What Is Social Recognition? 15 Ways To Make It Work For Your Organization

One of your employees receives a private, handwritten card from their manager thanking them for spearheading the latest team project. The note is heartfelt, detailed, and the employee feels incredibly valued by their leader. The one thing that's missing? A social element. As the message is private, it doesn't allow the rest of the team or broader organization to share in the moment or offer their own appreciation.

Humans need to feel loved. We want others to appreciate our highs and recognize our victories in a social environment—that's why we throw birthday parties and post vacation about our wins online—we want others to celebrate with us.

This guide examines social recognition, its benefits, and 15 strategies for your organization.

What Is Social Recognition?

Social recognition is the act of acknowledging and praising someone in public, encouraging a wide community to elevate a person or team for their efforts. While employee recognition is a broad activity, social recognition refers specifically to the type of praise and appreciation experienced in full view of others rather than a private exchange.

Social recognition might look like: 

• Congratulating someone in a team meeting 
• Celebrating them on social media 
• Giving them a formal honor like an award or promotion 

In countries like Denmark, social recognition is a tradition. "Anerkendende pædagogik" is a form of social recognition that's ingrained in the Danish education system. Young children learn to give feedback for life—they’re trained to provide positive feedback and recognize excellence among their peers. The work of German-born philosopher Axel Honneth is one of the main inspirations of this movement. Honneth believes recognition is essential for developing human identities and maintaining meaningful relationships within groups and communities.

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Why Should Companies Invest In Social Recognition?

You don't need to be based in Denmark to invest in social recognition. Companies of any shape, size, or geographical location can reap its benefits, five of which are:

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Social Recognition Boosts Employee Morale 

Applauding employees in front of their peers and leaders gives them an undeniable boost. And when your workers feel happy and satisfied in their roles, they're more likely to bring their A-game to work.

Luckily, many companies are doing a great job in this area. Nectar's employee recognition study of 1,000 US full-time employees found that:

• 71% of employees agree their company does a good job of highlighting their colleagues’ contributions 
• 69% of employees say individual contributors get the recognition they deserve at their company

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Social Recognition Enhances Productivity 

One of the biggest draws of publicly appreciating individual team members is the positive impact it can have on their work. Nectar’s study revealed that:

• 77.9% of employees would be more productive if they were recognized more frequently
• 83.6% of employees feel recognition affects their ability to succeed
• 81.9% of employees agree that recognition of contributions improves their engagement.

Social Recognition Encourages Employee Retention 

It follows that satisfied employees who are appreciated by their peers and superiors will have little reason to move on from the company. When we asked full-time employees about the link between recognition and retention, 71% of employees would be less likely to leave their organization if they were recognized more frequently.

As a real-life example, Statista lowered turnover rates by 29% after adopting Nectar's social recognition platform, which supports social appreciation.

Social Recognition Deepens Team Relationships

When teammates take the time to speak loud and proud about their colleagues' accomplishments, this significantly improves the bond between them. In Nectar's State of Workplace Connections study, we learned the following points that social recognition supports:

• 69.5% of employees would be happier if they had deeper relationships with their team members
• 63% of employees wish their colleagues told them "thank you" more

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Social Recognition Improves Equity

Traditional recognition involves top-down feedback from a manager to their direct report, often infrequently due to lack of time for one-on-one conversations. The problem with this approach is it relies entirely on the manager being clued up about their direct reports’ work activities. As such, many small victories can go unnoticed, and there are fewer opportunities for people to be celebrated.

Our Nectar research found that 50% of employees believe recognition within their entire company tends to go to a small number of people. A social appreciation alternative ensures that every employee in the organization is involved in valuing the efforts and contributions of their peers. Praise flows freely within and beyond teams, enabling all your people to feel valued.

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15 Tips For Creating A Stellar Social Recognition Process

Enjoy the benefits of public recognition by adopting some of these real-life tips and examples of integrating this positive practice into your company culture.

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1. Spotlight Employee Contributions

Shine a spotlight on individual employees by raising their profile internally or externally. Lucas Botzen, HR Expert & CEO of Rivermate, explains how his company hosts "Spotlight Fridays." 

