Four Ways to Boost Your Employee Recognition Program

Employees put 40+ hours a week into the companies they work for, spending the majority of their days away from their families. Employees are expected to do everything necessary to help run the business in a cohesive manner. It’s a lot of work keeping a business in the black, and the jobs your team is tasked with can sometimes be quite thankless. If you want to keep your employees happy, you won’t want it to stay thankless for long.

Ensuring your employees are feeling well cared for is the first step to building a strong foundation of employee retention. Having an effective recognition system in place creates a mutually beneficial relationship for both employee and employer, and reinforces positive employee behavior. But sometimes even the best of programs need a little help. Here are four ways to boost your current recognition program.

Talk It Out

The most important thing to an employee recognition program is for the employee to feel recognized. This will not happen unless someone tells them. This could be in a company meeting in front of everyone, or simply a verbal pat on the back. Know your audience and your employees. You don’t want to put an individual in an uncomfortable position. 

Write It Out

If someone is performing well, you don’t want it to go unnoticed or forgotten. Writing a letter or commissioning an award plaque are great ways of telling your employee how well they are doing, and to “keep up the good work.” Make sure to keep a record in their employee folder so management doesn’t forget either. Better yet, have management sign the letter too, so the employee doesn’t forget you noticed.

Pay It Out

Employees like money. It is one of the reasons they work for you. So if you want to make them feel appreciated, add a monetary value to your recognition. It comes back to the saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” Committing capital to the gesture makes your appreciation seem more genuine. Anything from gift cards to a bonus will help make them feel valued in the company.

Shout It Out

There are various ways to recognize your employees in a public setting. Making it public does two things. It shows to the employee that their achievement is worth celebrating, and it sets an example of what the employers are looking for in their company.

One of the ways you can make your recognition public is by presenting the employee with a corporate award plaque such as an employee of the month award or an employee of the year award. For an employee of the month or employee of the year, you could recognize them with a perpetual plaque or a photo frame plaque to hang in the office. This leaves a lasting record of their achievement, and in turn, motivates the other employees to do better. Visit PlaqueMaker.com today to learn more about corporate award plaques.