5 Best Practices for Employee Recognition and Appreciation
Dec 26, 2022
Description:
The past few years have been difficult for employees through the pandemic. We've seen record levels of burnout and resignations. With many people shuffling around in the labor market, employers have brainstormed ways to provide support and retain employees. One simple, yet successful method, is having a great employee recognition program.
Recognizing employees is a great way to show that you care about their well-being and success. Make sure the recognition activities are meaningful by considering what they've done for your company, not just the countless hours they've worked. Be specific in acknowledging their achievements and always communicate three things: a huge thank you, reinforcing good behavior, and lastly, expectations moving forward. Here are some ways to do that.
The Importance of Recognizing Your Employees
Recognizing employees benefits the employer as you grow, retain, and hire new employees.
Benefit #1: Improved Employee Performance (And Therefore Business Performance)
According to Quantum Workplace, when employees believe employers will potentially recognize them for good work, they are 2.7x more likely to be engaged. A highly engaged employee is more attuned to the business's success. As a result, they are more focused and driven to impact assignments and projects positively.
Benefit #2: Improved Employee Retention
Quantum Workplace also notes that organizations with formal recognition programs have 31% less voluntary turnover than organizations without a program. In a time when employee departures are a national issue, 31% less turnover is a significant benefit.
Benefit #3: Boosting Your Employer Brand with Potential Candidates
Consider that engaged employees are more likely to refer their friends, former colleagues, and network. Additionally, a great employee appreciation program allows you to showcase your commitment to developing employees. That, in combination with an effective employee referral strategy, builds your employer brand, making recruiting and hiring much more manageable.
5 Best Practices for Employee Recognition
1. Establish criteria for work performance.
To be objective, it is important to establish benchmarks and metrics to earn recognition. Of course, these goals should relate to an individual's role and be achievable. An objective that feels too big isn't motivating - it'll feel like the reward is out of reach.
2. Make sure performance benchmarks agree with company culture.
Your employees' goals should align with the company's best interest. If benchmarks and culture contradict, you'll have a workforce full of people disrupting your company's mission... and you'll be rewarding it.
3. Create a culture of consistent formal and informal feedback.
Your employee recognition system should be as transparent as possible. Employees should be aware of recognition opportunities, rewards, and expectations following it. The best time to discuss these opportunities is during performance reviews.
You could also consider using a performance management system to track feedback — positive and critical. This could serve as additional validation for when, why, and how employees are being recognized.
4. Get to know your employees.
Not everyone appreciates recognition in the same way. Some companies use a variation of the "Love Languages" quiz to evaluate employee personalities. From this, managers learn how employees like to be rewarded most.
For example, some employees appreciate "words of affirmation", so a simple shoutout at a team meeting would be meaningful. Other employees might hate being put on the spot and called out in a meeting. Perhaps they would rather receive an act of service, such as providing extra assistance with their next big project.
It’s also important to know who should give the praise. Would praise be most meaningful from a peer, an immediate manager, or a senior leader at the organization?
5. Provide opportunities for improvement and advancement.
Recognition should not just be in the form of shoutouts and gifts but also career advancement. Make sure there are opportunities for career growth tied into your recognition strategy.
Additionally, if you have employees who struggle to meet benchmarks, have conversations with them about why. They may require additional skill development or training.
10 Employee Recognition and Appreciation Ideas
- Financial Recognition with Quarterly Bonuses - The recognition employees seek most is economic benefits through bonuses, commissions, or salary increases.
- Shoutout in a Team Meeting - Announce an employee’s recognition in a team meeting. Sometimes seeing your colleagues congratulate or celebrate you makes you feel more connected to your work environment.
- Thank You Card - Not all recognition needs to be a huge to-do. Sometimes a thank you card can go a long way!
- Leadership Role on a New Project - Recognize an employee’s success by giving them more responsibility in areas they’ve proven success in.
- Breakfast or Lunch at Work - Consider allowing the recognized employee to choose a caterer or small restaurant to provide breakfast or lunch for the office.
- Company Swag - Consider a swag item that only employees who achieve certain milestones or hit quotas can earn. The visibility of the swag will motivate more employees to strive to attain the same recognition!
- Feature Employee in a Newsletter - Create a section in your internal communications channels for recognizing top employees.
- Provide an Extra PTO Day - Increase employee benefits when team members achieve a key milestone — like adding an extra PTO day or providing a free parking spot.
- Lunch with an Executive - Provide access to a member of the C-suite for your team member who earned recognition. This could be lunch, a phone call, or a meeting to discuss their career growth at the organization.
- A Trophy - While it may seem silly, sometimes something as simple as a trophy or certificate that employees can keep on their desk is effective recognition.
Conclusion
Recognition is a powerful tool for motivating employees and keeping them happy. It’s also been shown to have tangible business benefits, such as increased productivity and decreased turnover rates. That’s why it’s essential to have a recognition program that meets the needs of your employees and your company. We’ve shared some best practices and ideas for employee recognition. So just remember, a little recognition can go a long way in boosting employee morale and driving results.
Video transcript
The past few years for employees have been difficult due to the pandemic and overall shifts in the work environment as an employer. One of the most impactful ways to boost employee morale during these hardships is by recognizing employees hard work and perseverance. So let's examine the best practices for employee recognition before you start take a moment to establish a relationship with your employees and learn how each one likes to be recognized then set individualized goals by setting goals employees know how you will measure achievement doing this will create a mutual understanding of success and reward. Once your criteria is personalized strive to create a culture of consistent feedback use a performance management system to track and know all feedback over a given time when it's time to review employee performance. This will help increase the quality of your input next provide opportunities for advancement recognition can be in the form of gifts and raises, but it should also Line with career growth adjust employees workplace goals over time to closely resemble the responsibilities of a higher senior role. It may be time for a promotion if they consistently reach their benchmarks lastly make sure to utilize different recognition methods these could vary from a shout out in a team meeting a leadership role in a new project a quarterly bonus slash raise or a promotion employee recognition is a crucial part of any well operating organization. Remember these essential practices to ensure your employees are adequately recognized and feel appreciating.
