Companies that invest in employee recognition are among the most profitable, innovative and successful organizations in the world. They realize their most important asset is their people and every individual needs to feel appreciated for working hard and going the extra mile.
Employee recognition doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming or expensive. Here are five easy suggestions for giving your good performers the shout-outs they need, on a daily basis:
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Find out what really matters to people.
Survey your employees and find out how they like to be recognized. The key is to get to know each person as an individual, and reward them appropriately. For some, it may be tickets to a sporting event or family-friendly theme park. For others, it’s a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant or store.
- Not everyone wants public recognition. So, test the waters first. Some employees love being singled out at a town meeting, while others are more comfortable with a sincere, one-on-one “thank you” from management.
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Utilize social media.
Leverage social media platforms to extend your employee recognition reach.
- Highlight an Employee of the Month on your company LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Take this a step further by having a senior executive write a LinkedIn recommendation for a job well done.
- Your social media post can be as simple as “Congratulations, Jerry, for exceeding this month’s sales target.” Use animated gifs or emojis for added visual appeal, but keep your content professional.
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Gamify your recognition efforts.
As part of your recognition program, design games in which employees earn points or badges for hitting milestones related to their performance metrics.
- Options include having a “gotcha good” program, whereby other employees single out their peers for going above and beyond in their work. People can earn chips or points, and when they accumulate enough, they can select a recognition award from a catalog or list of offerings. (Hint: Company swag, like shirts, water bottles, lanyards and other items can be used as catalog items. This doubles as another way to keep your brand out there.)
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Acknowledge people’s passions.
Reward employees with a set number of hours each week to work on projects they’re especially passionate about – and not just those that are work or company related. For instance, it may be pro bono work for a local charity or participating in a blog related to a favorite hobby. When you value a person’s passions, they know you value them as well.
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Create a culture of recognition.
Build recognition into your company’s everyday language. As well as acknowledging milestones and big accomplishments, celebrate the contributions people make on an everyday basis. Recognize them in the moment. Make them – and others – realize that even the little things count toward overall business success.
- Timely recognition amplifies achievements. It reinforces positive behavior and incites others to imitate it, at the same time, it motivates the person being recognized to repeat the same awesome actions.
Looking to boost your corporate culture?
The talent management pros at Frontline Source Group can help as you build your company’s employee recognition program and weave it into a winning corporate culture. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.
