According to research by OfficeVibe, “65% of employees feel like they don’t get enough praise” and “82% of employees think it’s better to give someone praise than a gift.” This is the key difference between rewards and recognition. Rewarding an employee with a gift as a means of recognition is great but sometimes all employees want to hear is “job well done.”
Here are ways that you can implement regular employee recognition in your organization:
1. Say “Thank You”
The simplest and one of the most meaningful forms of employee recognition–saying “thank you.” This one takes the least amount of effort but a little effort goes a long way with employee recognition.
2. Brag Board
Designate an area in your office in which managers and employees can write notes of appreciation for a staff member that went above and beyond.
3. Employee Highlights in Staff Newsletter
Highlight employee accomplishments, big and small, in a monthly staff newsletter.
4. Recognition in Staff Meetings
Set aside the first or last five-10 minutes of your staff meeting for employee recognition. Take this time to give employees and managers the opportunity to recognize someone for a job well done or a big win.
5. Shout Out on Social Media
Utilize your marketing team to schedule public recognition shout outs on social media. Use your employees name and thank them for what they contribute to the organization.
6. Interoffice Email
Encourage managers and leadership to send out an interoffice email recognizing the accomplishments of a department and noting them by name. Your staff will be happy to know their success stories are known to the management team.
7. Send a Note Home
Family is very important to many people. Send a note home to your employee’s family letting them know how valuable their family member is to the organization. If an employee has been working long hours to meet a deadline, this is an opportunity to thank them for the sacrificed family time their family member has made.
8. Wall of Fame
Designate a wall in your office as the employee “Wall of Fame.” Take an employee’s headshot and post it to the wall with a note about why they big win or significant contribution.
9. Enable Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Encourage employees, not just managers, to give a co-worker kudos on their accomplishments and thank them for their teamwork.
10. Show Them Off to Upper Management
If you are in a large organization, offer to introduce an employee to upper management. Let the upper management team know who they are and compliment their successes.
11. Celebrate Milestones
Congratulate employees on their work anniversary and thank them for their continued hard work and loyalty to the organization.
These are just a few of the ways to show recognition to your employees. You can implement and adapt any of these ideas for your organization. Be specific with your recognition and don’t forget to not only recognize accomplishments, but improvement too! Through these simple recognition tactics, you will be able to improve employee engagement.
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