Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviours you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

 
The Five Most Important Tips for Effective Recognition

You need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes behaviour or actions that deserve reward.

1. All employees must be eligible for the recognition.

2.The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviours or actions are being rewarded and recognized. Which when you think about is just good management practice.

3. Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.

4. The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behaviour the employer wants to encourage.

5. You don’t want to design a process in which managers “select” the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as “favouritism” or talked about as “it’s your turn to get recognised this month.”

This is why processes that single out an individual, such as “Employee of the Month,” are rarely effective. I think we have all been in hotels and restaurants where the employee of the month board is patently not being used and almost sits there like a memorial to a defunct system.

A Working Example of Successful Recognition

A client company established criteria for rewarding employees. Criteria included such activities as contributing to company success contacting clients without being asked to help by a supervisor. Each employee, who meets the stated criteria, receives a thank you note, hand-written by the supervisor. The note spells out exactly why the employee is receiving the recognition.

The note includes the opportunity for the employee to “draw” a gift from a box. Gifts range from restaurant gift certificates to weekends away and substantial cash rewards.

The employee draws the reward, so no supervisory interference is perceived. A duplicate of the thank you note goes into a periodic drawing for even more substantial reward and recognition opportunities

The system works on two levels. The first because it rewards in an immediate sense the extra mile your employee has put in and in a longer term sense it continues the recognition.

More Tips About Recognition and Performance Management

•If you attach recognition to real accomplishments and goal achievement as negotiated in a performance development planning meeting, you need to make sure the recognition meets the above stated requirements. Line Managers must also apply the criteria consistently, so some organizational oversight may be necessary.

The challenge of individually negotiated goals is to make certain their accomplishment is viewed as similarly difficult by the organisation for the process to be a success.

•People also like recognition that is random and that provides an element of surprise. If you thank a manufacturing group every time they make customer deliveries on time with a lunch, gradually the lunch becomes a given or an entitlement and is no longer rewarding.

In another organisation, the MD traditionally bought lunch for all employees every Friday. Soon, he had employees coming to him asking to be reimbursed for lunch if they ate lunch outside of the company on a Friday. His goal of team building turned into a given or an entitlement and he was disappointed with the results.

•There is always room for employee reward and recognition activities that generally build positive morale in the work environment. The best motivation as mentioned is often not planned and therefore not expected. In truth ever since a young age the majority of us have enjoyed surprises and in many cases they are very inexpensive. Letting a team step down a half hour early at the start of a long weekend or treating the whole department to an ice cream on a hot day for example.

In Summary employee recognition

• Reduces turnover
• Increases employee engagement
• Reinforces company culture
• Increases performance
• Validates employee accomplishments so they are repeated

 
The future of employee engagement recognizes performance, not presence. Today’s employees demands to be acknowledged for successes affecting the company and are more inclined to drive results when their work is celebrated.

Establishing a Culture of Recognition will enhance your employees’ experience and encourage them to repeat positive behaviours that drive results. Recognition increases productivity and creates a culture of engaged employees, positively affecting your company’s bottom line. Recruit, retain, and inspire talent by aligning your business strategy with a total rewards and recognition strategy.