You understand the power of building a recognition culture, right? You’ve pored over disgruntled employee engagement surveys and heard your frontline colleagues report that they don’t always feel seen or valued. You’ve lobbied the board, researched the options and wrestled with a swarm of technical challenges.
Finally, you’ve launched your initiative – perhaps a peer-to-peer scheme, a gift platform or an awards programme – with the appropriate fanfare. And you’ve leaned back in your chair, feeling like the office Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny, all rolled into one, just waiting for the responses to flood in and turn the business into an organisation of appreciation.
Frustratingly, after an initial flow of enthusiasm, the milk of workplace kindness has dried to a tepid trickle. Your managers are too busy managing. Your leaders are too remote from the shop floor and the employees have forgotten how to log in ( if they even remembered there was a scheme at all).
Using stories as fuel
This is where storytelling comes in.
Unearthing the narrative behind the nomination reveals a seam of pure gold. And telling those stories, regularly, on your showcase channels – such as your intranet or colleague magazine – reaps benefits way beyond a pleasant five-minute read.
We’ve seen impressive impacts by introducing this approach. Here’s a summary of why storytelling could do the same for your organisation:
1. Storytelling authenticates your programme
“Why do people at that site always get the attention?”
Anyone working in a multi-location – or even multi-team – environment, will recognise this familiar cry.
Telling the story behind a recognition award legitimises why the person received it. Everyone can understand why – and what they need to do to win the same thanks. And if they’re still feeling left out? A concise call to action within your story encourages colleagues to get in touch with more tales for you to tell. Win/win.
2. Storytelling brings your behaviours to life
Your core values may trip off the collective tongue of your SLT but other colleagues likely regard them with a hefty dollop of cynicism and confusion. Even translating these abstract concepts into more tangible behaviours doesn’t always hit the spot.
By explicitly linking recognition stories to values, you’re creating a powerful connection that feels neither preachy nor dull. When employees can see people like them winning praise for living the values, they’re much more likely to adopt the behaviours themselves.
3. Storytelling reinforces your culture – and your employer brand
Stories inspire action. Reading a cracking tale about a colleague raises morale and encourages others to follow suit. Run your stories regularly and those little pockets of extra effort start adding up to a robust culture. And why be shy? Smart businesses tell those stories externally too. Co-op’s Our Stories, for example, are proudly shared to the world via its recruitment pages, to ‘help you to understand what life at Co-op is really like’. Hiring people with values and behaviours that mirror your own will strengthen that culture even more.
4. Leaders, managers and teams love storytelling
When we’ve set about gathering stories for these types of projects, there’s often a concern that leaders and managers would be too busy – or too protective of their employees’ time – to encourage them to talk.
Often, the polar opposite is true. If you pitch it correctly, they see it as a feather in the cap for their site or team, raising their profile positively within the wider organisation.
5. Recipients love storytelling
This one is the outlier, so approach with caution.
It relates to the fact that wise managers recognise their people in the way that suits the recipient, not the manager. Some colleagues are chuffed to bits to get a big cheer from the team in the pre-shift huddle. Others would infinitely prefer an under-the-radar thank you email, or a voucher for their favourite restaurant slipped discreetly into an envelope. So make sure your programme can accommodate these differences.
When asked why they don’t use official recognition platforms, managers often say, ‘I prefer to say thank you verbally’.
But this isn’t about what they prefer – this is about what your workforce wants. And if you’re going to build a culture of recognition, you have to do it right for the recipient.
The same is true for recognition storytelling. If someone doesn’t want a starring role on page 5 of the colleague magazine, or the intranet’s breaking news section, don’t force them. But you can make it the norm by initially spotlighting the extraverts, and adopting a tone that’s warm and human but never gushing. Once people know their story is in safe hands, they’ll be more likely to share it.
To understand how storytelling can power recognition initiatives (and more) in your organisation, get in touch.
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