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5 Recognition Best Practices for Business Services Organisations in 2025

Insights from
,

Employees shaking hands in an office

Updated on 

February 20, 2025

20

 

February

 

2025

Employee recognition is an important practice for every workplace. Integrated recognition means recognition is a frequent, meaningful part of the everyday employee experience. For employees in the business services sector, getting encouragement and support from internal recognition champions can make your recognition program more meaningful and more successful.

When business services employees work in organisations with integrated recognition, there are:

  • 4.0x increased odds of planning to stay two or more years
  • 11.4x increased odds of having a sense of belonging
  • 6.8x increased odds of feeling fulfilled at work
  • 3.2x increased odds of high engagement
  • 9.9x increased odds the employee will thrive at work

What to keep in mind when recognising workers in the business services industry? Read on for 5 recognition best practices in the business services industry.

1. Integrate recognition into your company culture and employees’ daily flow of work

67% of business services workers say recognition is a part of their organisation's everyday culture and 69% say their organisation continually implements new programs and technologies to recognise great work. 

And while 74% of business services employees say their organisation has a formal program to recognise years of service, fewer (70%) have programs to recognise above and beyond performance, everyday efforts (58%), safety (64%), or wellness (62%).

Organisations should provide tools for employees to recognise one another for a variety of reasons including great work, extra effort, safety, and wellness. Recognition tools, like Culture Cloud®, should also be integrated into the tools employees use every day for collaboration, leadership tools, reporting, etc., so employees can remember to recognise and easily do so in their flow of work when they see great work happening.

Examples of recognition experiences in O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition software, including physical thank you cards with points and online award redemption.
“O.C. Tanner was very accommodating in the way they customised the whole program for us. We wanted a Deloitte look and feel with branding, tied back to our values, and a certain process flow. O.C. Tanner helped us assemble this culture of appreciation.” —Dr. Badari Narayana, Executive Director, Deloitte India

2. Give recognition in a personal and meaningful way

When it comes to meaningful recognition, 43% of employees in business services say the recognition they receive at work feels like an empty gesture and 36% say recognition at their organisation is inauthentic.

For recognition to feel genuine and sincere, it must be personal, timely, and specific. Ensure recognition calls out individual accomplishments and contributions, connects recognition to the organisation’s values and purpose, and details what the employee has done well and why it matters. Also, share stories of recognition happening across the organisation, so everyone can see the great work an employee has done.

Train leaders to get to know their people and learn how they want to be appreciated so leaders can create recognition moments that are appropriate and tailored to each individual. This ensures recognition is delivered in a personal and meaningful way, every time.

Mobile app and desktop recognition experiences in O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud, including physical thank you cards with points.
Gain insights from 40 Years of Employee Recognition at AAA – The Auto Club Group.

3. Build connection, belonging, and community with recognition

Most employees in business services (80%) believe recognition is a crucial part of building a workplace community and believe recognition for their work makes them feel like they belong at their organisation (80%).

Empower and equip peers to recognise one another—it’s guaranteed to build connection and community. Have leaders recognise employees during leader rounding efforts and when employees transition roles or teams. Help new employees feel welcomed and connected with recognition from day one.

Recognising employees' extra effort, career milestones, and life events shows you care about employees both at work and outside of work. With 71% of business services workers saying their organisation celebrates life events, there is an opportunity to help employees thrive outside of work. Recognition for things like new babies or homes, but also accomplishments like running a marathon, learning a new skill, or even sending kids off to college are great ways to build connection, community, and a sense that the company cares about employees.

Examples of celebrating career accomplishments and life events with O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud, including swag boxes, recognition points, cards, and gifts.

Custom awards are another powerful way to connect employees to your workplace community and organisation. Using symbols of your company culture, history, and work environment can help tell the stories of your employees’ accomplishments and how they’ve made an impact at your organisation, in a memorable way.

