It has never been more important to appreciate employees for the work that they do. Especially in a time where organisations are on the road to recovery following the Coronavirus pandemic. In fact, a convincing study run by Deloitte showed that employee engagement, productivity and performance are 14% higher in organisations with a dedicated recognition programme than for those without.
So, if you’ve yet to introduce a recognition scheme in your organisation or simply want to make improvements to your existing programme, here are 6 creative employee recognition ideas that you can try now to instil a healthy culture of saying ‘thank you’ in your workplace.
- Encourage social recognition
A study by the IRF found that 79% of employees ranked social recognition as one of their most preferred methods of receiving acknowledgement. By promoting social recognition, or peer-to-peer recognition, you can provide a meaningful way for employees to come together as a community to celebrate successes and praise colleagues for their accomplishments. This is largely driven through technology such as employee recognition software, where staff can give ‘shout-outs’ at any time and from anywhere, with an instant experience similar to that of social media. And since there’s no hierarchical dynamic, literally anyone in your workforce can thank another team member for their valuable contribution.
- Sponsor a volunteer day
Employees often want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves and a great way to harness this is to enable your workforce to give back to a charitable cause. A day of rewarding volunteering might not only motivate your people but also boost teamwork and build purpose – two major factors when it comes to employee retention. Plus, by sponsoring this type of affordable staff appreciation activity, you’re showing employees that you recognise their concern about the world around you, and, as a happy bonus, you can shout about the great things the people in your organisation are doing to support the wider community.
- Give the gift of time
Time is precious and as work-life balance now supersedes financial rewards for many employees, there lies an opportunity to review working schedules to either give time back or provide more flexibility in working hours. This could include impromptu time off where you could thank employees by surprising them with an early finish for the day. You could also give bonus annual leave for special occasions such as birthdays or, if remote working isn’t yet a standard policy in your organisation, offer work-from-home days in light of significant events in your employees’ personal lives, such as their child starting school.
- Host an awards ceremony
If you already host company-wide events such as Christmas parties or summer barbecues, why not build in an awards ceremony as part of those proceedings? This needn’t be overly formal but can be a perfect excuse to gather everyone together to celebrate each other’s successes and increase engagement to keep your organisation’s bottom line going strong. With an awards ceremony, you can not only recognise and reward employees for their hard work but also ensure everyone in attendance gets a good feel for the type of contributions winners make. Consider categories such as top performers, best team player or employee of the year.
- Send a ‘thank you’ note
A handwritten note of gratitude is one of the simplest ways to give recognition but can be a great personal touch, especially in the digital world. With this type of ‘thank you’, show sincerity and be specific about why you are recognising the recipient, as this can often mean much more than a generic email or a passing ‘thanks’ as you walk by in the office. Whether it’s a quick post-it note placed on an employee’s desk or an actual card posted to their home address, this old school practice of showing appreciation can still make a big impact.
- Promote wellbeing
Wellbeing is a hot topic right now and will continue to be a high priority for organisations and employees alike. A great way to address this and employee recognition at the same time is to bring health and wellbeing activities into the office, showing that you care about your staff far beyond just their productivity levels. This could include wellbeing workshops, fitness classes and mindfulness sessions, all designed to help reduce stress and burnout – and you can even use your HR software to check that your health and wellbeing strategies are really working. After all, everyone deserves the gift of good health.
Discover how our social employee recognition software, Access Applause, can help your organisation harness the power of ‘thank you’. You can also learn more about the role of recognition and reward as part of the employee experience in our new HR guide.