This week Auracious Global brings into light a sequel to a brief study/poll conducted on leadership values which demonstrated some very valuable statistics – it was evident that Employee Empowerment & Development and Leading with Integrity topped the priority list for the most respondents while Employee Recognition took up only 6%.
As leaders of your organizations, when was the last time you gathered feedback from your employees on this one? Are you awarding your employees for reaching their important milestones or making additional efforts beyond their KPIs? And here we are talking about rewards or recognition, other than monetary incentives?
If you think your current engagement to create a culture of employee happiness, wellbeing, and efficiency lags, you need to ponder upon some effective tips to create meaningful Employee Recognition strategies/ programs for future.
Considering putting new Employee Recognition strategies into practice can help increase employee morale and job satisfaction. Several studies also relate Employee Recognition with overall employee engagement and productivity as representational awards/ employee appreciation events can encourage your employees to do better and uphold that their efforts are acknowledged.
Here are some valuable suggestions to implement a practical Employee Recognition Program:
- Promote a culture of Employee Appreciation:
Boost your employee’s morale through meaningful verbal communication such as “We are impressed with the results you produce!” for generally accepting their hard work. They will feel more contented if you appreciate the ideas they share and accomplish for the growth of the company. Let them know, their dedication and contributions towards their routine projects adds value to the organization. The feeling of “Dear employee, you exceeded my expectations” is a pure delight!
- Celebrate:
Celebrations! Yes, doesn’t always imply to one’s personal jubilation. Many organizations take the initiatives of celebrating their employee birthdays’, promotion parties and success parties. All you need to do is, make your employees feel that their organization and especially their leaders are happy to watch them grow. This includes encouraging the co-workers to praise each other, wishing them success, and sharing their feats mutually.
- Formal Recognition (Milestone Rewards):
Formally recognizing your employees for their excellent work adds credibility to your organization as well as their achievements throughout the working careers. Arrange annual award functions, work anniversaries as they are certainly the benchmarks to celebrate. When you publically recognize their efforts, they will feel more respected and bonded. While some organizations prefer giving out award certificates in their office spaces, with a nominal budget at the end of each year, you can still choose to make it memorable by offering them small souvenirs, gift vouchers, handwritten notes and what not!
- Employee Incentive programs:
“Employees are a company’s greatest asset- they are your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission” – Anne M. Mulcahy
So, if you work hard to recruit the best talent in your company, you should be equally enthusiastic to give their due credit in terms of remuneration, personal benefits, digital and physical gift cards, success rewards, and profit sharing etc.
- Social Recognition:
Designate a corner of the workplaces with “Idea of the week” wall, where the best ideas by your employees can be highlighted and appreciated by others and even implemented. Give weekly shout outs to your employees on social media sites like Facebook company pages, Instagram official pages and LinkedIn. Social Recognition will motivate them to bring innovation, adapt changes, recognizing their strengths and initiate a collaborative work environment overall.
Bonus point – Professional Development & Employee Wellbeing:
While it is critical for organizations to determine their employee’s potentials, it will certainly lift employee engagement if they get an extra support at their workplaces. This includes checking upon their overall wellbeing and appreciating their hard work, especially if they are seen dealing with work stress and burnouts. Likewise, when your employees are eager to learn and develop new skills- ‘value their passion’ and invest in them e.g., professional Learning and Development programs.
We hope we can make a difference by encouraging an Employee Recognition culture within your workplaces! If you find these tips convenient, Subscribe to the Auracious Global Bi-Weekly Newsletter on our website www.auracious.com
