It’s easy to recognize the employees that talk the loudest or most often, but are they the only ones with something to say? What about those deep thinkers who enjoy creative time alone or in silence? Which social recognition strategies should you use to bring out the best in all of your employees, including those who don’t fight to be heard?
The extrovert often gains energy and insight while spending time with others. They feed on the interaction and thrive in a collective atmosphere. An introvert comes up with solutions and ideas most easily in a quiet environment, often alone, with time to think deeply. They can be good at spotting flaws in an otherwise accepted line of thinking.
These differences can lead to hearing only half of the available employee ideas. Here are some simple ways to be sure that you’re engaging all of your employees:
Give introverts time to think
Provide an agenda or information about what will be discussed at the next staff meeting. An extrovert may brainstorm solutions on the spot, but having a list of meeting goals and topics ahead of time will motivate an introvert to bring their ideas to the table. If you can give even an hour’s notice before a meeting, your introverted staff members will have a better chance to contribute what might be a critical solution for your company.
Facilitate employee interaction
Foster low-pressure opportunities for your employees to mingle throughout the day. Common spaces in the office can give employees who might not otherwise communicate the chance to interact. Create open areas with comfortable seating, snacks, and coffee, where people can talk and collaborate. You might just lure an introvert into interacting with other team members more regularly. It’s far easier to speak up at meetings if you’re familiar with fellow employees. It’s also easier for extroverts to encourage ideas from the introverts they’re getting to know on a casual basis.
Offer social recognition
Consistent recognition is valuable to all employees, both introverted and extroverted. Your outgoing employees might relish public praise in a meeting, whereas your introverted employees may prefer to receive a personal message that doesn’t put them on the spot.
Social recognition platforms give you a way to publicly praise all of your employees on a consistent basis, and they can help managers track who they’re recognizing and how often. This is a great way to ensure that the recognitions are distributed to the people who most deserve them – not just the people the people who command the most attention.
