Building a Culture of Recognition – Debra Corey

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Recognition works when people know what their colleagues did, why it mattered, and how their own actions can support the same kind of work.

The conversation gives HR and hiring teams a practical way to think about building a culture of recognition. It focuses on the decisions people make before, during, and after a hiring process, and on the small habits that shape how candidates and employees experience the company.

Key takeaways

• Recognition needs to be part of ordinary work rather than an occasional awards event.
• Managers can make praise more useful by naming the action they saw and the result it created.
• A programme only works when people can use it easily and believe that recognition is shared fairly.
• The conversation also connects recognition with belonging, because people notice whether good work is seen.

Start with the experience people actually have

The episode brings the discussion back to what people see and feel in real situations. A policy, message, or hiring process becomes useful when people can understand it and use it without having to guess what comes next.

Recognition needs to be part of ordinary work rather than an occasional awards event. Managers can make praise more useful by naming the action they saw and the result it created. A team can learn a lot by looking closely at the moments where people have to wait, repeat information, or ask the same question more than once.

This is where HR can move from a broad intention to a practical change. Choose one point in the process, ask the people involved what happens there, and write down the gap between the intended experience and the one they describe.

Give managers and recruiters a shared role

The people closest to a process often see different parts of the problem. Recruiters hear candidate questions. Hiring managers see the work the person will do. HR can bring those views together and make sure the team agrees on the purpose of each step.

A programme only works when people can use it easily and believe that recognition is shared fairly. Before a role opens, or before a new initiative begins, agree on who needs to act, what information they need, and when the team will make a decision. That makes the experience easier to explain to candidates and employees.

For example, a hiring manager can thank a recruiter for keeping candidates informed during a delayed search, then explain how that communication protected the candidate experience.

Use feedback as a prompt for action

Feedback becomes useful when a team can connect it to a decision. People are more likely to keep sharing their experience when they can see that someone listened and explained what will happen next.

The conversation also connects recognition with belonging, because people notice whether good work is seen. Start with the issue that has the clearest effect on people’s experience. A smaller change, such as a clearer interview invitation or a better handover between teams, can show people that their feedback has a place in the way work is run.

A practical way to use this episode

Use the ideas from this conversation with one real piece of work. Choose one process, one group of people, and one change the team can review.

1. Pick a point where people are confused, delayed, or unsure who owns the next action.
2. Ask the people involved what they need to know or do at that point.
3. Compare those answers with the process your team expects people to follow.
4. Make one change that removes a clear source of friction.
5. Check back with the people affected and decide whether the change helped.

This approach gives a team a way to test the discussion in day-to-day work. It also creates better questions for the next hiring meeting, manager conversation, or employee feedback review.

Make the next conversation specific

Teams often use broad language when they talk about building a culture of recognition. The next conversation becomes more useful when it starts with a recent situation that people can describe clearly. It might be a candidate who stopped replying, a manager who was unclear about a decision, or an employee who found a process harder than it needed to be.

Ask what happened, who needed to act, and what information was missing. Then choose the smallest change that would make that situation easier next time. Give one person responsibility for following through and checking what changed.

After the team makes a change, look for a practical sign that the experience improved:

• People know what happens next without chasing for an answer.
• Managers and recruiters have the information they need before they make a decision.
• Candidates or employees can explain the process in their own words.

Bring one real example to the next meeting

Before your next hiring or people meeting, bring a recent example related to building a culture of recognition. Choose something the people in the meeting can see, such as a candidate email, interview feedback, an onboarding question, or an employee request.

Read it together and ask what it tells you about the process. Decide whether someone needs more context, a faster reply, or a different way to complete the work. Record the decision and name the person who will check the result.

Small records help a team learn over time. They show which changes made work clearer and which questions keep returning, so the next discussion starts with evidence from the people involved.

Questions to discuss with your team

What makes employee recognition meaningful?

It names a real contribution and explains why the work helped the team, the customer, or a colleague.

Should recognition only come from managers?

No. Colleagues often see helpful work that a manager does not see, so peer recognition can add useful detail.

How can a team start?

Choose one behaviour the team wants to see more often and give people a simple way to recognise it.

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