In the words of Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru, “People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards.”
Of course, employees work for salaries that are get credited in your accounts every month, but it’s a joy for one day. Rather, when an employee is praised for the hardship and great work, the joy lasts long. Isn’t it?
Employee recognition is essential to boost the morale of the employees, and also, beneficial for an organization to accomplish objectives and goals quickly. The organizations who acknowledge the work of their employees can seriously tune the return on Investment (ROI) up to 50% in tandem with the 20% increase in business outcomes. Because when we all feel appreciated, the zeal to work more start developing!
Some employers don’t feel the need for employee recognition and treat it as an unnecessary practice. But it is definitely a good program for every company, which also helps in understanding your employees in a better way.
Ever wondered what can be the best employee recognition ideas for your organization? No? Then, you definitely need to read ahead, what employee recognition is all about in detail and what are some great tips for employee recognition.
What is Employee Recognition?
In the words of Pamela Stroko employee recognition is, “People want to know they matter and they want to be treated as people. That’s the new talent contract.”
Employee Recognition is basically a practice of acknowledging the employees, their work and hardships that works in alignment with the company’s objectives and goals. To keep it simple, giving the due credit of the good work done by the employees or team.
Undoubtedly, employees deserve to be respected at the workplace, and for that, employer and employee both should value the work and realize the worth. Employees too need to realize their worth and understand that they deserve recognition or appreciation of the work they do! Not only it boosts the morale, but beneficial in productivity too. Employees feel motivated and encouraged to give their best and prepare themselves for the upcoming bigger challenges.
Further, employee recognition is also necessary to give employees a sense of belongingness, which inspires them to go the extra mile at the workplace. As ‘productivity’ is the new buzzword these days among organizations, be it small scale or large scale; thus, employee recognition strategy is what they must opt for, to enhance their productivity!
Facts about Employee Recognition
Now, let us move forward and know about some of the amazing facts about employee recognition.
Fact 1 – To boost the morale of your employees, employee recognition is the best approach and cost-effective too. To inspire them for their work and productivity, motivating employees is an essential thing to do.
Fact 2 – Those companies that frequently organize employee recognition programs can experience a positive impact at the workplace. 83% of leaders have reportedly said that their organization had a positive work culture after employee recognition programs.
Fact 3 – Employees who feel motivated and appreciated always go the extra mile the organization. If their efforts and contribution are appreciated enough, then employees definitely work harder for the organization to grow and succeed.
Fact 4 – To bridge the communications gaps and build trust among the employees and employer, recognition programs help a lot. Almost 50% of employees feel that they can improve their work and develop trust if they are appreciated by their managers and leaders.
Fact 5 – Peer-to-Peer recognition is more effective than the recognition from managers and leaders. Of course, when managers and leaders appreciate the work of the employees, they start working harder. But if there is a peer-to-peer recognition, then there is a positive increase in customer satisfaction.
The leaders across the world agreed that employee recognition programs are an effective strategy.
7 Interesting Employee Recognition ways that an Organization can Implement
“People may take a job for more money, but they often leave it for more recognition.” – Dr. Bob Nelson, best-selling author and motivational speaker
The quote sums up well, isn’t it? Now, let’s step ahead to look at some interesting employee recognition ways that an organization can implement easily.
- Unforgettable and Personalized Recognition Award
Nowadays, it is important to go for customized rewards to appreciate your employees. The personalized reward will cater to his/her individual needs, and it will be unforgettable. However, it is a challenging job for employers to deliver a meaningful and personalized recognition reward to their employees. And, in the end, we do status quo exercise, which doesn’t have any impact as you would have expected.
Unlike status quo recognition, corporate gifts or incentives drive more engagement. With cash or gift cards, employees can get a meaningful experience that they must be looking for some days or months, and they will surely remember it forever.
- Peer Recognition Rewards
Peer recognition is equally essential for the employees just like manager-recognition! An organization must have a scalable and accessible work culture recognition from everyone, be it peers, managers, or leaders. To empower your team to do better on job, peer-recognition rewards are pivotal. There are many platforms for the employees where they can send some small rewards and bonus points to their peers to appreciate them for their work and success. For instance, BONUSLY is a platform where they can send small and public bonuses to each other every day. Then, they can redeem the bonus points for gift cards, prizes and donations. Platforms like Bonusly enriches the culture of an organization, improve the engagement and reduces the turnover.
- Recognize them on Social Media Platforms
Social recognition of employees is important and a great way to share how proud you are of your employees, but it also helps build your employer brand by putting your culture and values on display for the world to see. Take to your company’s Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn social media platforms to recognize your employees in a public setting. Moreover, the employees who get social recognition likely to share social recognition posts with their followers, creating brand ambassadors that represent your organization well.
When recognizing employees on your social channels, highlight who they are, their job role, what they’ve done to deserve recognition, and how it impacted the organization. Be sure employees are aware of what you’re planning to share and are comfortable being recognized publicly first. Not everyone wants a place in the public spotlight!
- Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day
National Employee Appreciation Day is celebrated on the first Friday of March each year. It’s an ideal chance to show your employees how much you meant to them. When organizing Employee Appreciation Day, you have to make sure that you consider all of their accomplishments and years of service. You can even extend it to the entire week where you can organize other activities like contests, team-building activities, food stalls and other wellness activities. Also, you can align the activities according to the company’s culture and employees’ interests. You have to take care of both of them!
For instance, Facebook celebrates “Faceaversaries” throughout the year with balloons and of course, some amazing posts too! For employee recognition, especially for the long-term employees, Q&A sessions are organized, and they are asked to share their favourite memory from their time working at Facebook!
So, you can also organize Q&A sessions with your employees to know them better and give them a platform to share their thoughts and ideas about the organization.
- Employees Wall of Frame
What about the employees’ wall of frame idea to give due recognition of your hard-working employees? Sometimes words are not enough, and thus, you can appreciate your employee’s hard work and accomplishments with a wall frame. Also, this is something funny to look at it!
To highlight the accomplishments of your employees and team members, you can put a wall frame on display for all to see. Snap photos of your employee’s accomplishments or take candid shots of them hard at work. Encourage other employees to post notes of gratitude for featured employees around their photos. You can also use the wall to highlight team wins with photos of the team and any major projects they’ve completed together.
- Offer Professional Development Opportunity
You have to understand your employee’s strengths and weakness as a leader, which is beneficial in an organization’s development too. According to a survey conducted, 71% of employees believe that if their managers name their strengths, they feel engaged and energized on work!
Hence, identifying your employee’s strengths is helpful in letting them pick out an upcoming special project to work on. It shows that you trust them to keep accountable for their responsibilities and continue to grow. Another great way to do this is by asking them to serve on a Culture Committee or to mentor a new employee. These all serve as professional development opportunities where workers get to try new things and build their skills.
- Appreciate their Efforts with a Surprise Treat
Everyone loves to be surprised with a form of gratitude. And sometimes gratitude in the form of food is the best way to go! After an employee has left for the day, stick a candy bar, their favourite snack, or treat in their desk drawer. They’ll be excited to start their day off on the right foot after they’ve found their tasty surprise.
You can be more creative and fun while appreciating your employees!
CONCLUSION
So now, you must be aware of what is employee recognitions and what are some interesting ideas and ways to do it! At Oddy Uniwraps, I make sure to organize employee recognition activities to boost their morale and productivity. Some of the Tips Mentioned Above For Employee Recognition is what you can opt for your organization too! Because employee recognition activities should be planned and practised in every organization to motivate and encourage them for their constant hard work! To know more about the employee recognition ideas, get in touch with the Expert Businessman, Atul Garg!