Employee recognition programs are a valuable business tool, and can be especially important during difficult economic times. The regular practice of sincere appreciation and recognition can motivate employees and help to keep them engaged. Employees who feel appreciated will approach their work with dedication and are generally more committed to contributing to the organization.
Simple gestures like an email thanks or a sincere compliment will aid in retention of the workforce. Creating an employee recognition culture begins at the top and there are a few best practices that can aid in the process of making the recognition program a success.
Employee Recognition Program Best Practices:
- Have a Recognition Program Strategy. Document programs, including what behaviors will be recognized and how those activities will contribute to the goals of the company. Be clear and communicate these plans.
- Be Clear About Recognition Program Measurement. If it is being measured, it will get attention. Develop a standard to measure what constitutes success and share recognition when these levels are achieved. Be clear regarding who will give that recognition, whether that's management or peer-to-peer recognition.
- Equip For Success With Recognition Training. If managers are responsible for administering the recognition program, be sure to provide them with training that covers what, when and how to recognize their employees.
- Recognize Employees Publicly. Employee recognition is often implemented through an intranet, a newsletter or some type of awards event. There is great power to being recognized in front of a group of peers.
- Be Flexible With Recognition Programs. Adapt and be flexible if the initial program concept does not seem to work. Listen to employee and management feedback, and if warranted, be prepared to adjust the program. It's possible the levels were too high or too low. Don't feel that everything needs to be set in stone. If changes need to be made, be sure that they are applied consistently and clearly communicated to all concerned.
Employee recognition program best practices include having a planning meeting where associates can have input into the program. This will assure buy-in by all levels of the organization.
We are interested in what types of best practices you have used for your employee recognition programs. Please share if your programs are similar to these or if you have others that you feel are important
What types of best practices have you used for your employee recognition programs. Are they similar to these? Do you have others that you feel are important?
Company service awards and corporate employee recognition programs are effective at keeping morale uplifted and motivating workers when they are designed to help employees become more productive. The key to assuring happy employees includes some creative motivational approaches to traditional employment challenges.
In turbulent economic times, try some of the following suggestions to improve morale:
- Give employees control over their work. Being able to be a decision maker in a difficult situation is the #1 factor in determining the level of the stress for the employee.
- Create an environment where employees think and act like business owners. Being able to think like an 'owner' empowers the employee to do what it takes to get the job done.
- Coach employees to solve their own problems. Allow decision making and calculated risk taking.
- Build self-efficacy. Encourage employees to feel the “thrill of victory”. People grow stronger through challenges.
- Give goals to stretch their abilities. But also, be sure the team has the tools it needs to successfully complete assignments.
- Include subordinates and associates. Try to include all levels of the organization as much as possible in the operational execution of senior level initiatives.
- Celebrate the wins. When people feel their lives have meaning and purpose, they are better able to deal with difficult times. Taking time to celebrate success is important!
- Inspire your team. Encourage the team to rise above the challenges, to persevere and overcome.
- Share success stories. The more each employee believe he or she is part of a great company and that they are making a difference, the more inspired and courageous they will be in the face of adversity.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate. Research has repeatedly shown that “not knowing” is a major factor in adding additional stress to employees in challenging situations.
- Keep employees apprised. Allow the team to understand how it fits into the process along the way in order to gain support for company plans.
- Strengthen relationships. Research by the Gallup Organization and other firms has shown that when employees believe their employers care about them, they are more productive and loyal.
- Make time for the team. Focus on continual relationship building.
- Remove sources of stress. Look at eliminating ineffective processes, rules and obstacles so employees are able to do their jobs well.
Creating a self-sufficient workforce is important to the health of the organization. Particularly in a down economy, having a motivated and responsive workforce is critical. The last thing a company needs is sour morale. Instead, take the time and initiative to foster good employee attitudes.
We would love to know some of the challenges you've faced in motivating your workforce and how you achieved employee support. Let us know if you’ve used or initiated an employee recognition program and what the results were.
Creative employee recognition programs begin with determining what activities should be rewarded. The goal for the employee recognition policy should be to reinforce activities that help achieve the overall goals of the company. Goals can include increased sales, but they should also focus on improving customer service and retaining customers, or on process improvement. Doing things more effectively can result in reduced expenses and greater profitability; all of which are important to achieve.
Some of the types of activities that can be rewarded include:
- Longevity - Creating an incentive to reduce turnover can result in a greater return on investment on the time and expense spent training and retaining the best employees.
- Days without sickness - Many companies have adopted use-it-or-lose it programs to save money on unused sick days. This becomes an incentive for employees to take a day off and call in sick. To counter this effect, consider offering an incentive for days without sickness. This will result in greater productivity and lowered absenteeism.
- Exemplary effort - Create a reason to reward the employee who works above and beyond expectations. That will help to encourage that type of activity and behavior in others. All organizations love to have employees who want to work harder.
- Customer service - It's difficult to attract new customers in a down economy, which makes it that much more important to retain existing customers. Offer an incentive to your associates who do a great job turning difficult situations around or helping to retain upset customers. This can happen at any level of the organization and rewarding good customer service can result in many happy customers which is good for the entire organization.
- Sales effort - Most companies will reward their sales associates with commission based upon performance. But, sales can happen at any level of the organization. One option is to create a program that recognizes sales leads or sales efforts throughout the organization. Creative employee recognition programs can have huge payoffs when sales come from unexpected sources.
