Employee recognition is an integral part of employee engagement and retention in the workforce. Employee engagement surveys conducted showed that employee appreciation was the top driver of employee engagement. It was one of the factors that strongly resonated with the surveyed employees to stay connected with their work. The entry of the Covid-19 pandemic further emphasized the importance of employee recognition, where employers had to prioritize employees’ well-being and safety.
Top workplaces know the value of appreciating employees, their hard work, and their contributions. Appreciating employees is the least expensive and most impactful way to build motivation among employees and drive productivity and Retention. Employee recognition is not something a company does at the end of the year, but it should be an ongoing process woven into an organization’s culture.
Understanding Employee Recognition Programs
Types of recognition programs and how they work
Recognition programs in companies vary and come in a variety of forms. As the company develops recognition programs, consider incorporating them for employees. Know the types of recognition programs that companies confer on employees-
- Nominations: Including employee nominations as part of a recognition program is a great way to appreciate employees that correlate with the company’s values. For example, a client-oriented FMCG company with the to “Put customers first” may conduct nominations for Most Creative Customer Problem-Solver of the year or quarter. Nomination programs in companies are flexible and can easily be adjusted as per the company’s budget, which focuses on the team rather than the individual.
- Praise: Companies follow some HR tools for HR-related work. Some HR tools help to praise the employees for a project being done successfully. Every recognition and conversation becomes easy to share on such tools, whether casual, impromptu peer recognition, or feedback. It helps to bolster the company’s culture.
- Rewards or Points Programs: Rewards or points programs allow employees to earn points from the management. It is praise that they receive for their excellent performance. Over time, those points can be redeemed for a gift card or other selection.
Employee Recognition Programs and Retention
Boost healthy competition among employees
Employee recognition programs bring in healthy competition among employees and they tend to perform more.
Job Satisfaction
High morale and satisfied employees work with more dedication and it affects the day-to-day running of an office. When employees are delighted with their jobs, they report to the office and work each day with full enthusiasm. Another reward could be extended holidays. One of the popular global companies offered its employees an extended holiday so that the workforce could take an extended week’s break; instead of just one day for Thanksgiving, it gave paid leaves for 3 days. Workers working in different parts of the world celebrated the occasion well and resumed work with greater satisfaction.
Higher Productivity
When employees are highly appreciated, they show up to their work without any miss. Employees’ recognition motivates them to put in extra effort. There’s a saying that what gets recognized gets repeated. When a company recognizes hard work, innovations, and out-of-the-box thinking, then employees’ productivity also increases.
Increased Employee Loyalty
In extension to the previous point, when there is higher productivity, there is higher loyalty. When there’s more engagement with the company and its brand means more honesty is involved in selling the organization and its products. Recognition and rewarding hard work generate employee loyalty and build an emotional bond with the organization.
Best Practices for Employee Recognition Programs
Feedback and rewards and Recognition
Recognition badges should usually be reserved for specific achievements. For example, when an employee completes any training course in their career, the company should recognize that achievement by giving badges on social media platforms. Badges are displayed on employee profiles and help to build up their digital identity. It not only represents an employee’s career achievements but also helps to build the company’s identity. Badges are the recognition for celebrating any employee’s career milestones by bringing him to the spotlight. Departmental recognition and HR teams can also use badges to drive top-down recognition strategies and empower leadership to motivate the workforce.
Recognizing Teams as well as Individuals
Team recognition is the best way to keep employees’ morale up, which can be shown in various ways, whether through monetary or public acknowledgment of an employee’s efforts.
However, Glassdoor’s research found that the second way (public acknowledgment) is often the most effective way to keep employees motivated to do work. 80% of employees said they would be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss, and 70% said they would feel better about themselves when their reporting boss thanked them more regularly. A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way. It is imperative to introduce Gen-Z to the workplace, who prefer to get meaningful recognition for their efforts regularly that align with their values. Money is no longer the sole driver of employee satisfaction and happiness. The ability to say thanks to your colleagues in the workplace takes more of a concerted effort.
Conclusion
Employee recognition has been a cornerstone in people management and employee retention strategy. But it is still an art that few companies have mastered. To acknowledge and appreciate employees’ work, it is important to look beyond the measurable outcomes that have contributed to the company’s achievements. Some companies always review employees’ rewards and recognition practices to appreciate them for their success. Rewarding your employees is very simple as accommodating personal responsibilities and side projects and getting time for their social life that can boost their work-life balance. Recognition can also come in the form of flexible work arrangements that companies need to accept and implement.