Employee recognition programs are a great way to show your employees that you appreciate their hard work. Creativity is key when it comes to creating a successful employee recognition program that keeps your employees motivated and satisfied. Rewarding and recognizing your employees doesn’t have to be boring or costly. With a little creativity, managers can create an employee recognition program into a program that truly inspires and invigorates employees.
Set goals
The purpose of an employee recognition program is to recognize and reward work and behaviors that support the companies mission, goals, values and initiatives. Ask senior leadership for guidance/input about the mission, goals and values they want to focus on for rewards. Ask employees what behaviors they think should be recognized. Ask employees how they like to be recognized. Involve as diverse a group as possible in the design for your recognition program. Use the information to set up an employee recognition program that fits your companies mission, goals and values to everyday work and roles.
Set weekly or monthly rewards
Truly effective employee recognition programs give out awards weekly or monthly. These recognition rewards can be budget-friendly. A tried and true reward combination is time off with another non-cash prize. For example, you could award an employee with a half day off paired with a movie pass once a month. Another great method includes putting top performers names in a drawing once a week for a restaurant gift certificate. This allows you to offer exciting awards on a regular basis without blowing your budget.
Personalize rewards to your employees
Great employee recognition programs should take a personal approach. Personalization helps employees feel like they are cared about and understood. It shows that you take the time to get to know them. There are many ways that companies can get creative and personalize their reward system. If your company has a lot of sports fans, you can treat some of your top performers to a sports game. By paying attention to the workplace culture and giving your employees a reward that acknowledges their personal needs and interests. This creates a long-lasting boost in morale and enthusiasm.
Structure rewards
Rewards can seem spontaneous, but they should still be well planned out and operate within a fixed budget and structure. You can even allow your employees to take part in the structure of the recognition program. For example, managers could allocate points for good performance that employees can collect and trade for rewards. You could take it one step further by encouraging managers create their own bank of rewards and award their employees when they notice someone going above and beyond.
Share who is receiving recognition
Announce recognition when it happens, as it happens; or provide regular (monthly/quarterly) email, mail, or update your team during meeting. Share who is receiving recognition and who has recognized others. Make time in team or staff meetings for people to comment on the successes and achievements of their colleagues. Make sure supervisors know when someone on their staff has been recognized and by whom. Periodically send fun reminders to all employees to encourage participation.
Your rewards should come on a regular basis and your employees will appreciate the creativity, personalization, and structure in their rewards. Employee Recognition Program will create enthusiasm and motivation among your employees.
