Workplaces today are preoccupied with accelerating processes and bringing in more agility. Conversations revolve around ways to reach goals faster, finish tasks more quickly and increase productivity. Human faces are being replaced by bots and artificial intelligence (AI). And now, with agentic AI proactively planning, executing and adapting its behaviour and responses, the ‘human’ is fast disappearing out of human resources. However, amidst this mad rush to pursue better efficiency, track the work hours being put in by employees, and monitor productivity using specific software, there is still some hope for employers to retain some experiences that are 100 per cent human. They can begin by recognising their employees for their efforts and hard work.
Don’t we still save those hand-written notes from our teachers or coaches from school acknowledging our talent? We still feel special when we read those appreciative and encouraging words. Even employees save the emails or messages from their bosses or team leads where they have been congratulated for a promotion in recognition of their hard work and effort or where their boss acknowledges their contribution to the success of a project. It is as good as a physical hug or pat on the back and helps motivate people to do better, especially on days they are feeling low.
Research proves this too. The State of Employee Recognition 2025 report from OC Tanner gives employees’ perspectives on what makes recognition meaningful in this age of AI.
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Do employees care for symbolic awards?
Sure they do, as per the report. While a good 74 per cent of employees feel recognition is a crucial part of workplace community and belonging, employees who receive awards for both work and personal milestones are 9x more likely to feel connected to their organisation! That isn’t all; employees whose symbolic awards tell a story about their career with the company are 3x more likely to be eNPS promoters and 4x more likely to thrive at work.
Clearly, the best way to acknowledge and appreciate the service and accomplishments of employees is through symbolic awards. Why? Because these connect the employees’ contributions and work to their company’s larger story.
Such awards are presented to employees to celebrate milestones in their journey with the company or to celebrate their long tenure, promotion or even the successful completion of a difficult project. Employers need to realise that awards are not mere souvenirs that employees display on their desks. They have a positive influence on employee performance, engagement, retention, wellbeing, belonging, and absenteeism. They add so much more meaning to recognition and to the employees’ memories of the workplace.
When such awards are reflective of a company’s purpose, mission or values, their meaningfulness increases 10x. When these awards convey the manner in which the employees contributed or made a difference at work, their meaningfulness increases 11x. When such awards show how much the employees’ contributions mean to the company, their meaningfulness goes up 12x.
Sadly, only 45 per cent of the employees interviewed said awards were common in the workplace. Barely 52 per cent of employees have ever received a symbolic award.
While 58 per cent employees admit to having received recognition in the last month or so, that is way less than the number of employees who have contributed.
The report reveals that the recognition moments of nearly 61 per cent of employees involve a digital platform. Almost 50 per cent engage with their recognition platform on a desktop computer, while 45 per cent use a mobile device and 37 per cent use platform integrations in the flow of their work (such as Zoom, Slack, MS Teams, and Outlook).
Employees who feel their programmes are easily accessible are 4x more likely to recognise their peers. When these programmes are actually simple and user friendly, employees are 5x more likely to recognise their peers. While digital experiences may be popular, they cannot replace the human element. A good 42 per cent of employee recognition happens in person and involves personal interaction accompanied by thank-you notes, or symbolic awards.
Unfortunately, workplaces today are chasing efficiency at the cost of their employees’ strengths—creativity and innovativeness. Yes, employers are indeed investing and focusing too much on efficiency, cost optimisation, leveraging AI and so on. So much so that workplaces have ended up becoming transactional instead of being transformational. Simply put, efficiency is being pursued without a thought being spared for the people, the employees who are unable to realise their potential.
The least employers can do is recognise their employees’ contributions and let them know that their work is helping so many others, including clients, colleagues and the leaders of the organisation. This recognition will go a long way at a time when people crave human relationships and bonding.
Employers can add meaning to recognition with human connection, personalisation, authenticity and symbolic storytelling. And this kind of meaningful recognition, in turn, will only make feelings of connection stronger. Ultimately this translates into better employee net promoter scores or eNPS. On the other hand, employers who fail to meaningfully recognise the efforts and contributions of their employees end up with high attrition, disengaged employees and higher incidence of mental-health problems in the workforce. Employees who believe that recognition is meaningful, says the report, have three times increased chances of feeling connected to their organisation. Their likelihood of feeling a sense of belongingness and community is also four times higher.