The Academy Award for Employee Recognition Goes To…

If you are like most of America, you tuned in last night to watch The Oscars. If you are particularly daring, you probably made it all the way until the end to watch one of the most awkward recognition moments in Academy Award history as it was happening.

Whether it was done for ratings or really was an accident, we may never know.

However, this is where Jimmy Kimmel truly saw his chance to shine. Attempting to buffer the uncomfortable situation, he said, “I would like to see you get an Oscar anyway — why can’t we give out a whole bunch of them?”

The La La Land cast and crew graciously handed over the golden trophy, and let Moonlight stand in the light for Best Picture.

While almost all eyes were on the two separate production casts, ours were on Jimmy—still thinking about his lighthearted joke. As HR and recruiting pros, we focus a lot on employer branding and company image. Jimmy was thinking like us last night.

He touched on one of our favorite topics: recognition.

Everyone loves to be recognized for doing a great job, and most HR departments are doing a top-notch job rewarding employees with a pat on the back, or a “kudos” plaque. We want everyone to feel recognized positively for what they do (especially Hollywood, because no one ever pays attention to them, right?) But here stands one question…

Is internal recognition enough? Hmm…

At Kinetix, we like to round everyone up for acknowledgement announcements, ring bells to broadcast recruiter placements, and bring treats in for work anniversaries/birthdays. This is all great stuff and everyone appreciates it, but to make our team feel extra special, we take our recognition to the outside world. Long story short, we love to show our talent off.

How do we turn internal recognition into external glory?

 Think about this: When we share job openings, press about the company, and blogs that further our credibility for recruitment marketing purposes, who are we trying to attract?

If you answered new potential candidates and clients, then you are correct, folks!

So here are 3 ways to take your employee recognition from internal to Oscar-worthy external awards:

1. Have someone at your recognition events to snap a photo or video footage to share on social media for the world to see.
2. Use your website as a channel for employee announcements and acknowledgments as this is one of the first places people look when researching a company.
3. Include the name of the person or department and the reason for recognition in your posts.

If we share posts about our own people and their achievements, we are drawing more attention to the positive culture and employee morale that radiates throughout our workspaces.

Better yet, we are sharing these moments with people who can’t physically be in our offices with us to see it for themselves.

Your employees get the external press they deserve, and everyone on the internet can be a part of the celebration (and positively interact the brand.) We all win with external recognition, and Jimmy’s dreams can come true.

So how do you plan on recognizing employees? Share in the comments below!

Side Note: If you like how we recognize our people you should know that we are hiring!