Managing the human elements, and your employees can be a challenge in time. While it seems like a daunting task on the surface, there’s a lot more to it than just giving an odd performance review here and there. Employees crave feedback and desire to know how well they’re performing at work. They also want to be recognized for their accomplishments and how well they’re doing. That’s where the concept of employee recognition comes from. Employees need to be recognized for their work to be part of larger, high morale, higher functioning organization. Making them feel like part of the team and a valued member of the organization is key to optimizing their performance. In this article, we’ll discuss five key aspects of recognition and how they benefit your company (and its employees) today.
Gratitude
Gratitude is an integral part of what makes a great organization function extremely well. Both gratitude and recognition are integral parts of what makes a great organization function extremely well. Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. It is often shown through words, rewards, feedback, or actions. Recognition is the acknowledgment and appreciation of an individual or group’s efforts or achievements. Recognition and gratitude are two parts of the same whole. Although they are not mutually exclusive, they do work together to create a more positive working environment for employees. Recognition leads to gratitude and vice versa, ultimately creating a strong connection between employees and management. When employees feel appreciated, they are more likely to be productive and happy at work, which lends itself well to accomplishing company goals and realizing the organization’s values. Organizations that show gratitude and recognition to their employees tend to have lower turnover rates and more content employees overall.
Appreciation
Appreciation works in tandem with gratitude and recognition to improve morale and workplace relationships significantly. Employees who feel appreciated stay at organizations longer than those who don’t. Appreciation is important. Along with social recognition, regular communication, and positive reinforcement, appreciation can be a powerful tool for making your employees happy and improving their morale/productivity along the way.
Social Recognition
The best way to show your employees that you appreciate them is by using an employee recognition program. This type of program allows you to give your employees rewards and privileges for a job well done. It also helps build a sense of community in the workplace and encourages employees to work together towards common goals. Additionally, social recognition through an employee recognition program can boost morale and motivation, leading to increased productivity. Ultimately, using an employee recognition program is a great way to show your employees that you care about their well-being and value their contributions, so be sure to include one in your organization to help your employees thrive.
Celebrating Milestones
Another, sometimes overlooked aspect of social recognition is celebrating anniversaries, milestones, and other significant events. Find ways to celebrate achievements among your staff. This could be a personalized email or card. Maybe you want to provide a certificate or reward. Sometimes, a free lunch or coffee can be a great incentive for achieving a milestone, along with other rewards programs you might implement. Celebrating Milestones makes people know that their value and that the work they’re doing is important. It’s the same with anniversaries. If somebody gets through an entire year at an organization, they will benefit from celebrating their anniversary. It shows them that the company values their contributions, wants them to stick around, and recognizes their value as a team member. Most employees leave within the first twelve months of a career, simply because they’re not being recognized for their anniversary in accomplishment. Going the extra mile to ensure they know that they’re doing a good job and can have a future with the company is critical to ensuring lower turnover throughout the organization.
Offering Rewards
The age-old question of how to improve social recognition can come down to recognizing individual accomplishments, fostering an environment of professionalism, acting fairly, and offering rewards for a job well done. Rewards can be a great incentive for any company. Some companies might offer bonuses, paid time off, gift cards, free days, or work-from-home opportunities. Others might decide to offer a free college course here and there. There are a variety of both monetary and non-monetary rewards that can be beneficial for improving employee morale. Rewards should be carefully selected and something that employees will want. A coupon for something, a free burger, or an office party are not rewards that people can use. They can have the opposite effect and upset your valuable staff. When you are looking for reward ideas, you don’t need to go crazy, but you do need to focus on finding something functional, beneficial, and rewarding that your employees will work hard to achieve.