Custom awards designed and manufactured by O.C. Tanner, including Careerscapes with collectible icons, pins, and numerals.
“We love the collective experience and knowing the realm of possibilities that O.C. Tanner has to offer. They share great ideas and new insights to help us make recognition better.” —Lindsay Landry, Employee Experience Lead, ICF

4. recognise growth and development

Ongoing skill building and development is crucial for employees in the business services industry. It leads to more fulfillment, increased retention, and better client outcomes. Recognising employees both during and after the skill-building process shows they are valued and have achieved something important as they learn new skills.

Employees have 3x greater odds of being satisfied with their experience if they’re recognised at the completion of training, but 4x greater odds when they are recognised during and after. We found 78% of business services employees were recognised both during and after training with a gift card, certificate, or other form of acknowledgment. This leaves about 20% of employees who would benefit from more recognition as they build skills.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition eCards for sending thank you notes to teammates, with or without points.

Recognition is equally important as employees learn new skills in a new role or team. When recognition is an integrated part of a job transition experience (as employees are learning new skills)—whether it’s a new hire, a newly promoted employee, or an employee changing job responsibilities or teams—satisfaction with their transition experience increases 6x.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud Initiatives platform.

5. Encourage gratitude to support employees’ mental health

Business services can be a rewarding but tough industry. A whopping 73% of business services employees report high levels of burnout.

Just as clinical research finds expressions of gratitude can help improve mental health, giving gratitude at work through recognition can also alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Employees who gave recognition in the past 30 days report decreases in the odds of:

  • Burnout (-57%)
  • Probable diagnosis of anxiety (-24%)
  • Probable diagnosis of depression (-28%)

While recognition is not a replacement for mental health care, it can complement mental health wellbeing strategies. Giving and receiving recognition can increase belonging, connection, and gratitude, which counteract many factors that lead to poor mental health.

Encourage employees and leaders to give recognition when they see great work happening. Align employees’ work to a greater purpose, be specific in how they contributed and why it was unique, and focus on genuine, positive sentiment.

Simple acts of saying thank you and receiving recognition not only bolster the mental health of employees, but also strengthen workplace culture, which can help protect against mental health struggles and lead to an estimated annual savings of $8,000 per employee with probable depression.

Recognition eCards (thank you notes) on O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud platform.

See how Culture Cloud makes it simple and fun to recognise everyone on your business services team. Request a demo.

Get the Full Paper

Employee recognition is an important practice for every workplace. Integrated recognition means recognition is a frequent, meaningful part of the everyday employee experience. For employees in the business services sector, getting encouragement and support from internal recognition champions can make your recognition program more meaningful and more successful.

When business services employees work in organisations with integrated recognition, there are:

  • 4.0x increased odds of planning to stay two or more years
  • 11.4x increased odds of having a sense of belonging
  • 6.8x increased odds of feeling fulfilled at work
  • 3.2x increased odds of high engagement
  • 9.9x increased odds the employee will thrive at work

What to keep in mind when recognising workers in the business services industry? Read on for 5 recognition best practices in the business services industry.

1. Integrate recognition into your company culture and employees’ daily flow of work

67% of business services workers say recognition is a part of their organisation's everyday culture and 69% say their organisation continually implements new programs and technologies to recognise great work. 

And while 74% of business services employees say their organisation has a formal program to recognise years of service, fewer (70%) have programs to recognise above and beyond performance, everyday efforts (58%), safety (64%), or wellness (62%).

Organisations should provide tools for employees to recognise one another for a variety of reasons including great work, extra effort, safety, and wellness. Recognition tools, like Culture Cloud®, should also be integrated into the tools employees use every day for collaboration, leadership tools, reporting, etc., so employees can remember to recognise and easily do so in their flow of work when they see great work happening.

Examples of recognition experiences in O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition software, including physical thank you cards with points and online award redemption.
“O.C. Tanner was very accommodating in the way they customised the whole program for us. We wanted a Deloitte look and feel with branding, tied back to our values, and a certain process flow. O.C. Tanner helped us assemble this culture of appreciation.” —Dr. Badari Narayana, Executive Director, Deloitte India

2. Give recognition in a personal and meaningful way

When it comes to meaningful recognition, 43% of employees in business services say the recognition they receive at work feels like an empty gesture and 36% say recognition at their organisation is inauthentic.

