, making those small moments visible across the business.
As a result, the company had more than 526,000 recognition moments, which is 60,000 more than the prior year.
These examples illustrate what the IRF calls a "mature recognition culture"—one that celebrates more than just outcomes. It values collaborative effort, everyday citizenship, and behaviors aligned with company values. Organizations that measure and evolve their programs based on usage, access, and employee sentiment are better positioned to sustain recognition as a core cultural driver.
“No matter how much you pay someone, you always want to get paid more, but meaningful recognition matters and goes home with them,” Stinnett says. “No one goes home and tells their loved ones, ‘You know, I'm going to make 20 cents more,’” she says. “That's just not as impactful.”
