Employee recognition is as relevant today as it’s ever been as a simple way of saying thank you and showing appreciation for a job well done - and that never goes out of date.
Introducing ways to give recognition on an individual or team basis is both positive and motivational and can reap benefits for your organisation, your workplace culture and your employee engagement levels.
So how does your organisation currently recognise individual contributions? Is it part of your underlying culture for staff to focus on their own efforts rather than noticing the input of others? Could more be done to encourage peer-to-peer acknowledgement?
We explore the power of employee recognition and share some quick tips on how to boost this key area of HR as part of the wider employee experience.
Why bother with an employee recognition strategy?
The business arguments are strong ones: improved employee experience and engagement, better retention, boosted productivity and enhanced teamwork. And there is little need to point out how all of these elements can also help to build profits and reduce costs. For many industries, retention of the best talent is a key challenge and employee recognition can even go some way towards identifying rising stars and ensuring they feel valued enough to stay put career-wise. A small ‘thank you’ really can mean a great deal when someone has made an additional effort to get the right outcomes.
Consider these 6 simple ideas to improve recognition in your workplace:
1. Give recognition promptly
If something has been done well, make it easy and instant for staff to recognise and thank the person concerned. Instead of quietly telling a manager who makes a note to raise it at the next team meeting (and then risks forgetting in the interim), digital recognition tools can enable staff to easily acknowledge colleagues’ achievements in the moment. The bonus being that smaller, more frequent boosts are far better for morale.
2. Say why recognition is happening
Yes, a generic ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ is nice, but a personalised response that describes why what happened was so special and appreciated is more meaningful and shows a more genuine acknowledgement of that contribution.
3. Don’t spend the earth when small gestures can be just as impactful
Public gestures of recognition can be effective and needn’t be expensive. An email to the whole organisation sharing the news of how an individual has made a positive difference gives them a great moment in the limelight and demonstrates to others the kind of behaviours which are really valued. Presenting a small gift or a cake to share are also nice ways to focus everyone on the good work carried out by someone special.
4. Consider annual awards
This strategy can work particularly well if there is a time during the yearly calendar when the whole organisation normally gets together. This can be a formal Oscar-style ceremony evening with nominations beforehand, an evaluation committee and winners announced with a fanfare – or they can be more informal, perhaps with fun elements included. Either is effective so long as the recipients are chosen carefully and with genuine interest.
5. Try a value-based reward scheme
With this approach, points can be earned depending on the number of acknowledgements given by colleagues and can be easily tracked through employee recognition software. Staff can save their points and put them towards a particular benefit or gift included in the scheme, providing a great incentive for employees to go the extra mile.
6. Remember not everyone likes to be the centre of attention
Not all employees are drawn to the spotlight and instead prefer to work hard behind the scenes. That’s not to say recognition is any less desired and so for these individuals, something else might prove more effective. Consider the impact of a hand-written card of thanks from the CEO for example. This is a kind response that may well mean a lot to the person concerned.
One final point
Bear in mind that modern HR software solutions have a whole host of useful features to help you develop your employee recognition strategy, from company-wide communication tools to pulse surveys that can help you to drill down to individual staff preferences and interests.
HR technology can also make it easier to embed peer-level recognition which is an effective way to up the ante and ensure that culturally your organisation becomes one where thanks and recognition aren’t simply ‘top-down.’ Making it easy for employees to use your system to thank or recognise their colleagues gives more opportunities to showcase a job well done and could even be linked to a quarterly or monthly prize draw for nominees. The possibilities really are endless.
Discover our brand-new employee recognition software, Access Applause, and find out how it can engage, motivate and connect your people.
Need more fresh ideas? Head over to the Access Applause Hub to view our latest resources on harnessing the power of recognition.