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“Each Friday, we recognize one employee or team that has gone the extra mile in their roles. This isn't some simple shoutout in the newsletter but a full-on celebration. We'll create a detailed post with photos and personal anecdotes from colleagues, accompanied by personal messages from senior leadership.
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It has made a huge difference in the culture of our workplace. For example, when our IT team worked so hard to upgrade our system at a very critical moment, we really showed our appreciation for them on one of our Spotlight Fridays. We shared tales of their dedication and problem-solving skills and really thanked them for all their help. This wasn't all; there was a bit of a celebration done virtually, too, where the team shared their experiences and was appreciated live by peers.
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That is where the real magic lies in Spotlight Fridays—consistency and inclusivity. Because it happens each week, top-performing employees are aware that hard work will never go unnoticed. It provides an incentive for people to do genius things, has formed a strong culture of peer-to-peer support, has been a huge morale boost, and creates a positive and motivating ripple effect throughout the company.”

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2. Introduce An Honor Chair System

Giving your employees a voice makes them feel respected, included, and heard. Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager of Thrive Digital Marketing Agency, suggests how to introduce an honor chair system to achieve this: 

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“At Thrive, we introduced the "Honor Chair" in our 200+ person monthly company meeting with an unexpected twist. Instead of managers or colleagues commending their teams, we extend the opportunity to any employee from other departments to deliver 2-minute talks.

They will spotlight our Honor Chair recipients and share how they have made their job easier that month. This cross-departmental recognition has broken down silos and fostered unexpected collaborations. For instance, when our IT specialist praised our sales intern for creating a time-saving spreadsheet, it led to a company-wide efficiency initiative.

This approach celebrates unsung heroes and encourages employees to look beyond their immediate teams, creating a more interconnected and appreciative workplace culture.”

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3. Give Employee Awards

Employee awards are suitable for companies of all sizes, even if you're on a shoestring budget. Corporate awards may involve recognition events like formal dinners or lavish ceremonies. However, startups and smaller companies can serve up social recognition by announcing employee award winners online or by posting their pictures on public forums such as display cabinets or kudos walls.

To demonstrate the versatility of employee awards, Sean McGrath, Managing Director of Cleaning Technique, explains how his small, family-run commercial cleaning business embraces this strategy:

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“We run a “Cleaners of the Quarter” campaign internally, where members of our team are recognized for their hard work and commitment. They feature in our quarterly blog (complete with photo) and receive a certificate and gift for their contributions. Our experience has been that this small gesture of recognition and appreciation makes a real difference to our small but dedicated team.”

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The beauty of employee awards is they’re entirely customizable to your company size, budget, and goals. Some award categories you might be interested in, include:

• Employee of the Month 
• Rookie of the Year 
• Team Member of the Quarter 
• Customer Service Excellence
• Service Awards (for every 5,10, 15, 20, etc. years)

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4. Encourage Peer Nominations

While managers and leaders can select the recipients of any of the above awards, peer nominations make the process more collaborative. Jason Smit, CEO of SEO agency Contentellect shares how they’ve incorporated a social element into their awards process: 

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“For our distributed global team, we initially stumbled on the social recognition front. Then, one of our writers mentioned Etsy's “humblebrag” award, and we pounced on the concept, tailoring it for our remote reality.

Now, monthly, our global crew can nominate a colleague who's knocked it out of the park. Not by doing any type of headline-grabbing feats, but more unsung hero kind of stuff, like the inbox organizers, the deadline crushers, the campaign mensches, who then get their moment of recognition in the sun.

No fancy prizes here. Just a virtual gold star sheet (a digital pat on the back) we keep track of. But come year-end, the most-nominated employee snags a modest bonus.”

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Similarly, founder & CEO Matthew Consolo explains how he uses a social recognition program in his property management company, Premier Point Vacations, to motivate and inspire team members: 

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“We implemented a program where employees could nominate their peers for outstanding work. We didn’t have a fixed system, allowing employees to choose the reason they wanted to nominate a teammate. This approach is really impactful, showing individuals how even the smallest gestures can have a profound impact.

One recognition that stands out was when a new, younger employee stepped up and helped a less tech-savvy teammate. That help in itself was amazing, but sacrificing her lunch breaks for an entire week to make sure her colleague was comfortable in the future was really exceptional. This personalized approach made the recognition more meaningful and encouraged a culture of appreciation and motivation among our team members.”

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5. Highlight Employee Achievements Using Badges

Physical tokens of appreciation can solidify the recognition process, providing a tangible reward, much like the trophies, stickers, or laminated certificates that schoolchildren receive to incentivize their hard work.

Founder and CEO Dinesh Agarwal shared how his company, RecurPost, uses a Golden Tag badge to highlight exceptional contributions. 

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“Recently, our UI/UX designer proposed a redesign that streamlined our dashboard interface, leading to a 20% increase in user satisfaction scores. She received the “Golden Tag” badge, which she proudly displays on her desk for the month.

