How to Get Executive Support in 2 Easy Steps

To successfully implement an inventor recognition program aimed at improving your company’s culture of innovation or solving a problem like low disclosures or grants, or simply updating an outdated program, you’ll need support from both your team and leadership. Usually that requires some effort before getting approval and a budget.

Securing this support often involves effort in convincing leadership of the organizational challenges and opportunities at hand, emphasizing recognition as a valuable solution. Their full commitment is crucial as they play a pivotal role in leading by example and championing participation. If you don’t have leadership on board with you yet, here is some information that will help.

Step 1: Cast A Wide Net

When you make your case for recognition, don’t just stop at your boss. Reach out to your whole team and other leaders as well. Not everyone will respond the same way. So, the wider you cast your net, the better your chance at getting people onboard. Hint: Ask leaders about their business goals and priorities and use that knowledge to show how recognition can help them achieve what they care most about. By involving a broad spectrum of leaders and aligning with their goals, you increase the likelihood of finding those who embrace the importance of recognition, thereby building a robust network of advocates to drive the recognition agenda forward within your workplace.

Step 2: Show The Potential Savings

Money comes from people. Most leaders agree that profitability is generated from great ideas, products, services, and innovation. All of those come from people. And not just your everyday average people, but engaged, enthusiastic, motivated people. The kind you get when you have a strong culture of innovation that generates an amazing day-to-day employee experience.

Not All Things Are Equal

While there are many things that contribute to a strong culture of innovation, recognition is one with a low cost-to-benefit ratio. The return is well beyond the investment. Share some of the facts below with your leaders so they see how recognition can drive success.

1.Keeping Great Employees

Gallup reports on employee engagement and workplace satisfaction every year. Disengagement and quiet quitting cost the global economy over 8 trillion dollars based on their report in 2023. Over half of employees are actively seeking or watching for a new job. The cost of replacing an employee can range from 1.5 – 2 times their annual salary. Losing just 10% of a 100-person organization that has an average salary of $50,000 could cost a company as much as $1,000,000 to replace.

Losing your best people often means losing your top performers, your best innovators, and your most effective problem solvers—people with the institutional knowledge to grow your business.

2.Improve Results

Imagine a workplace where employees are not just clocking in and out, but actively invested in the success of the organization. A workplace where recognition begets engagement and where engagement drives remarkable results.

This one is simple: a company that produces more with less usually has an advantage over the competition. However, the key is to foster this without placing undue stress on your employees. You can do this by creating a culture where employees feel valued and recognized for their contributions, and by doing so you unlock their full potential and drive remarkable gains in productivity. Gallup supports this with research where they found that organizations that score in the top half of the employee engagement assessment essentially double their odds of success compared to organizations in the bottom half.

Gallup’s research also found that improving employee engagement links to improvements in crucial business outcomes such as customer ratings, profitability, productivity, and quality as well as reductions in others like safety incidents, shrinkage, and absenteeism.

Consider your own company’s unique opportunities for growth. By combining your organization’s priorities with the proven benefits of employee recognition you can send a powerful message to your team that results matter. Explain to your leaders how investing in your people can yield tangible, measurable results that will propel your business forward.

A positive culture impacts employee motivation in a big way. Of all the “quiet-quitters” Gallup surveyed, 41% of them shared similar answers when asked “What would you change about your workplace to make it better?” One of their top responses… For everyone to get recognized for their contributions.

The path to success is clear: foster a culture of recognition, empower your workforce and watch your organization soar.