Introduction

This year’s report is about what happens when organisations learn to amplify, to make what is already valuable more powerful.

Organisational Compassion

As change accelerates, compassionate cultures help people thrive while sustaining performance and resilience.

Growth Cultures

People crave meaningful growth, not just training. Great cultures make development personal, continuous, and human.

Active Trust

In uncertain times, trust grows when leaders consistently act with transparency, credibility, and employees’ interests in mind.

Unlocking Innovation

Innovation thrives when organisations reward curiosity, experimentation, and learning, even when ideas don’t succeed.

One Last Word

People thrive when they’re empowered to innovate and grow, supported by compassionate care in an environment of trust.

Global Appendix

Talent Magnet index scores and workplace culture outcomes across the world.

One Last Word

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Conclusion

Growth, compassion, trust, and innovation are all achievable and sustainable. High performance happens when organisations support their people as they do great work, day after day, through integrated, personalised, flexible, culture by design.

Employee recognition is a meaningful and effective way to amplify all of the outcomes in this year’s report and provide the care and support employees need to thrive. If you’re ready to put these insights into practice, here are the capabilities to look for in a recognition partner and platform. O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud® is built to support each of these strategies.

1. Organisational Compassion

Recognition naturally communicates care and supports the three pillars of compassion that are necessary for sustainable growth. Ensure recognition is frequent, equitable, and tied to a message of care. Provide offline tools and integrations into the systems your frontline employees use every day to recognise deskless workers, who need compassion, too.

2. Growth Cultures

Recognition reinforces growth that is mutually beneficial to the organisation and employees. Recognising effort, behaviours, and contributions over time, in addition to results, is crucial. Celebrating employee anniversaries, life events, and milestones is a meaningful way to show growth beyond revenue.

3. Active Trust

Recognition provides the connection and validation employees need to feel trust and perform at their best. It also reinforces employees’ sense of self and authenticity in the workplace. Custom awards provide one-of-a-kind, memorable symbols of each employee’s unique contributions and achievements at work.

4. Unlocking Innovation

Recognising employees for thinking creatively, sharing ideas with others, and acting on ideas is what unlocks innovation. Recognise employees often for trying new things, even if they fail. Public recognition reinforces the importance of the steps of innovation, no matter what the outcome. Team initiatives and everyday recognition ensure each step of innovation is seen and appreciated.

“Good leaders build products. Great leaders build cultures.
Good leaders deliver results. Great leaders develop people.
Good leaders have vision. Great leaders have values.
Good leaders are role models at work.
Great leaders are role models in life.”
—Adam Grant, Author, Professor, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Want to share these insights with your leaders? Check out our Leader Toolkit for actionable practices they can use to show compassion, create growth cultures, build active trust, and ignite innovation, so their employees can thrive.