This badge isn't just a symbol; it comes with perks like a personalized lunch with the leadership team and a feature in our company newsletter, where she shared insights into her design process and the impact of her work. This recognition motivates her and also inspires her colleagues to aim higher in their own roles.”

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6. Recognize Peers In A Kudos Channel

It's easier to recognize peers publicly if you have a ready-made vehicle set up to distribute praise and shoutouts to a wide audience. Jarir Mallah, Human Resources Manager of language learning platform Ling, explains how the company recognizes its global workforce: 

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“We have a #kudos channel where anyone can pop in and share gratitude, milestones, or anything else they see fit to acknowledge related to personal or company achievements. This social channel helps us celebrate each other no matter where we are in the world and connects us together.”

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Similarly, Chris Kirksey, CEO of Direction.com, explains how someone can craft a heartfelt recognition post that provides enough detail about what the person did and how it impacted the team or the company. He shared:

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“Someone might post: “Huge shoutout to Sarah for staying late last night to fix that critical bug in our client's website. Her quick thinking and dedication saved us from a potential PR nightmare and reinforced our reputation for excellent service.”

We then highlight these shoutouts in our weekly all-hands meeting. The person who received the most meaningful shoutouts that week gets a small reward, such as a gift card.

This program has been a game-changer for us. It's created a culture of appreciation where people are constantly on the lookout for great work to recognize. It's boosted morale, increased collaboration, and honestly, it's just made work more fun.”

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At Nectar, we understand the power of meaningful recognition. Our shoutouts have a meaningful meter, which encourages employees to give more detail when giving praise on our platform.

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7. Maximize Your Team Meetings

While you probably won't call a team meeting just to congratulate your employees, these gatherings offer the perfect structure and opportunity to appreciate your people. Depending on the formality of your department meetings, you might leave space to thank someone or even include it as an agenda item. Here's how Damien Vieille, CEO of Instent Industries, incorporates social recognition into the company's weekly retrospectives using a game of Hot Potato:

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"I'll start off by recognizing someone's excellent contributions to the team/company in a couple of sentences. Then, it's their turn to give a shout-out to someone else, and we'll continue zigzagging around the room until we've made our way through everyone. It's a great way to ensure all people are motivated rather than focusing solely on the typical top performers. It has an interesting secondary effect—it inspires team members with less exciting accomplishments to strive for excellence and more substantial recognition in the coming week."

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While we love using our own tool to give shoutouts, at Nectar, we also leave space for shoutouts at the end of our all-hands meetings. During each all-hands meeting, we focus on one core value. Employees can share a shoutout related to that value live. It is just another way that we choose to celebrate our people.

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8. Host Appreciation Gatherings

If meetings aren’t the perfect fit to distribute praise and appreciation, perhaps if time is tight and you need to focus on needle-moving discussions, try hosting dedicated appreciation gatherings instead. Dionne Jayne Ricafort, Marketing Manager describes what these monthly get-togethers look like at CSO Yemen: 

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“At our organization, we've implemented these events as a cornerstone of our team-building efforts. Each month, we come together to celebrate our successes and acknowledge individual contributions in a way that's both heartfelt and public. These sessions not only boost morale but also foster a culture of appreciation that permeates our daily interactions.

It’s a simple yet profoundly impactful way to keep everyone motivated and connected. This regular recognition has become something our team looks forward to, enhancing employee engagement and inspiring everyone to bring their best selves to work.”

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9. Reward Cross-Department Collaboration 

For social recognition to be effective, there shouldn't be any boundaries or restrictions preventing positivity from flowing from one person to the next. That's why Randal Hung, CEO of the automation platform Vimos, encourages recognition to move across multiple teams: 

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“At Vimos, we believe in recognizing contributions across different departments to foster a sense of unity and collaboration. We have a monthly “Collaboration Award” where employees can nominate colleagues from other departments who have significantly helped them achieve their goals. For instance, our marketing team could nominate a member of our IT department who assisted in a major campaign launch, and this is celebrated through public acknowledgment. This initiative has strengthened inter-departmental relationships and promoted a collaborative work environment.”

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10. Lean On Gamification

Incorporating gamification into your social recognition process can ignite a fun, competitive spirit among your team members. Bernardo Castro, Founder of ByBrand explains how his company uses a gamified approach to learning and development:

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“Employees get points that are added to a leaderboard. When an employee completes a course or gets a promotion, we post it on the platform with great responses.

The combination of recognizing achievement with gamification and discussion creates a workplace community that revolves around positivity and productivity. The leaderboard on our centralized employee dashboard motivates employees to learn and improve. The forum reinforces that everyone has a voice, and it's a goldmine for inspiration.”