- Recruiting activities - If you have great employees, they can be an excellent source of potential new hires. Creating a program to reward new hire suggestions can attract new employees that will become terrific contributors to the company.
- Process improvement - Employees who work with a system day in and day out will be an excellent source of ideas to improve the process. By creating an incentive program to reward employee suggestions, this in turn often leads to process improvements resulting in greater efficiency and ongoing savings.
- Mentoring - Instead of having associates not share information, create a program that rewards mentorship. This has the double effect of helping new hires get trained more effectively and also recognizes the senior employees for their knowledge and skills.
Recognition and reward programs are a great way to have employees step up to the plate and help the company achieve its goals more efficiently. Having an employee recognition policy that has multiple rewards for employees encourages the types of behaviors that are associated with a great place to work.
We would love to know what other types of creative employee recognition programs you have been involved with, and what has worked within your company.
When defining a peer-to-peer recognition program, determining appropriate categories to reward will make or break the success of the program. Incentives should be fair and must be awarded for specific activities that move the company forward.
Some of the categories to consider include:
1. Good Citizenship
Actions of good citizenship are those that promote positive morale for individuals or groups. Examples of good citizenship may include:
- creating opportunities for groups to come together and work in unison towards a common goal
- "doing the right thing" without request or solicitation from another person or group
- sharing resources selflessly to help others and improve overall achievement, rather than personal achievement
- acting in a manner that would be considered a model for others to follow
2. Collaboration/Mentoring
There are many opportunities to help others and improve the organization by training and collaborating. Examples of exemplary collaboration or mentoring may include:
- being influential to others in meeting departmental objectives
- mentoring or providing assistance for others
- suggesting initiatives or changes that will support group productivity
- investing in coaching and/or mentoring newer associates
3. New Ideas/Creativity
It’s important to honor the creative problem solver who exemplifies individual effort towards new ideas or ways of doing things.
This award recognizes those who:
- develop a new or more productive way to achieve company goals
- work to develop interdepartmental solutions where the solution is in the best interests of company objectives and improves productivity
- create solutions for roadblocks where growth is halted or diminished
4. Going Above and Beyond
This person or group is continually looking for ways to improve. Examples of going “above and beyond” may include:
- Stepping up to provide superior service and response to internal or external constituents
- Looking for the best solution for the client in a way that fosters and enhances the business relationship
5. Overcoming Obstacles
This individual or group relentlessly works towards a solution, despite obstacles or resistance and is generally dauntless. They may:
- doggedly pursue the desired outcome despite adversity
- find a way to complete the mission, regardless of unexpected challenges
- meet unrealistic time constraints or achieve results despite limited resources
6. Unsung Heroes
Without expectation of acknowledgement, this individual or group works behind the scenes. Examples of this category may include individuals or groups that:
- reliably and consistently provide critical work that improves the flow of more highly visible operations
- improves work situations without frequent requests or prompting
Understanding peer-to-peer recognition programs and the power of prompt recognition by coworkers improves the overall process and moves the bar to more efficient and effective operations. When done with clear communication and defined categories of rewards, a peer-to peer program can create a positive and proactive work situation.
Peer-to-peer recognition can be a powerful motivational tool. Here are five key factors to keep in mind when developing a peer-to-peer recognition program:
- Specific feedback is always more effective a general compliment or praise. Be precise in explaining what the action was that prompted the recognition. Understanding why the behavior is appreciated is the first step to an employee repeating that behavior or similar behaviors.
- Involve your employees in the creation of the peer-to-peer recognition program. Participating in the development of the process encourages buy-in and support of the reward program.
- Create equal opportunities to give or receive feedback. Giving recognition to a teammate can promote camaraderie and improve morale. By creating a level playing field, it's more likely that your associates will participate in the program.
- Timely recognition is better than delayed rewards. Employees are more likely to be motivated if the recognition is timely and within a reasonable amount of time. The longer the delay, the less impact the peer-to-peer recognition will have.
- Include all layers of the team. Employees look to their managers, who should lead by example. Setting the standard for the recognition program and providing timely, positive feedback is a helpful motivator for workplace success.
Understanding peer-to-peer recognition best practices when implementing an employee recognition program can directly improve the results of the program. We would love to know if you have used any of these 5 key tactics effectively?
Employees are motivated by appreciation. As an employer, it’s important to take the right steps to creating an incentive program that rewards the correct behaviors.
Creating an employee motivational program has the additional burden of being hard to quantify. Quantifying employee satisfaction can be challenging. One option is to use the employee turnover rate to determine if Human Resources is doing a good job. Or, perhaps you’ve decided to use sales as a measure.
Regardless of the metric, once you've decided how to evaluate the program, it's then important to put together an incentive or motivation program that will yield results. Measuring those results will offer an estimate of return on the investment.
What do employees want?
One of the biggest factors in creating high morale in the workplace is that employees sincerely wish to be appreciated. A successful incentive program should be structured to reward the activities that will benefit the organization and the individual.
Below are 6 steps to creating an Effective Employee Motivation Program:
- Identify the behaviors you wish to reward
- Determine achievable goals
- Define what constitutes achievement
- Create a clear plan
- Communicate the plan
- Continue to monitor and share results
Investing in employee development and motivation only makes sense when you can monitor and gauge success. By designing the program around specific behaviors, the program can be measured and the return on investment can be quantified
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