Learn To Practice Effective Employee Recognition

It’s one thing to initiate an employee recognition program. It’s another thing to manage an effective and productive one. Follow these simple steps to execute a well-designed program that is tailored to motivate each employee.

Recognition should match the ideals of the company.

The vision of a company is often expressed through a mission statement and a core set of values. These set of values, or core values, are the foundation and building blocks for any recognition initiative, as the core values represent the desired behavior a company wants from its employees. This creates the blue print for why, who and how you reward employees. You don’t want to recognize employees just for the sake of it – you want to show that there’s a good reason for the rewards that are given. Keep the company’s vision and core values front and center, and your recognition program will be much more meaningful and will reinforce desired behaviors.

Communication is key to a beneficial recognition program.

In any program, it is important to develop a pattern and a clear-cut set of standards for which recognition is given. While it’s vital to tailor the act of recognition for each employee, it is just as critical to ensure the communication of recent recognition moments are shared across the organization.  Otherwise the employee may believe the program is fading and no longer exists.  Companies may start a program with a heavy dose of recognition moments and even communicate a few of them, but without a consistent communication strategy, it eventually goes stale. So consider taking pictures and use a recognition solution that tracks the stories (nominations) of why people are being recognized.  Then team up with corporate communications and make a special section within the monthly newsletter, TV monitors and posters to share such stories.  This will validate the program and why it’s in place.

Personalized recognition – learn what motivates different employees.

A common mistake companies make is trying to simplify recognition and give everyone the same recognition moment and reward. For example, an employee who simply did a favor might receive the same recognition as an employee who finished a successful project or campaign over a few months or even years. Managers and executives need access to a recognition system with multiple layers of recognition to really show employees that they are valued; For example, you could give a simple e-certificate for one employee who demonstrates teamwork for helping a fellow associate, and a $100 Gratitude Works! Card for an employee who was a mentor to a new hire. Learn to effectively recognize different levels of tasks at the office, and your employees will be more motivated to go the extra mile.

Drop the blanket “thank you” message. Instead, make each one special.

A greeting with a name is much more powerful than one without. This is important to remember when recognizing an effort by an employee. Give a passionate ‘thank you’ with a name, a firm handshake and a smile. Be specific when thanking someone. Go into specific detail on the effort, time and commitment made by the employee that warranted the praise.  Share how this person’s efforts benefited the company, whether through such things like efficiencies, savings, knowledge sharing or designing a new patent. Quickly acknowledging someone is easy. But a genuine ‘thank you’ is often overlooked and a missed opportunity for a manager to reinforce a positive behavior. So make it a point to add meaning to every act of recognition you show.

A well conceived and executed recognition program will reinforce core values, be communicated across the enterprise for others to witness, and will be flexible enough to motivate your diverse workforce.  When this is accomplished it will produce dramatic outcomes that will inspire employees who you never thought would change.  Desired behaviors, such as teamwork, that employees will demonstrate will help in driving higher levels of performance and productivity.  The studies already show the facts, if you increase performance and productivity; the company’s’ profitability is next in line!

To learn more about recognition programs visit  http://www.corecentive.com/info/Rewards-And-Recognition

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