What it is and what it's for#
Peer recognition lets people give each other points for something specific they have seen them do. It is not a values survey and it is not an appraisal: it is a quick, public gesture.
Each person receives an allowance of points per period to give away. These points can only be given, not spent: if they are not handed out, they are lost at the end of the period.
That expiry is deliberate. An allowance that never expires piles up and nobody uses it; one that expires every week pushes people to recognise now.
How to set it up#
It is configured once per project. There is little to decide, but the two figures matter a great deal.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Active | Master switch, on the company record. |
| Budget per period | Points each person receives to give away. |
| Limit per recognition | Maximum points in a single gesture. |
The relationship between the two defines the behaviour. With a budget of 100 and a limit of 25, each person can recognise at least four colleagues per period: the system pushes you to spread points, not to concentrate them.
If the limit equals the budget, almost everyone spends it all at once on a single person. A limit of between a quarter and a fifth of the budget is what works best.
What a recognition contains#
When someone recognises a colleague they choose three things: who, how many points (within the limit) and a message explaining the reason, to which they can add an emoji.
In practice the message is not optional: a recognition with no reason recognises nothing. If you communicate one single thing when you launch the module, make it this one.
What the employee sees#
- Their allowance: how many points they have left to give away and when they expire.
- A recognition wall with the project's public gestures: who has recognised whom, and why.
- The recognitions they have received, on their profile.
- Points received go into their balance like any other points: they can be used in the store and they count towards the ranking.
Frequently asked questions#
Can people from different teams recognise each other?
Yes. That is one of the reasons to have it: it makes visible the collaboration that crosses departments and that normally nobody sees.
What happens to allowance points that are not given away?
They expire at the end of the period. They do not roll over and they do not turn into the person's own balance.
Can someone recognise themselves?
No.
Can I withdraw an inappropriate recognition?
Yes, an administrator can withdraw it. It is worth watching the wall during the first few weeks: it is the earliest place you will see whether the tone of the programme has been understood.
Are all recognitions public?
Each recognition can be public or stay between the two people involved. The public ones are what appear on the wall and what build culture; the private ones are for anything sensitive.
Limits and warnings#
- The budget is handed out to everyone equally. There are no separate allowances by role or by level.
- Points received count towards the ranking. In very tight-knit teams this can turn into habitual mutual recognition; you spot it by looking at whether it is always the same pairs.
- A budget that is too high devalues the gesture. If giving away 100 points costs nothing, receiving them means nothing.
- Nobody gets a warning that their allowance is about to expire beyond what they see in the app. If you want it to be used, you have to remind people through other channels during the first few weeks.