The Impact of Employee Recognition at Large Companies

In a competitive labour market, attracting the right talent, keeping them engaged, and inspiring them to do great work is no small task. Add the pressure to prove the ROI of every initiative, and it’s clear why organisations need a robust recognition program.

How recognition helps attract top talent

The best candidates aren’t just looking for a job, they’re looking for a workplace where they feel valued from day one. Competitive salaries and perks help, but they aren’t enough to secure long-term loyalty. Today’s employees want purpose, belonging, and to be seen for their contributions in meaningful ways.

Employee recognition attracts top talent and impacts these key metrics across your organisation.

An integrated recognition program helps your company stand out by showcasing a culture of appreciation that starts even before an employee’s first day. Through public celebrations of team wins, visible milestone awards, and authentic peer-to-peer recognition, job seekers see a workplace where people’s contributions are seen and celebrated.

Research from the Global Culture Report shows that when recognition is a core part of a company’s culture, candidates are 2x more likely to accept a job offer. Recognition signals respect, belonging, and purpose—qualities today’s talent values as highly as pay and career growth.

Recognition should be felt right from the start as an important part of onboarding.

When employees feel their onboarding process is exceptional they are 2.5 times more likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace.

Companies that utilise a more strategic approach to onboarding see a 32% increase in new employee engagement.

CIBC, a leading North American financial institution with 45,000 employees, makes onboarding a crucial part of their company culture. They partner with O.C. Tanner to integrate recognition into every part of their employee lifecycle.

New employees are welcomed with a custom CIBC backpack, branded pin, and points from the company recognition program. A note connects employees to the bank’s purpose, with an invitation to give feedback to make the organisation even better.

Giving company swag gifts and recognition points early in the onboarding process can lead to a:

50% decrease in likelihood of attrition

487% increase in likelihood of engagement

615% increase in feelings of inclusion

By integrating recognition into every phase of the employee experience, organisations can demonstrate that they don’t just hire people—they invest in them. This creates a compelling employment brand that draws top-tier talent, shortens hiring cycles, and builds a workforce of engaged, innovative employees.

How recognition helps retain top talent

For large organisations, retaining top talent is just as critical—and often more cost-effective—than acquiring it. Yet in many companies, turnover rates are climbing as employees seek workplaces where they feel connected, valued, and inspired.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud® platform addresses this challenge by making recognition an everyday experience that strengthens emotional bonds among employees, their teams, and the organisation.

Whether it’s celebrating major accomplishments, commemorating career milestones, or offering peer-to-peer appreciation for daily contributions, recognition in Culture Cloud is personal, timely, and aligned to company values.

Regular recognition increases employee tenure by 3.5 years.

‍‍Employees who feel appreciated are 5x more likely to stay at their organisation.

7‍9% of people who quit cite “lack of appreciation” as their reason for leaving.

The results speak for themselves. In a large enterprise, these numbers translate into millions saved in hiring and training costs—not to mention the retention of hard-earned institutional knowledge.

When recognition is consistent, authentic, and data-driven, employees stay longer, contribute more, and help create the stable, high-performing culture every large company needs.

The ROI of employee recognition

We know that HR leaders are tasked with showing measurable business impact for every initiative. Culture Cloud provides robust, real-time analytics. Leaders can see how recognition activity influences critical metrics like engagement, retention, and productivity. 

You can measure participation rates, monitor recognition frequency, and correlate those insights with outcomes across the business. This gives leaders the data they need to reinforce strategies that work.

Our clients consistently see:

31% lower turnover when symbolic recognition is part of their culture.

4x more engagement when recognition is integrated and frequent.

Direct cost savings from reduced attrition and improved productivity.

With real-time dashboards and exportable reports, you can demonstrate the value of recognition to your executive team with confidence.

Culture Cloud integrates seamlessly into existing systems, aligns with your company values, and scales across your global workforce. For the modern HR leader, it’s not just another program—it’s a strategic lever for growth.

Ultimately, employee recognition not only benefits your employees but also contributes to a more collaborative, engaged, and successful organisation.

For large enterprises, the benefits of a strong workplace culture rooted in recognition translate into millions of dollars saved each year—not to mention the long-term benefits of having engaged, loyal employees.

With Culture Cloud, recognition becomes a performance driver you can quantify, optimise, and present to the executive team with confidence. It transforms appreciation from a cost centre into a powerful ROI engine that fuels talent acquisition, retention, engagement, and business outcomes.

Uniting hybrid teams through recognition

In a hybrid workplace, connection doesn’t happen by accident. When employees split time between home and office—or work entirely remotely—maintaining a shared sense of culture becomes a challenge. Without intentional efforts, recognition can become fragmented, and employees may feel invisible.

An integrated recognition platform bridges that gap by making recognition accessible and visible to everyone, everywhere, all the time. Leaders and peers can give meaningful, personalised recognition in real time, regardless of location or time zone. 

Public recognition walls, digital celebrations, and integrated communication tools ensure that every achievement—whether it happens in the office or online—is seen and celebrated across the organisation.

When leaders take time to recognise, the odds of several positive outcomes improve dramatically:

Research from the Global Culture Report shows that when recognition is highly integrated into the daily workflow, employees are 3x more likely to feel connected to their team. In hybrid environments, that connection is a powerful retention tool and a key driver of engagement.

With a recognition platform that scales across the organisation, hybrid work isn’t a barrier to culture, it’s an opportunity to create a more inclusive and unified workplace. Recognition becomes the thread that ties people together, ensuring every employee feels valued, supported, and part of the same story, no matter where they work.

The recognition solution

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud platform is built to help companies implement powerful recognition in scalable, personal ways. Features such as peer-to-peer recognition, symbolic awards, and career anniversaries enable organisations to create meaningful moments.

Leadership also plays a crucial role: the platform includes analytics that help managers spot when someone might be disengaging. By combining personalisation with both peer and leadership recognition, companies can build a culture where employees feel genuinely seen. And stay longer as a result.

Ready to see how the Culture Cloud employee recognition platform can make a measurable impact at your organisation? Schedule a demo.

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