Employee Recognition: What you give matters
Most people love some kind of employee recognition for their accomplishments. Whether it’s for length of service or for achieving top marks in a sales promotion or safety record, giving a tangible memento is one way to show your appreciation.
However, what you give matters. Gone are the days when a gold watch for retirement was the epitome of recognition. Today, you need to make your employees feel appreciated along the way. Here are some ways you can do just that.
1. Social Media Recognition
Publicly recognizing your employees’ achievements or milestones creates great feelings for all involved. Consider making these recognitions on a regular basis, maybe weekly or monthly.
Weekly posts could be for smaller accomplishments like winning a contest or having perfect attendance, while monthly ones could be for things like maintaining a safety record or winning a sales goal competition.
You can even recognize accomplishments outside of work. Maybe an employee ran a marathon over the weekend or volunteers with underprivileged youth in the community. By acknowledging things that are important to your workers, you are acknowledging them and their value.
Here are some other things you can recognize on social media:
- Birthdays
- Work anniversaries
- Community awards
- Contest winnings
- Cost savings initiatives
2. Choices
Not everyone wants the same award for recognition, so one popular option is to give your workers choices. Many companies use a catalog system where there are different rewards for different levels of achievement. Some items might include:
- Destination vacations
- Plaques
- Jewelry
- Company coffee mugs and water bottles
- Sports equipment
- Gift certificates
The possibilities are endless – you could even make a donation to a charity of their choice for every so many points. The key is to have a variety of items at each level. And to find out what kinds of things to include, ask your employees. It will make them feel like they are part of the process, and you will be assured of having rewards that people actually want.
You can divide these levels in different ways.
A Point System
Employees can accumulate points through a point-enabled system to redeem for rewards or even save them up to get better options. Award points for accomplishments similar to the social media list above, as well as:
- Peer-nominated good works
- Perfect attendance
- Going above and beyond
- Encouraging others
- Customer satisfaction ratings
- Client compliments
You can literally give out points for anything important to you or your employees.
A Length of Service System
You can make this one part of the Point System by awarding points for each year of service, or you can set it up as an additional option. Base catalog levels strictly on years of service and award them at milestones like one, five, ten years, etc. An employee service award is a minimum standard program that should be implemented to recognize your employees on their “company birthday.”
3. Experiences
People know there’s life outside of work, and they want to know that you realize it too. By offering experiences as rewards, you acknowledge the need for well-rounded employees and understand the value of balance in their lives.
These experiences don’t have to be expensive. Consider things like:
- Golf outings
- Movie passes
- Amusement park tickets
- Spa days
- Sports tickets
- Theater seats
- Concert passes
- Restaurant gift cards
For larger contests, like yearly sales goals or many years of service, these experiences can be more over the top.
- Cruises
- Weekend B & B getaways
- VIP tickets to anything
- Box seats
The Bottom Line
When it comes to recognizing your employees or volunteers, it’s important to remember some key points. Make sure you are consistent and transparent about how rewards are earned. Make them equivalent across departments (the maintenance crew can’t exactly compete for sales awards). And for maximum motivation and respect, be sure you offer employee recognition rewards that people want. If you need help organizing a service awards program, reach out so we can have a conversation on how best to implement a plan for your company.
