Recognition platforms allow employees to feel appreciated and valued while unifying the workforce of an organization. Here we will discuss the features organizations leaders should look for in recognition platforms.
A recognition platform needs to be easy to access and use, configurable, secured, integrable with other workplace platforms, flexible of recognition programs, provide strategic support, and have an extensive reward catalog. Let’s discuss why these features are crucial for any recognition platform.
Features to Look for in Recognition Platform
A recognition platform is crucial for any organization as it helps build engagement among employees and leaders. Therefore, the entire workforce can unify towards the same business goal.
In most creative industries, performance is measured according to quality which is really hard to measure with quantitative metrics. In such cases, recognition platforms can help organizations measure performance and reward employees accordingly.
A good recognition platform needs to have the following features to recognize employees appropriately:
Easy to Access and Use
The recognition platforms need to be used by all organization employees to be effective. Also, employees may need to access the platform from any device they are using. Therefore, the recognition platform needs to be easily accessible and usable.
Most employees in a workplace nowadays utilize technology in their day-to-day lives. Thus, it is important that the recognition platform is user-friendly and can encourage participation in the recognition programs. For your organization’s unique needs, you may need a customized employee recognition system as well. That’s why customizability is necessary as well.
Configurable
When organizations include a recognition platform, it should fit with the existing brand and system. However, recognition platforms are not calibrated to fit the unique needs of one organization. Thus, the platform needs to be configurable to meet those unique needs.
On the other hand, organizational leaders know about their employees best. They can put valuable inputs to keep their employees satisfied and engaged. If the recognition platform is not configurable, these valuable inputs cannot be integrated and give the best possible results.
Secured
A recognition platform contains all vital employee information. Also, these platforms are equipped with crucial metrics regarding an organization and constantly record essential metrics for recognizing employees.
Any security breach in these platforms can cost organizations dearly. It makes the employees exposed and threatens the organization with expensive lawsuits. Therefore, leaders need to choose a platform with top-notch security measures.
An organization’s IT, and legal departments can help leaders choose a secure and safe recognition platform.
Integrable with Other Workplace Platforms
Nowadays, organizations utilize several platforms and workplace apps for performing organizational tasks spontaneously. Introducing a separate platform that employees need to use continuously can be distracting and disrupt the workflow.
Therefore, the recognition platforms need to be integrable with other workplace platforms. Also, if the application is integrable with social media platforms, it will allow employees to share their achievements publicly.
Additionally, the recognition platform needs to be integrated with the existing HRIS platform of the organization. Otherwise, getting accurate employee and performance data can be difficult.
Flexibility
A recognition program needs to consider different metrics for different employees to recognize them properly. For example, an IT department employee cannot be recognized according to the metrics for the sales department.
Organization leaders need to create different recognition programs and metrics according to the business goals, core values, and subsidiaries’ locations.
Additionally, organizations may need to implement non-monetary and peer-to-peer recognition functionality. If the recognition platform is not flexible enough, it cannot be calibrated according to the organizations’ best practices.
Provide Strategic Support
This is not an exact feature that can be identified at once. However, it is important to check out how much the platform has changed over the years from its initial version.
Workplace trends are constantly changing. Therefore, the platforms need to grow alongside these trends. Otherwise, the platform will stay backdated and may not fulfill the best interest of the organization or the employees.
Therefore, leaders will need to check the version of the platform, how features changed over the years, and what new features were introduced. This support will allow leaders to connect recognition programs and criteria with the business goals to monitor regularly.
Have Extensive Reward Catalog
An effective recognition program must offer rewards preferable to the employees. Otherwise, the whole program becomes pointless, and the organizations cannot keep employees engaged.
Therefore, the recognition platform will need to have an extensive reward catalog. Employees who achieved the required metrics for getting recognition can choose their preferred reward from the list.
Some platforms allow employees to customize their reward or even buy additional points to have their preferred reward. Organization leaders will need to determine what their employees want and choose the platform accordingly.
Bottom Line
Recognition platforms have made recognizing employees easier, immediate, and effective. However, without the appropriate features, the whole process can collapse and may not be useful.
Organization leaders will need to ensure that a recognition platform contains all the necessary features for the organization. Only then can leaders properly recognize employees and steer the organization towards progress.
