5 Best Practices for Employee Recognition Programs

Interesting insights about Employee Recognition Programs

Thanking staff for their work used to be about numbers and longevity—the plaque for top salespeople, or the gold watch for retirees. Now that we know recognition is a motivator, not just a way to mark achievement, companies express appreciation more often. What’s the best way to engage employees through acknowledgment? Here are five tips to create a rewards program that everyone will appreciate.

Combine Types of Rewards

Take advantage of the full spectrum of ways to acknowledge good work. Simple verbal thanks or a group email singling out a star performance may generate that warm, fuzzy feeling even more effectively than a cash bonus. In fact, routine monetary rewards can easily lose their appreciative punch. People really want to hear praise when they know they’ve done well.

Seek out chances for both types of recognition. Reserve time during meetings and staff get-togethers to point out exceptional efforts and exchange thanks. Use space in a company newsletter or whiteboard to call out employee achievements. And give tangible gifts, raises, and bonuses for meeting objectives—or bringing in that big new client.

Make Thanks Personal and Valuable

It may seem fair to reward everyone in similar fashion, but a rigid system robs an appreciative act of its humanity. Focus on the unique contributions of those you are honoring. If your company culture hasn’t fostered that kind of familiarity, begin to build in time for getting to know each other better—at the start of meetings, at department potlucks, and through online interaction, such as sharing the results of coworker surveys.

Handing everyone the same inexpensive gift card almost makes a mockery of recognition. Instead, consider lunch from a favorite diner or a book on a subject the exceptional worker raves about. You can also offer a varied selection of sought-after gifts, like electronics or a trip to the spa, and let employees choose their own rewards for reaching certain benchmarks.

Tie Monetary Rewards to Performance

Money is an appropriate gift sometimes, but it should also carry meaning for the recipient. Awarding a percentage of new sales is a direct reflection of an individual’s successful job performance. Giving a cash amount that mirrors an employee’s years of tenure or number of reviews by satisfied customers personalizes a raise or a bonus check.

If you routinely recognize good work with cash, make sure that your staff knows about and understands your achievement scale and requirements. And demonstrate that one-time cash payouts or annual pay increases are only part of your overall program—by encouraging and thanking staff even when they are not being singled out for something outstanding. Remember that just showing up every day is part of great performance.

Include Everyone

Do you see the same folks earning acclaim each month? That’s a sure path to creating resentment, not motivation. Find ways for each job role to access the spotlight. If the tasks are truly rote, rotate your celebration of each employee.

Another way to include everyone is by delivering thanks before an audience. Witnessing appreciative gestures creates a healthy amount of envy—coworkers will try harder to do what it takes to gain kudos too. A private aside from the boss is valuable, too; especially when the boss lets everyone know about it later on.

Track Your Practices

Like any business initiative, a recognition program can be assessed for its effectiveness and inclusiveness. A spreadsheet that lists who earned what, and how frequently, will solve any favoritism problems. Surveying staff for opinions on your practices is also a must.

How well employees engage with their jobs is direct evidence of whether your acknowledgment system is working. Praise and gifts are meant to motivate. Self-reporting by workers as engaged or not engaged, via criteria you embed in a survey, can reveal whether you’re doing enough or need to do more.

When in doubt, just bring employees into the equation. Ask them how well you’re doing in giving positive feedback, in recognizing successes, and in expressing your appreciation for the people who move your business forward. Then ask them how you can do better.

Leadership speaker Chris Dyer is a recognised performance and company culture expert and author of The Power of Company Culture (Kogan Page, 2018).

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