Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Research Report: Improving business performance through appreciation

Organisations today face no shortage of strategic priorities. AI adoption. Innovation. Customer experience. Productivity. Culture transformation. The challenge isn’t deciding what matters. It’s helping employees understand what to do differently every day to make those priorities real.

A new Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report explores an increasingly important question: How can organisations influence the behaviours that drive business performance at scale?

The answer may be simpler than many leaders realise.

Recognition is no longer just a culture initiative

For years, recognition was viewed as a way to boost morale, celebrate milestones, or improve employee engagement.

Today’s business environment demands more.

As organisations navigate rapid change, leaders need practical ways to encourage the behaviours that support business goals. Whether the objective is increasing innovation, strengthening collaboration, improving customer experiences, or helping employees embrace new technologies, success ultimately depends on what people do every day.

The latest HBR research suggests that recognition plays a larger role in shaping those behaviours than many organisations realise. Here’s a striking disconnect called out in the report: while 66% of organisations say recognition is very important for influencing business performance, only 33% believe their recognition programmes are very effective at doing so. That gap, alongside other key report findings, illustrates just how much opportunity remains for organisations willing to take a more strategic approach.

At Achievers, this aligns closely with what we’ve seen through years of workforce research and customer partnerships. Recognition is most impactful when it’s timely, meaningful, frequent, and connected to what matters most to the business.

Download the report to access fresh evidence that recognition can do far more than celebrate success after it happens — it can help create more of it.

The organisations seeing the strongest results approach recognition differently

One of the report’s central themes is that high-performing organisations are intentional about what they recognise and why.

Employees make countless decisions throughout the workday. Where should they focus? Which priorities deserve attention? What behaviours will help them succeed?

Recognition can help answer those questions.

The report and its contributors explore how leading organisations use appreciation to reinforce the actions, mindsets, and contributions they want to see repeated. Rather than treating recognition as a standalone HR programme, they integrate it into the broader strategy of the business.

What does that look like in practice?

The report gives you examples from organisations that have aligned recognition to strategic priorities ranging from innovation and customer experience to safety and emerging technologies. It also reveals how much more likely leading organisations are to design recognition programmes around specific business-driving behaviours.

Download the report for the full findings and examples.

Why appreciation has the greatest impact when it becomes part of everyday work

Recognition is most effective when it is part of the employee experience, not an occasional event.

That’s one of the strongest messages throughout the research.

While many organisations still rely heavily on formal moments of recognition, the report highlights how leading organisations are creating cultures where appreciation is woven into daily work.

The research also explores a challenge many leaders will recognise: employees often aren’t lacking effort or commitment — they’re lacking feedback.

Download the report to gain clarity and to discover the key to creating an environment with consistent, meaningful employee recognition.

Technology is changing what’s possible

As organisations scale, recognition becomes harder to deliver consistently. That’s one reason recognition technology has become a growing area of focus.

The report examines how modern platforms are helping organisations make recognition more visible, more frequent, and more inclusive. Beyond enabling manager recognition, many organisations are creating opportunities for peer-to-peer appreciation, increasing transparency around employee contributions, and giving leaders new insight into the behaviours driving performance.

One particularly surprising finding highlights how organisations are using recognition technology to support strategic transformation initiatives. The report explores how recognition is being connected to emerging priorities, including AI adoption and workforce innovation.

It also examines how organisations are leveraging recognition data to better understand employee contributions, collaboration patterns, and performance across the business.

See the full breakdown in the report, including the most valuable capabilities organisations gain from dedicated recognition technology.

How leading organisations are putting these ideas into practice

While packed with data, the report doesn’t stop at the research.

Through interviews with leaders at General Motors, Workday, Kyndryl, and Coles, it offers a closer look at how recognition strategies are being applied inside complex organisations navigating transformation and growth.

Download the report to learn:

• How a global automaker uses recognition to support employee connection from day one
• The approach one technology company is using to reinforce strategic workforce behaviours
• How an enterprise services organisation connects recognition to business goals and performance visibility
• The ways a major retailer has scaled appreciation across a large, distributed workforce

Look for the real-world examples to reveal a common theme and explore exactly how these organisations are making that happen.

Get full access to the report findings

Business transformation ultimately depends on behaviour change.

Organisations can invest in new technology, launch new initiatives, and set ambitious goals. But performance improves when employees understand what matters, feel connected to their work, and receive reinforcement that helps them repeat the behaviours that drive success.

This new Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report provides valuable research, expert perspectives, and real-world examples that show how leading organisations are using appreciation as a business strategy, not just a culture initiative.

As professor Amy Edmondson notes in the report:

Download your copy of the report now to uncover the research, insights, and practical examples you need to shape the future of recognition and results at your organisation.