Are you looking for ways to reduce costly turnover in your organization? What about keeping the employees who do stay with your organization engaged and productive? While you may believe the secret lies in higher employee compensation, recent research has revealed that effective employee recognition programs may be the solution to building a loyal workforce and a positive, high-performing culture.
According to Gallup, well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave an organization after two years. Still, less than a quarter of employees say they receive the recognition they deserve. Here’s how you can ensure your recognition program results in higher morale, lower turnover, and increased employee satisfaction.
What Is Employee Recognition?
Employee recognition is publicly or privately acknowledging an employee’s achievements, behaviors, and contributions to company success. Recognition often takes the form of verbal praise or tangible employee benefits and can be offered by managers, peers, or even customers.
While employee appreciation is about marking an employee’s time-related milestones, recognition should focus on rewarding performance to reinforce the company’s objectives and values.
5 Steps to Build an Effective Employee Recognition Program
Even more so than higher employee compensation, an employee recognition program can be the key to unlocking a loyal, high-performing workforce. These five steps can help you do it effectively.
1. Define Your Goals for the Program
If you’re looking to curb high turnover and build a more positive culture, you may want to enhance performance or innovation in a specific area. Make sure to identify precisely where you want to see improvement.
Knowing your goals can help you clearly define the behaviors that will accomplish them and make it easier to measure program success.
2. Develop Specific Recognition Criteria
Unlike employee compensation, which is simply tied to the number of hours worked, you should tie employee recognition to specific behaviors and performance targets that contribute to the goals you set in step one.
For example, to increase performance among the customer service team, consider recognizing those who maintain customer satisfaction scores above 90%.
3. Gain Buy-In From Senior Leadership
Senior leadership needs to be aware of and participate in your program. Not only does this make it easier to convince leadership to allocate funds for employee recognition, but 24% of employees also say it’s memorable when senior leadership acknowledges their hard work.
4. Define the Recognition Process
Determine how and how often employees will be nominated and what rewards they will receive. Having a review and approval process for nominations can ensure fairness.
5. Implement, Promote, and Monitor the Program
Train managers and employees on how to participate in the program and ensure its details are communicated across all company communication channels. As you implement the program, track metrics based on the goals you set for it in step one so that you know the program is working.
Best Practices for Launching Your Recognition Program
The following tips can help you maximize your recognition program’s effectiveness:
- Know the difference between appreciation and recognition and the goal of each type of acknowledgment
- Tie employee recognition to specific behaviors and performance goals so that it’s fair and unbiased
- Survey employees to find out what kinds of rewards and recognition they would like to receive
- Make recognition a continuous effort so that it becomes an integral part of your company culture and employer brand
Laying the proper foundation for your recognition program at the outset can help ensure it produces the desired outcomes.
Examples of Employee Rewards and Recognition
If you need a little inspiration for what to offer employees who meet the performance criteria for your recognition program, consider these examples:
- Time Rewards: Additional employee benefits like extra paid time off or work-from-home days
- Financial Incentives: Cash bonuses, gift cards, or stock options
- VIP Experiences: Team dinners, lunch with the CEO, or VIP parking spots
- Learning and Development Rewards: Conference tickets or online course subscriptions
- Self-Care Incentives: Gym memberships, spa days, or mental health app subscriptions
Keep in mind that your program goals and employee preferences should ultimately determine your rewards.
Employee Recognition Helps Companies Achieve Their Goals
The evidence is clear that employees want to be recognized for their hard work. Embracing employee recognition programs ensures your workforce is productive and motivated to do their best. It’s important, though, that an effective recognition program is always implemented alongside fair compensation and competitive employee benefits.
Fortunately, our team at Benefits Advisory Group can help those looking to build a benefits package that attracts and retains the right talent. Contact us today to learn how we can create a customized benefits strategy that inspires employees and aligns with your long-term goals.