It’s really fulfilling to get recognition for something that you did. It makes a person really happy about their work and efforts when they get recognized for it through an employee recognition program. It also drives them to keep up the good work.
The exact same thing happens when it comes to the employees of an organization or a business. As when an employee gets recognized, it helps to bring out the best in them.
There is nothing more important these days than employee recognition programs in order to ensure proper employee engagement in a workplace. A proper employee recognition program has become essential these days for any business or organization to make sure that the employees are satisfied, motivated, productive.
Employees of a company feel far more motivated about their job when their work gets appreciated and recognized by the higher-ups.
The employee recognition program of a workplace is all about appreciating all the good work of the employees and making them feel valued and recognized. It helps the employees engage with the workplace more enthusiastically. They feel motivated to keep doing a better job at the workplace.
As the employees feel rewarded and esteemed, the collective morale of the workplace also gets a boost. The company enjoys better results, more profits, and massive growth in return.
The best employee recognition programs align the desires and needs of the employees with the goals and values of the company. If an employee gets recognized properly, they try to put more effort in their work. This ends up benefitting the business a lot. It also helps with employee loyalty and employee retention.
Employee recognition programs can vary from company to company based on how a company would like to appreciate its employees based on the unique needs, values, and abilities of the company. Recognition can be provided in numerous ways. They can come in the forms of awards, gifts, public appreciation, special privileges, etc.
Giving a customized award is just one of the many great company swag ideas you should consider, as you can personalize it with the achiever’s name and accomplishment to make it even more special.
Companies these days try to design an effective employee recognition program keeping various things in mind, such as budget, time, ease of use, and most importantly, quality. Also, the target is always to establish a sustainable and successful employee recognition program.
Here are some ways a company can select the best employee recognition program for its employees-
Knowing the Needs of the Employees
The initial goal of an employee recognition program is to make employees feel satisfied and happy. That’s why the most important thing you need to know before establishing an employee recognition program is what are the things that make your employees happy.
Before starting any employee recognition program, some research needs to be done. It helps frame a properly customized program that can accommodate the needs and wants of employees, and make the program successful. While developing the program, the recognition committee should discuss the needs and desires of the employees with them.
It will make them feel involved, and it also helps kick start the entire recognition program.
Knowing Why The Program is Used
You also need to know what you want to achieve from the employee recognition program, what’s your purpose and what are you hoping for. There can be specific goals of a company. Most companies have some standard goals, such as-
- Taking the Retention Rate Up
- Increasing Productivity
- Attracting Talents
- Improving Innovation and Daily Performance
No matter what the objective of the company is, make sure to keep that in mind while establishing the employee recognition program. If you want your employees to go above and beyond, or bring in better results in sales, make sure to set up a program that will drive them to do so.
Determining the Eligibility Criteria
While establishing the employee recognition program, you need to set the eligibility criteria for your employees. There are many things that need to be thought about while fixing the criteria.
There are various types of employees in a company. There are permanent employees, interns, part-timers, and contract-based employees too. You’ll need to determine which types you are going to make eligible for the program. Also, will employees be eligible right after joining, or will they have to work for some time beforehand?
There are other small things to fix before setting up the program.
Determining Reward Frequency
You will need to determine the frequency of the rewards before setting up the recognition program. The rewards can be provided on a weekly basis, monthly basis, bi-monthly basis, quarterly basis, or even yearly basis. According to research, 71% of the highly engaged employees work in places that provide recognition every month.
For determining the frequency, first, you will need to consider the budget and funds for the employee recognition program. How many employees you have in the workplace will also play an important role in determining it. The value of the rewards will also help determine the reward frequency.
Fixing the Winning Criteria
You need to set the criteria for winning the rewards through the recognition program. First of all, why and how an employee can win a reward must be determined. What kind of work they have to put in, or what kind of project they need to finish, or what kind of behavior they need to show, etc. It can also be about what kind of results they have to bring in.
All of these needs to be fixed while setting up the recognition program.
The nomination system, the nominating and choosing committee, etc. also need to be determined beforehand. Incorporating both peer-to-peer recognition and managerial recognition can be highly effective in making the program successful.
Type of Rewards and Recognition
It is one of the most important things to determine before setting up your recognition program. You need to choose what kind of rewards and recognition you will provide your employees for their hard work and efforts. They can come in the forms of awards, monetary benefits, gifts, various opportunities and experiences, public appreciation, special privileges, etc.
Make sure to choose the proper recognition that will align with the needs, desires, and preferences of your employees and the values of your company.
Choosing the Right Partner
Selecting a proper employee recognition program can be really challenging. You can do it safely by finding an expert partner that can help you with that. You can choose a recognition platform that will provide you with a great opportunity to keep your employees motivated and productive. Also, it will make things really convenient for you in choosing employees to provide rewards.
Final Words
It is crucial for a company to make the employee recognition program work, as the success of the company, in the long run, depends on the happiness, satisfaction, and high productivity of the employees. And in order to ensure the happiness, loyalty, higher morale, and higher productivity of the employees, there is nothing more important than having a proper employee recognition program.
So, be careful in selecting the right program for yourself, and make sure to go through the above-mentioned processes while setting up one.
