Three Ways to Mix Up Your Employee Recognition Routine

It is no secret that people love recognition and praise. The right kind of recognition can help to make a boring day an exceptional one. It can also be a tool for improving employee engagement. Recognition programs are standard in organizations throughout the world. Unfortunately, many recognition programs are predictable and stagnant from the employee’s point of view. Once a program is set up, it is too easy to let momentum and habit fuel recognition efforts. Don’t let your organization get into a rut; consider the following tips to keep your recognition fresh and meaningful. Do so, and you’ll enjoy more engaged employees who are eager to present their very best work.

1. Think outside of the (Cash) Box.
Employee recognition does not have to be financial. In the end, how you distribute your employee recognition rewards often matters more than what you distribute. Don’t limit yourself to monetary rewards – think about how you can reward with time (like giving an employee an extra hour for lunch), situations (like the President taking an employee out to lunch to say thank you), or sentiment (like a hand-written note expressing your gratitude.) Sometimes, the least expensive recognition techniques are the ones that employees remember best. They may not remember how they spent that $5 gift card, but they’ll probably remember your heart-felt praise.

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Five Effective Real-World Approaches to Employee Recognition

Employee recognition has proven to be an influential factor in employee retention, engagement, and motivation. Organizations that successfully and consistently implement employee recognition enjoy long-term stability and higher profit margins. To better understand effective employee recognition, we’ve outlined five guidelines for this management strategy, along with real-world examples for each approach.

1. Tailor your recognition program to your organizational culture. No one company’s program should be exactly the same as another’s. Your employees are unique and part of a similarly unique culture; thus, they require a culture-specific recognition program.

Example: In Keeping the People Who Keep You In Business, Leigh Branham highlights Henley Healthcare, a Texas maker of non-invasive medical products. Henley Healthcare polled its office staff to learn what kind of reward they would like for working long hours. The results were clear: 42% preferred time off, 22% preferred clothing, and 20% preferred tickets to cultural events. This information allowed Henley Healthcare to create a recognition program that reflects what its employees actually want.

2. Money is not the catch-all solution to employee recognition; in fact, it should take a backseat to other methods. For instance, time, affirmation, and personally-expressed gratitude are much more valuable commodities.

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5 Tips, 3 Approaches for Encouraging Peer-To-Peer Recognition

In his book The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard L. Florida highlights the factors that motivate creative workers like programmers and scientists. One of his conclusions is that increasing numbers of modern workers are motivated, at least in part, by peer recognition. This is why, even in today’s rocky economic climate, many people are willing to work for free on projects that they feel will win the respect of their peers. Fortunately, progressive managers are beginning to recognize the power of peer-to-peer recognition.

In addition to the motivational factor, many managers encourage peer recognition because they know that it is usually accurate. As Judith A. Hale explains in Performance-Based Management, peers may deliver more detailed, effective feedback, since they have more opportunities to observe their coworkers’ performance. As Ms. Hale writes, “It is not uncommon for the manager to be removed from where the work is performed and, therefore, rarely see what people do or how they do it.”

If you’re looking to develop a peer recognition program for your workplace, keep a few general feedback guidelines in mind:

1. Remember that specific feedback is more effective than general praise. Encourage your employees to be precise when complimenting their peers.
2. Additionally, you should involve employees in designing your peer recognition program. Avoid launching new recognition programs without ensuring that the whole crew is on board. Your new recognition procedures will be far more likely to take root if everyone in your organization understands why they are being implemented.

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