What Are Some Of The Best Ways To Give Employees Recognition?

In recent years, employee recognition, engagement, and rewards programs have received a huge amount of attention. As the 21st century progresses and understanding of employee psychology improves, it is becoming clearer than ever that the happiness of a business’ employees may actually influence how the entire business is able to perform. 

Superficially, the idea is bizarre - how can recognizing the accomplishments of employees improve the way the rest of the business operates and performs?

However, when you dig deeper, the statistics and proof are undeniable...

 

• In a survey of 1,000 employees at a large business, levels of employee recognition showed a strong correlation with job satisfaction. Seven out of 10 employees who felt they received good levels of recognition were happy with their jobs; while only 39% of employees who felt they did not receive adequate recognition were happy in their roles.

 

• The data above is particularly important considering job satisfaction tends to relate directly to how productive an employee is in their role.

 

• Furthermore, the happier employees are, the more likely they are to remain in their role, which helps to improve staff retention rates.

 

• Employees who feel recognized in their roles are more likely to feel engaged with your company. Engaged employees are known to have lower rates of absenteeism and are generally more productive.

 

Given the above, we can conclude that employee recognition results in:

 

• Higher levels of productivity throughout the business. 
• Higher levels of employee engagement
• Lower costs due to improved staff retention rates and lower rates of absenteeism. 

  

Clearly, employee recognition is incredibly important and can have a real, measurable impact on how your business performs and - ultimately - the bottom line of your financials. Now that we have established the importance of employee recognition and engagement, we can look deeper into how you can implement these elements into your business. 

 

How can you give employees recognition?

 

• Provide individual recognition. It is far preferable to thank employees individually than as a group. A “well-done team!” is beneficial for overall staff morale, but employees tend to prefer to be individually appreciated as well. 

 

• Surprise time off. If your employees have been working hard on a project, surprise them with an impromptu extra hour at lunch or even a full afternoon off - anything that shows you recognize they have been working extremely hard, and that you are thankful for this.

 

• Public recognition. Use your business website and social media to publicly recognize the accomplishments and hard work of members of staff, either as a group or by introducing a publicly recognized “Employee of the Month”. 

How can you build employee engagement? 

• Encourage employees to get to know one another to help foster a cohesive environment. 

 

• Spend time with employees outside of work. Take your employees out for lunch in an effort to get to know them better.

 

• Hold regular brainstorming sessions. Bring together all employees on a regular basis to brainstorm ideas regarding the future of the business, and make it clear no idea is “wrong” - all contributions should be welcome, valued, and encouraged.

 

In addition… 

We have covered the basics of recognition and engagement, but there is an additional element you are going to want to consider that influences both of these areas: the management and reward of employees.

 

Why is it important to manage and reward your employees?

 

The management and rewarding of employees are important for both employee recognition and engagement. 

 

• With effective management, employees will feel they are being guided by a caring employer who wishes to ensure they are able to perform at their very best. 
• Rewards are also important in acknowledging a job well done, as well as acting as incentives that can make an employee feel more engaged with their working environment.

 

The importance of recognition is underestimated too often. You can get a detailed overview of why it is so valuable in Talentlyft’s article: Employee Recognition: The Key to Employee Satisfaction 

What is the best staff Reward & Recognition program?

 

There are thousands of different elements you can include in your staff reward and recognition program, but here are a few ever-popular examples that you may want to consider including… 

 

• Celebrations and rewards for long service or continued good performance - for example, bonuses for employees with low rates of absenteeism. 
• Opportunities for both peer-to-peer and employee-to-employer recognition of accomplishments.
• Accessible reward opportunities at a variety of tiers, so every employee can be eligible for something should they perform well.

 

In conclusion

 

By increasing staff engagement, recognition, and reward, your business as a whole will be able to enjoy huge improvements across a variety of different metrics.