Appreciation at Work Expands With New Membership Program Focused on Culture and ROI
Culture Starts With Leaders
The Growing Focus on ROI
Beyond Recognition Programs
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Appreciation at Work, best known for its workplace culture certification programs and research-based approach to employee appreciation, has launched a new Workplace Performance Membership designed to help individuals and smaller teams build healthier workplace cultures without pursuing full organizational certification.
In an interview with RRN, CEO William Attaway says the new membership fills a gap for organizations that want practical support, training, and resources but may not be ready for a company-wide culture initiative. The program provides access to Appreciation at Work's growing library of research, tools, training, and consulting support, enabling managers and small teams to implement proven culture-building practices on their own scale.
"We're coming alongside them and helping them build a healthy and sustainable culture over time," says Attaway. The program includes tiered pricing based on team size and is aimed at organizations with up to 100 employees or team members. Unlike the company's Certified Workplace Culture program, the membership is intended as a standalone solution for teams seeking ongoing guidance and accountability.
Culture Starts With Leaders
Attaway also challenges the notion that meaningful culture change must begin at the CEO level.
Drawing on years of leadership coaching and organizational consulting, he argues that managers at any level can create positive cultures within their own teams regardless of broader organizational challenges.
"Leaders create the weather," he says, noting that employees often experience culture through their direct supervisor rather than through corporate mission statements. The observation echoes a growing body of research suggesting that employee engagement, retention, and performance are influenced more by frontline leadership than by enterprise-wide communications campaigns.
The Growing Focus on ROI 
Perhaps the most significant shift Attaway sees is a growing interest in the financial impact of appreciation. While discussions around engagement and culture have traditionally focused on employee well-being and morale, organizations are increasingly asking a different question: What is the return on investment?
"The talk that is resonating most right now is the ROI of appreciation," Attaway says. He points to research indicating that employees who feel seen, valued, and appreciated are more productive, less likely to leave, and more likely to contribute discretionary effort. At a time when many organizations continue to struggle with engagement levels and employee turnover, leaders are looking for measurable evidence that culture investments improve business performance.
Beyond Recognition Programs
Attaway also draws an important distinction between recognition and appreciation. Recognition programs, he sysd, tend to focus on performance and accomplishments—what people do. Appreciation focuses on the person behind the performance.
Rather than viewing the two approaches as competing strategies, Attaway believes organizations achieve the greatest results when they combine both. As companies search for ways to improve engagement and retention in an era of AI, restructuring, and economic uncertainty, Attaway argues that human connection may become even more valuable.
"Appreciation happens person to person," he says. "It's individualized. And I think that's only going to become more valuable in the age of AI." For an industry increasingly focused on proving business impact, Appreciation at Work's newest offering reflects a broader trend: moving beyond activity metrics and toward measurable outcomes tied to culture, retention, productivity, and performance.
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 17th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
- ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards since 2020
Management Academy to enhance future equity value for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
Contact: Bruce Bolger at TheICEE.org; 914-591-7600, ext. 230.
