How To Create A Wall Of Fame For Your Employees?

An effective way to motivate employees is recognizing them socially for their efforts through a wall of fame.

In Dale Carnegie’s words, "People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards." It's no secret that people like people like getting appreciated for their work. It reinforces that someone sees and recognizes their efforts. In fact, 72% of businesses agree that recognition does impact engagement positively. (Source: Harvard Business Review).

Having an entire wall of the office dedicated to the appreciation of employees — with their pictures and contributions — is not only a great way to brighten up the workspace but also one of the best ways to recognize effort. It not only improves their performance, but also motivates others to carry out their duties efficiently. Recognition walls can go a long way to boost up employee engagement and productivity.

In this article, we shall discuss how to nail a fantastic recognition wall in the workplace. But let’s recap why companies need to focus on rewards and recognition for their employees.

Why Is Employee Recognition So Important?

Employees are arguably the most important assets for a company. Yet, companies struggle to keep their top employees. Research says that the primary reason for employees quitting jobs is not getting enough recognition.

Employees want to be appreciated for their efforts in addition to good pay and benefits. If you want your workforce to stick around, not appreciating good work can prove to be quite costly. And it is for this reason, that every year first Friday of March, is celebrated as Employee Appreciation Day.

Employee recognition means acknowledging the hard work and accomplishments of the individuals and teams within the organization. It’s about creating an impactful emotional connection with your employees while staying authentic to the company values.

Companies with a solid recognition strategy enjoy a host of benefits and favorable organizational outcomes, like:

• Higher engagement
• Increased job satisfaction
• Lower turnover
• Higher loyalty
• Better customer service

From a simple pat on the back to sharing praise on social media, there are many ways to appreciate employees’ efforts. At the end of the day, it needs to be an authentic part of your culture where recognizing exceptional performance is the norm. A dedicated recognition wall can be a crucial element of a vibrant recognition culture.

What Is A Wall Of Fame?

The Wall of Fame is basically a dedicated space that displays the names, pictures, and details of exceptional performers to mark the recognition they receive in their work.

The Wall of Fame is based on the concept of disambiguation. Disambiguation refers to the act or process of distinguishing between similar items or people, to make them stand out for their extraordinary qualities. In this case, it is an effort to recognize one’s effort and give them the boost of motivation and satisfaction that comes with fame.

Why An Employee Wall of Fame Should be Part of Your Plan

At work, when we accomplish our goals, we feel satisfied, productive, and motivated to do more. In such cases, getting recognized for our contributions serves as a confidence booster.

A recognition wall highlights the wins that act as a direction that all can strive towards. It does not just showcase that the person has achieved a goal but also reinforces behaviors that align with company values.

The wall of fame can also be a motivating factor in cases when employees are underperforming. People put in the time and the effort, but still couldn’t accomplish what they set out to do. It can be incredibly disheartening and discouraging to work so hard and have it seemingly go to waste.

Here, the wall of fame can act as a baseline on what they had already achieved. It will boost confidence if one finds themselves struggling to reach the heights they are striving for.

For example, you couldn’t achieve your sales target this month, but do you remember when your team smashed the sales record and ended up being the “Top Team” in the company? Or when you received the ‘Customer Engagement Champion’ award?

Employees can recollect their achievements, analyze their current blockages, and use past experiences to move forward. By putting details of a job well done in a place where people see it often, you can motivate your employees to keep striving for excellence.

The benefits of having a recognition wall or a Wall of Fame are summarized below:

1. Improves Employee Morale

A Wall of Fame celebrates your star employees and teams who have contributed to the success of the company. Acknowledging your hard-working staff builds morale, creates employee loyalty while fostering camaraderie across the company. High morale in the workplace leads to a more productive, enjoyable, and positive work environment.

2. Highlights Leadership

When employees get rewarded, it instills a sense of leadership and ownership in them. They will be motivated to take risks, try out new ideas, and bring in renewed energy in the work environment. They will set a direction and inspire others in the organization to achieve their very best.

3. Showcases Awardees & Success Stories

Additionally, a wall of fame showcases award recipients like employee of the month or the quarter, etc. This encourages fellow employees to follow suit and aim to do their best work. Seeing one’s name on the wall of fame could become an attainable goal to strive for in the workforce.

4. Reinforces Company Values

When you showcase company values in the Wall of Fame, it reinforces what you as a company stand for and aligns employee behavior with the core organizational values.