For recognition to feel genuine and sincere, it must be personal, timely, and specific. Ensure recognition calls out individual accomplishments and contributions, connects recognition to the organisation’s values and purpose, and details what the employee has done well and why it matters. Also, share stories of recognition happening across the organisation, so everyone can see the great work an employee has done.

Train leaders to get to know their people and learn how they want to be appreciated so leaders can create recognition moments that are appropriate and tailored to each individual. This ensures recognition is delivered in a personal and meaningful way, every time.

Mobile app and desktop recognition experiences in O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud, including physical thank you cards with points.
Gain insights from 40 Years of Employee Recognition at AAA – The Auto Club Group.

3. Build connection, belonging, and community with recognition

Most employees in business services (80%) believe recognition is a crucial part of building a workplace community and believe recognition for their work makes them feel like they belong at their organisation (80%).

Empower and equip peers to recognise one another—it’s guaranteed to build connection and community. Have leaders recognise employees during leader rounding efforts and when employees transition roles or teams. Help new employees feel welcomed and connected with recognition from day one.

Recognising employees' extra effort, career milestones, and life events shows you care about employees both at work and outside of work. With 71% of business services workers saying their organisation celebrates life events, there is an opportunity to help employees thrive outside of work. Recognition for things like new babies or homes, but also accomplishments like running a marathon, learning a new skill, or even sending kids off to college are great ways to build connection, community, and a sense that the company cares about employees.

Examples of celebrating career accomplishments and life events with O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud, including swag boxes, recognition points, cards, and gifts.

Custom awards are another powerful way to connect employees to your workplace community and organisation. Using symbols of your company culture, history, and work environment can help tell the stories of your employees’ accomplishments and how they’ve made an impact at your organisation, in a memorable way.

Custom awards designed and manufactured by O.C. Tanner, including Careerscapes with collectible icons, pins, and numerals.
“We love the collective experience and knowing the realm of possibilities that O.C. Tanner has to offer. They share great ideas and new insights to help us make recognition better.” —Lindsay Landry, Employee Experience Lead, ICF

4. recognise growth and development

Ongoing skill building and development is crucial for employees in the business services industry. It leads to more fulfillment, increased retention, and better client outcomes. Recognising employees both during and after the skill-building process shows they are valued and have achieved something important as they learn new skills.

Employees have 3x greater odds of being satisfied with their experience if they’re recognised at the completion of training, but 4x greater odds when they are recognised during and after. We found 78% of business services employees were recognised both during and after training with a gift card, certificate, or other form of acknowledgment. This leaves about 20% of employees who would benefit from more recognition as they build skills.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud recognition eCards for sending thank you notes to teammates, with or without points.

Recognition is equally important as employees learn new skills in a new role or team. When recognition is an integrated part of a job transition experience (as employees are learning new skills)—whether it’s a new hire, a newly promoted employee, or an employee changing job responsibilities or teams—satisfaction with their transition experience increases 6x.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud Initiatives platform.

5. Encourage gratitude to support employees’ mental health

Business services can be a rewarding but tough industry. A whopping 73% of business services employees report high levels of burnout.

Just as clinical research finds expressions of gratitude can help improve mental health, giving gratitude at work through recognition can also alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Employees who gave recognition in the past 30 days report decreases in the odds of:

  • Burnout (-57%)
  • Probable diagnosis of anxiety (-24%)
  • Probable diagnosis of depression (-28%)

While recognition is not a replacement for mental health care, it can complement mental health wellbeing strategies. Giving and receiving recognition can increase belonging, connection, and gratitude, which counteract many factors that lead to poor mental health.

Encourage employees and leaders to give recognition when they see great work happening. Align employees’ work to a greater purpose, be specific in how they contributed and why it was unique, and focus on genuine, positive sentiment.

Simple acts of saying thank you and receiving recognition not only bolster the mental health of employees, but also strengthen workplace culture, which can help protect against mental health struggles and lead to an estimated annual savings of $8,000 per employee with probable depression.

Recognition eCards (thank you notes) on O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud platform.

See how Culture Cloud makes it simple and fun to recognise everyone on your business services team. Request a demo.

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