Improving Motivation: The One Thing 94% of Satisfied Employees Have in Common

And it’s not a big fat paycheck or a fancy office

So what is it then? Actually, it’s receiving recognition. Frequent recognition, to be specific. This might not seem groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but yes, appreciation in the workplace is really that important.

So this all comes down to a simple equation:

employees that receive recognition = happy employees

Now why make employees happy (which basically means why implement
a recognition program)?

Because happy employees make a successful company. As simple as that. Satisfied and engaged employees do a better job and are more productive. And when employees work well, the company succeeds. Again, as simple as that.

So here’s another equation:

happy, engaged employees = great business results

Which in turn means we can come up with the following formula:

employee recognition = a successful company

Recognize your employees, make them happy and your company will thrive. Yep, it’s this simple. Now how can we do this?

Peer-to-peer over top-down

Now that we know how important recognition and appreciation is, let’s take a look at how recognition programs have changed over the years.

Traditionally, most recognition programs involved managerial, top-to-down recognition. It was the managers and supervisors that rewarded employees for good job.

But times have changed. Many companies are going flat and have no strict hierarchy. Employees have changed too. Research shows millennials demand instant gratification. And traditional managerial recognition processes take time. So, naturally, employee recognition has evolved as well over the last few years. The traditional top-down recognition is slowly being replaced by more timely peer-to-peer recognition programs.

This new trend of peer-to-peer recognition is gaining in popularity. As an example, Google employees can give each other “massage credits” as a sign
of appreciation for great job. The credits can be later redeemed for free massages on campus.

Zappos is another example of a company that acknowledges the power
of peer-to-peer recognition. The employees at Zappos can grant $50 to a coworker each month for doing a great job. A nice bonus that shows appreciation and care.

Obviously the market follows the peer-to-peer trend and offers quite a lot of employee recognition solutions, like for example YouEarnedIt.

And here at Netizens? Here’s how we do it

Not to brag about it, but our idea of peer-to-peer employee recognition
is pretty cool and unique. It’s a mobile app with virtual currency and
a vending machine, combined. We designed it from scratch and called GoodieBox.

A coworker was exceptionally nice to you at work today? Shared a great idea with you? Inspired you? Helped you avert a crisis? Show them you appreciate that by sending them a virtual coin (the so called GoodieCoin) that can be later exchanged for a gift from our vending machine (a day off, a cinema ticket, a healthy snack…).

Employee happiness out of a vending machine

GoodieBox is probably is one of the reasons why Netizens is such a cool place to work at. Many of us here have great memories involving GoodieCoin.
Some of our employees have agreed to share their GoodieBox-related stories. Let’s get started :)

Weronika, Junior Digital Producer, got a welcoming GoodieCoin for a great start on her first day at Netizens. This friendly greeting made her feel “at home” right away. Side note: it was a Monday. Not a blue one, apparently :)

Weronika with her GoodieBox snack

Marcin, Account Executive, remembers his favorite GoodieCoin received from
a coworker after successfully signing a major deal with the local zoo.
The GoodieCoin felt so special and emotional because the deal was completed sort of thanks to Marcin’s son, a frequent zoo-goer and admirer of wild animals.

Marcin telling us this touching story :)

Our CEO, Witek, received a lot of GoodieCoins after a brave business decision about creating a new department in our company. Grateful employees rewarded him with enthusiastic GoodieCoins.

Our CEO proudly showing off his collection of emotional GoodieCoins on Facebook :)

Aneta, Business Development Manager, loves to cook and always brings healthy food to work with her. One day she noticed a coworker left his sandwiches
in the kitchen. They were really dull, with no vegetables on top, so she decided to garnish them with fresh cucumber slices. Her coworker loved
the idea and thanked Aneta with a GoodieCoin.

Aneta: “Cucumber slices in exchange for a GoodieCoin, how cool is that?” :)

Now why is our solution such a great idea?

• First of all, it’s just super convenient, since the recognition process takes place on our smartphones (and virtually everybody owns one nowadays). Using the app (or Slack, Yammer etc.), we can send a GoodieCoin to someone while making coffee in the kitchen, since we always carry our phones around anyway.
• At Netizens, appreciation takes place on an ongoing, continuous basis, instantly, right away. Not once a month or at the end of the year, like with regular recognition programs. GoodieBox allows us to appreciate our coworkers for doing something the very moment it happens. Just like that. It literally takes seconds, hence the real time appreciation motto.
• But any employee recognition app is convenient and fast. What’s really special about GoodieBox is combining the offline and online worlds.
  The recipient exchanges something digital (their GoodieCoin) for something very real (a real-life prize from the vending machine).
  This is why GoodieBox is more than just a peer-to-peer recognition app.
  The vending machine and the gifts make us feel we’ve been appreciated
  in a very tangible way.
• Last but not least: GoodieBox can be integrated with for example Slack accounts, Google Calendar or Asana. This offers a range of possibilities for companies.

Implementing GoodieBox in our company has yielded great results. Let’s see some actual data now:

since March, we’ve sent each other 666 GoodieCoins, which means every employee sent around 10 GoodieCoins to a coworker in this period of time

Martyna, our Art Director, received as much as 38 GoodieCoins! Wow!

Martyna, our record-holder, and the GoodieBox vending machine :)

But the most important information is that 97% of our employees claim they love the GoodieBox solution and that they find it really motivating

To sum up, GoodieBox has created a true culture of recognition at Netizens. Speaking from our own experience: appreciated employees work well and make the company successful. Really.

So, our advice to companies is: implement a good peer-to-peer recognition program and prosper! It works! :)