Kudos for all

Design House JV is approaching the end of a challenging Phase 1 delivery period. A team of organisational psychologists created an employee recognition system called Kudos, to boost morale and wellbeing amongst employees. Statistically 70% of employees who experience more gratitude at work report fewer depressive symptoms and stress, and benefit from improved satisfaction and resilience.

Our paper will discuss the impact of recognition on wellbeing in the infrastructure industry and how it can be incorporated as good practice in future construction projects. Kudos enables employees to publicly share messages of gratitude. It upholds HS2’s key principle of respect and recognising value.

Feedback indicates that the system has inspired a supportive wellbeing culture, promoting visibility and appreciation. We collected feedback from focus groups and testimonials, and we will soon be running pulse surveys measuring the utility and effectiveness.

Recommendations for future projects:
• Draft clear guidance on how to express gratitude, so that all teams have a common threshold for appreciation and a shared language to express it.
• Explore behavioural nudging techniques that make gratitude a habit.