{"id":5684,"date":"2026-01-07T16:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T10:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/en-in\/?p=5684"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T07:40:49","slug":"beyond-applause-the-roi-of-recognition-bi-worldwide-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/en-in\/our-work\/blog\/beyond-applause-the-roi-of-recognition-bi-worldwide-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Applause: The ROI of Recognition in Business Performance\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\tBeyond Applause: The ROI of Employee Recognition in Business Performance<\/strong>\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Recognition is evolving. It\u2019s no longer just an engagement or cultural practice \u2013 it\u2019s becoming a business strategy. At BI WORLDWIDE<\/a>, we place employee recognition at the strategic intersection of engagement, culture and business results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognition fuels engagement by making people feel valued. However, engagement alone can ebb and flow over the lifecycle of an employee and an organisation, as they go through successes, changes and challenges. That\u2019s where culture kicks in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A culture of recognition sustains performance by continuously reinforcing the key behaviours and outcomes that matter to your business. Our global New Rules of Engagement research backs this up \u2013 the more employees you recognise, the stronger your culture of recognition. When ALL employees are recognised, they feel connected to the culture, driving business results and improving the ROI of employee recognition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees who feel included are 6X more likely to put in maximum effort,
17X more likely to say that their work brings out the best ideas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The message is clear: Recognition is not just central to\u00a0employee engagement programs<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>but also to work culture and when executed strategically, to business outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At SHRM India Annual Conference 2025\u00a0\u2013 industry\u2019s most niche gathering of experts in Rewards and Recognition (R&R) space \u2013 BI WORLDWIDE<\/strong>\u00a0hosted an exclusive panel discussion to reinforce this\u00a0takeaway\u00a0and help HR leaders turn their recognition spend into bottom-line results through\u00a0strategic employee recognition\u00a0programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rupak Ray<\/a>, VP \u2013 Customer Success & Strategic Solutions\u202f(BI WORLDWIDE India) brilliantly\u202fled the\u202fsession\u202f\u2013\u202fBeyond Applause: The ROI of Recognition in Business Performance, <\/strong>featuring people-first CHROs and HR leaders from top organisations \u2013\u202fDebasis Sarkar<\/a>, EVP\u202f\u2013\u202fGlobal C&B and Enterprise HR Head\u202f(HCLTech),\u202fRicha Sethi<\/a>, Global Head \u2013 Performance & Talent Management\u202f(UST Global) and\u202fSubneshSharma<\/a>, Sr. Director \u2013 HR Strategy\u202f(VVDN Technologies). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next wave of recognition: Not just inspiration-driven, but impact-driven<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The session spotlighted how\u00a0Rewards and Recognition (R&R) programs\u00a0are transforming from an engagement or culture-building initiative to a\u00a0strategic business growth enabler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, engagement and culture have long been the goalposts for\u00a0R&R programs.\u00a0However, when it comes to measuring the impact of R&R programs, HR leaders often end up with transactional metrics like total number of recognitions, volume of redemptions, types of rewards redeemed, etc. No focus is laid on measuring the real business impact through metrics like productivity, talent retention, customer satisfaction and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s time to elevate\u00a0R&R programs\u00a0from just a \u2018feel-good\u2019 initiative to a data-driven business performance lever that\u00a0directly impacts the ROI of employee recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring the business impact of recognition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The session opened up with a thought-provoking question \u2013 How are leading organisations tracking the ROI of employee recognition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting how new-age R&R programs are tied to business results, Debasis Sarkar remarked, \u201cRewards and Recognition (R&R) programs can vary from being soft-touch (instant recognition) to hard-touch (coveted recognition), for catering to a mix of generations in the workforce and driving diverse business KPIs. While the first level outcome of R&R is soft-touch \u2013 instant engagement, it often unlocks hard-touch outcomes in the long run like talent retention, productivity, succession planning of leadership and more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debasis substantiated his insight with the instance of HCL\u2019s niche R&R program called \u2013 Superchargers League. The program selected top 50 leaders across the organisation, following a rigorous nomination and screening process by business heads, including the CEO. Finally, the 50 leaders were felicitated at a grand awards ceremony, in the presence of directors and senior board members. This hard-touch, strategic employee recognition move was directed towards a precise business outcome \u2013 building the next generation of leadership, ready to take up additional responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Richa Sethi underlined the importance of data-driven Rewards and Recognition (R&R) programs, that empower top organisations to achieve measurable business results. She stated, \u201cWhat gets measured often turns into a business imperative. Tracking data-driven insights from R&R programs like \u2013 change in retention, discretionary efforts by teams, client outcomes and more \u2013 can link the programs directly with strategic organisational priorities and improve the ROI of employee recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panellists also shared other actionable strategies to elevate the business impact of R&R programs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n