5. Honors Long-Term Employees and Influences Future Gen

Walls of Fame can pay tribute to longtime employees who have helped drive organizational success. It’s important to recognize those who’ve left a lasting legacy on your company.

Moreover, letting your new team members know their efforts won’t go unnoticed can incentivize them to work hard for your company.

6. Provides Flexibility In Recognition Efforts

A Wall of Fame is a nice addition to your existing recognition strategy. It is a part of the social recognition approach which acts as an extrinsic motivator to keep on doing good work.

How To Create A Wall of Fame for Your Employees?

There are many ways to show appreciation to employees. Cash and gift cards are popular choices for rewards. But people tend to use the money for things like paying bills and soon forget about it. In case the gift cards are from retailers that the employees don’t frequent, it may wind up being unused in the wallet.

Some companies also give out trophies and plaques to their top performers. But these may end up gathering dust on a shelf, and not stir up the kind of excitement you would want from your employees. If you want to make the recognition memorable and visible, the wall of fame is the perfect choice.

So what can you show on an employee wall of fame?

A wall of fame is a special way to put your company culture on display for all to see. It can be a fun way to include things which may not be work-related, but impacts employee morale all the same. For example, fixing the wifi, bringing coffee for those working on a deadline, etc. The opportunities are endless, as long as they meet the company guidelines.

Here are some ideas of what you can show on the wall of fame:

1. Include Names & Photos Of Employees With Their Accolades

Highlight the accomplishments of individuals with quotations and words. Even photos can be fun to look at and express more than what words can’t. Snap photos of your employee’s accomplishments. Take candid shots of them hard at work. Get more creative by having employees you’re celebrating bring in a baby photo instead.

2. Mention Team Wins

Highlight team wins with photos of the team and any major projects they have completed together. This will not only boost the team morale but also help build trust and stronger work relations.

3. Post Gratitude Notes

Encourage other employees to post notes of gratitude for featured employees around their photos. Post-it notes, shout-outs, stickers, etc. can be used here. Such peer-to-peer appreciation helps build strong bonds in the workplace, which is crucial for team successes.

4. Put Biographies

Include a fun brief biography of high-achievers with all they have done for the organization. People in the organization will get a chance to know more about their peers. At the same time, they can work towards seeing their own name and bio in the wall of fame, pushing them focus on their work.

5. Celebrate Past Employees Contributions

You can show the contributions and legacies of past employees. You can celebrate years of service with a stunning display to memorialize them via photographs and informational panels.

6. Highlight Company Highs & Successes

Share your company history, values, and recognize the successes and highs of your company. This is a great way for companies to make sure your employees know what they are working towards and their behaviors align with your core values.

Types of Walls of Fame

The wall of fame, with employees' names, photos, achievements, and bios, can be in the form of a physical wall or a virtual space on digital platforms.

Physical Wall of Fame

In the case of a physical wall of fame, the question that arises is where you place a physical wall of fame. It is usually in a place which is easily visible and accessible, like

• Reception spaces and lobbies that easily fall in people’s line of sight
• Entryways, hallways or other high-traffic areas
• Break rooms, lounge areas, or cafeteria
• Conference halls
• Board rooms, etc.

Virtual Wall of Fame

Digital employee recognition tools like Vantage Rewards come with a Wall of Fame, a virtual wall dedicated to the top achievers of the organization. It is a place where all the awards received and the badges earned by the top employees of the organization are shown.

Conclusion

A Wall of Fame is a type of social recognition where employers can showcase the good work going on in the company. It is a place that gives employees a chance to visit as often as possible to see the top performers. They get motivated either to continue performing or get inspired by the good work of others.

But there’s also a downside to these types of recognition walls.

• It could happen that the same group of people get repeatedly recognized.
• It might breed unhealthy competition affecting work relationships.
• Also, not seeing their names on the wall can demotivate average performers.

Different things motivate people to work harder. Some people want their work to have an impact, some want promotions, and some rather have the money. Some prefer one-on-one recognition, while some like to be socially appreciated. To find out if your recognition wall idea works best for your employees, you may use employee surveys to find their opinions.

This article is written by Swati Baruah who is a content marketing specialist at Vantage Circle. She is a post-graduate in Labor Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Passionately interested in people dynamics, she enjoys writing pieces that strike conversations. To get in touch, reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com