These days, we know that employee recognition is incredibly important in the workplace. Everyone feels great when their hard work is noticed and appreciated. On the other end of the spectrum, it can be very frustrating when you do good work and no one seems to care. Many studies have shown that one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs is because they don’t get positive feedback from the HR department and management team. Here are a few easy employee recognition ideas for HR professionals and managers who want to boost performance and engagement.
One of the quickest, easiest, and most effective ways to revamp your employee recognition strategy is by creating monthly awards. The possibilities are nearly limitless here and you can tailor these monthly awards to suit your particular workplace environment and to encourage specific behaviors. HR and management can get really creative with the types of monthly awards you want to offer your employees. For example, you can hand out a handiness award each month to the employee who fixed the most things around the office, a best smile award to the employee who smiled the most, or a cooperation award to the employee who went above and beyond in their teamwork. The goal here is to consistently remind your employees that they are appreciated and soon enough you’ll see that your employees are more inspired and in better moods.
Another great and simple employee recognition idea that will really pick up your team’s spirits is a weekly encouragement meeting. If you want to send your employees into the weekend with a positive perspective, HR and management can decide to host an encouragement meeting every Friday. This will give the entire office an opportunity to gather together and offer praise to each other for the great work they did during the week. This type of employee recognition is beneficial because it allows everyone to receive praise in public, and public recognition of your hard work can feel amazing and encourage even more positive work habits.
Some huge companies like Facebook and Google are famous for cool workplace perks, but even smaller companies can utilize perks to enhance their employee recognition strategies. HR professionals and managers who are particularly interested in hiring and keeping Millennial employees should definitely consider offering unique benefits. Employees love perks because they are tangible reminders that you care about them and appreciate them. One option for employee recognition perks is offering a half-day every other Friday during your slow months. Perhaps you can allow your employees to work remotely one day a week. Set up some healthy snacks and drinks in the breakroom to encourage employees to take a break from their desks and refuel. Even simple perks like these can show your employees that they are valued and when employees feel valued, they are more apt to do a better job.
Employee recognition doesn’t have to be a huge financial burden or a complicated program. Starting with a few of these easy employee recognition ideas will open the door for HR professionals and managers to create even better relationships with employees.