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11. Involve Managers In Employee Recognition Programs

Peer recognition happens between two or more employees regardless of rank or role. Yet, manager involvement in recognition is pivotal in setting a great example for team members. When employees see their managers actively appreciating those around them, it gives a sense of permission for everyone else to follow suit.

Praise from a leader also has an incredible impact on the recipient, with 40% of employees ranking managers as the group that has the most impact on them recognition-wise.

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12. Make Social Recognition Frequent

One question we get asked often is, "How often should we give social recognition?" While finding a sustainable cadence for your organization is important, our research shows that frequent praise is a popular approach. Around 49% of workers receive feedback daily or weekly, highlighting the importance of delivering praise and recognition as close to the event as possible.

James Lim, CEO, Helpling outlines how his company has integrated giving recognition to employees into its daily operations: 

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“During our weekly team meetings, we dedicate time for managers to share stories of employees who have shown exceptional teamwork or problem-solving skills. This consistent acknowledgment of everyday achievements helps create a supportive, positive work environment.”

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13. Ensure Social Recognition Is Authentic

Employees ranked authenticity as the most important to them of all the variables linked to recognition. What do we mean by this? The message you deliver to a recipient in public, in front of a wider audience, must be personalized and genuine to resonate with them.

Vonda Copeland, CPIA, CWCU, VP Operations & Co-Owner of Copeland Insurance Agency, elaborates on the power of workers believing the praise they receive: 

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“When employees know their work genuinely matters, it drives loyalty and productivity. How leaders recognize individuals depends on the person and team culture. The key is taking the time to understand what motivates and inspires each employee.”

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Nectar Tip: Avoid using AI-based recognition messages if you want praise to be authentic.

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14. Use Spot Recognition

There are numerous ways to attach rewards to your message of social recognition. But one that achieves the purpose of providing timely praise is to incorporate spot bonuses into your recognition culture. Managers dish these out on the spot to reward excellence in the moment. Kyran Schmidt, Co-Founder of the customer support platform Outverse, explains the value of this approach and how to implement it: 

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“Spot bonuses allow you to provide immediate financial rewards for employees who go above and beyond their regular duties. One approach I've used is to allocate a budget for managers to give spot bonuses whenever they observe exceptional employee performance or a significant achievement. This motivates employees and empowers managers to actively engage in recognizing their team's efforts. The spontaneous nature of spot bonuses makes employees feel appreciated in real-time, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and high morale.”

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15. Adopt A Formal Recognition Program

Social recognition can happen organically, for example, if a manager feels compelled to highlight a direct report's contribution in an employee newsletter or compliment them in front of their team. But in most cases, it's best to design a formal recognition policy which includes:

• Your goal of committing to social recognition: For example, improving worker morale and retention 
• The types of behaviors you would recognize: For example, supporting new team members, hitting individual performance targets, etc. 
• The types of recognition you would use: For example, using an internal communications channel, giving a shoutout in a town hall, etc. 
• Examples of how to construct a meaningful message of praise: For example, including the recipient's name, company value they've embodied, and details of the activity you're celebrating 
• Who is eligible to give and receive social recognition; for example, workers of different employment statuses, including full-time and part-time employees, workers of all seniority levels, etc. 
• The types of rewards you might attach to social recognition: For example, financial incentives such as bonuses or gift cards, or a points-based reward program.

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Practice Social Recognition With Nectar 

Social appreciation is made easier with employee recognition software like Nectar, which offers a suite of powerful tools to encourage frequent, meaningful appreciation for everyone in your org chart. Here's how to use the following features to foster a social culture of recognition in your workplace:

• Recognition: Nectar's internal social feed is the perfect place for every employee to give and receive social praise. Each shoutout includes a heartfelt message, redeemable Nectar points, and a hashtag linked to the company value the employee has exhibited. 
• Rewards: Nectar users can redeem their points for a vast array of rewards, including Amazon products, gift cards, charity donations, company swag, and custom rewards.
• Milestones: Personal occasions like birthdays and work anniversaries are cause for celebration. Employees always receive a message on these special occasions, all automated so no one goes forgotten. 
• Challenges: Leaders can set up challenges related to team building, learning and development, employer branding, or anything else. Employees receive Nectar points for participating in or completing the challenges and then share their progress on the feed. 
• Nominations: Employees from all ranks and departments can nominate their peers to win a customized employee award. 

Ready to test drive these features for yourself? Book a free Nectar demo today to kickstart your social recognition program.