Anna Straus: Creating an Employee Recognition and Appreciation Platform

In this episode, Sarah Tenisi speaks with Anna Straus, the CEO of Sparck, an AI platform that helps companies recognize, gauge, and retain employees.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:●      [01:12] The definition of “employee engagement”, “employee recognition”●      [02:44] The evolution of employee engagement and recognition●      [04:49] The importance of emotional intelligence for managers●      [08:02] How authentic leaders influence their team●      [10:21] Differences in different generations of employees●      [11:37] How to recognize team members other than with financial rewards●      [16:55] Pitfalls that companies with inefficient recognition programs face●      [20:14] Getting to know the humans behind your employees●      [22:15] How to know if recognition is something an employer cares about●      [24:39] How younger generations of employees are impacting recognition●      [25:59] How managers can become more emotionally intelligent●      [27:37] Achieving work-life integration, especially amid lockdowns●      [33:07] Sparck as an “employee relationship management” (ERM) platform●      [39:58] What is lacking in ERM solutions today●      [42:27] What the future workplace looks likeKey quotes:●      “‘Employee engagement’ is measuring the emotional commitment that the employee has to the organization: how passionate they feel, how willing they are to refer employees, and their overall loyalty to the organization.”●      “‘Employee recognition is one of the leading drivers of employee engagement. It’s recognizing the achievements or behaviors that employees have within the workplace.”●      “When a leader is authentic, they give their employees the permission to do the same.”●      “The physical reward is only half of the experience. The other half is, who and how is this recognition being received?”●      “When recognition is done well, it’s establishing and building stronger relationships within the workplace, especially with employees and managers.”●      “It’s those basic questions that come with genuine curiosity that start building relationships.”