With Employee Appreciation Day taking place last week, at Perkbox, we set off to uncover some of the latest trends amongst UK businesses in recognizing employees over the last 10 months. We did so by using a sample of 2,810 companies that currently use Perkbox Recognition.
Amongst other things, we found that the most popular day to recognize staff since April 2018, was the 5th of October and the day where the most companies set Perkbox recognition polls, an open-ended question which employees vote on to pick a winner, was the 27th November. Indeed, Autumn seems to be recognition season!
What else did we uncover, I hear you ask? Join us as we go behind the scenes of Perkbox Recognition…
Recognition Habits
One of the most fascinating things that we discovered from undertaking this research is how ‘employee recognition’ has been slotting into UK people’s workplace schedules. Rather than waiting until an idle Friday afternoon to recognize co-workers, our figures reveal that Mondays and Wednesdays are the days when more employees take time to recognize one another and celebrate their great work.
Our research also reveals that the peak times to recognize employees is 9 am – bright and early in the morning, and 5 pm – just before leaving work. However, it’s apparent that no matter the day or time, recognition happens all year around. In the ten months taken into account for this research, a gobsmacking 11,837 shout-outs were made.
Soft Skills reign supreme
Encouragingly, the most popular recognition polls done using the Perkbox Recognition tool over the last 10 months have been those that champion soft skills, such as ‘Motivator, ‘Ray of Sunshine’ and ‘Beyond the call of Duty’. Personal attributes such as these have a harmonious effect in the workplace and often get overlooked, so it’s fantastic to see them get their due on our platform.
More so because the biggest challenge with soft skills these days is that we’re not sufficiently self-aware to realize which ones we need to change and improve. Often this can’t happen without support. Recognition polls like these can help act as the platform to encourage positive change, simply by gamifying the experience.
Tech leads the way
Nearly 60% of those who recognize frequently are medium-sized businesses. However, out of all the industries using our platform, tech and IT (25%) and manufacturing and construction (23%) are those that really ringing the bell for recognition.
That said, there are companies of all sort that are totally smashing employee recognition, month-on-month via Perkbox Recognition. Amongst these is apprenticeship training and recruitment company, Lifetime Training Ltd, which deserves a shout out for being one of the Perkbox customers that have recognized its employees the most over the last 10 months.
Put simply, employee recognition has a clear role to play in bringing company values to life whilst celebrating awesome teams and people. Nowadays, there is a far stronger focus and commitment towards such practices which is clearly reflected via our research findings.
Whether it’s setting company polls to draw attention on an outstanding team and individual efforts or rewarding and showcasing exceptional contributions from others, these practices do make a difference.
So, if you’re a business leader, make sure you don’t miss out on the benefits. Hop on the employee appreciation wagon!
About the author: Before co-founding Perkbox, the UK’s fastest-growing employee engagement platform, Chieu Cao established himself as a tech marketing force to be reckoned with, leading initiatives for brands including Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo. A consultant turned CMO, Chieu’s repertoire spans both B2C and B2B, from SEO to social strategy.
