The Benefits of Employee Recognition Programs and Tips for Rolling Them Out

When running a business, it’s easy to get so distracted by general day-to-day tasks related to sales, marketing, customer service, product development, and finance that you don’t pay much attention to your staff members.

However, if you want the best results this year, you will need your team in your corner and as productive and loyal as possible. To get to this point, your staff will need your commitment that they will be:

• Trained
• Paid well
• Acknowledged
• Rewarded

Recognize your employees’ contributions and help them feel seen, heard, and valued. This is where employee recognition programs come in very handy. Learning more about these benefits and how to roll them out effectively is never too late.

Benefits of Employee Recognition Programs

One of the top benefits of creating an employee recognition program for your company is that it improves your firm’s culture.

Company culture

When people feel seen, valued, and appreciated, they’re happier and more committed. This makes it easier for everyone to be in a positive mood and get along well. People will enjoy coming to work more and feel more secure in their jobs.

This leads to a boosted corporate culture that will have you recruiting top talent more quickly over the years. Many people focus on reviews and other data published about the rankings of businesses and listen to employee mentions of their employers on social media and elsewhere.

If you want to attract the best staff members over the years, you want a positive culture that gets talked about glowingly and helps you become an employer of choice.

Staff retention

Another benefit of rolling out an employee recognition program is that you should notice your staff turnover rates reduce.

When people get recognized for their efforts and results, they’re much less likely to start looking for and taking other jobs. In turn, you’ll lose fewer of your people, and you’ll retain all that essential organizational information in-house.

Recognizing your workers makes them happier, and they’ll also be more loyal to your company. They’ll likely become more focused on the job and have enhanced productivity. They’ll also be more welcoming and engaging with customers, which will reap big rewards for your firm.

Tips for Rolling Out Effective Programs

However, you don’t want to rush setting up and rolling out an employee recognition program. It’s critical to think through all aspects and get it right first to avoid wasting your investment.

Clarity

Be specific and intentional in what you put together so that all leaders within the company know how to adhere to some clear program guidelines. You’ll get consistency across the board.

Goals

Know the exact goals of the program you’re looking to achieve and which parts of the program you plan to roll out in order and when.

Recognition

As you create these recognition processes, think about essential elements like thanking and acknowledging workers and ensuring this work never gets left too long. Find ways to pay attention to different personnel over a year and give out the rewards you might need or be used to.

Your program should include details about how you and other managers in the firm will thank people, hand out awards, and acknowledge top talent publicly.

Social recognition can play a big part in how chuffed people feel about being singled out for their efforts, so look for ways to recognize people in front of their peers. Check out the Workhuman website for more ideas about social recognition that you can consider.

Training

It’s wise, too, to invest in training for your employees so they can continue to learn, grow, and develop.

Career and personal progression are as crucial to most people these days as financial and other bonuses, so it’s worth investing in as part of your employee recognition program.

Motivation

You can also bring in knowledgeable motivational speakers and keep giving workers new responsibilities and challenges so they get out of their comfort zones and grow.

Rewards

Don’t forget to also provide people with rewards as warranted, such as hampers, bottles of wine, gift cards, flowers, chocolates, weekends away, etc. Perks can bring a smile to the faces of your staff members, too, such as free massages, meals, gym access at work, extra time off, and the like.

Summing Up

An employee recognition program may sound like a lot of work, and there are costs to cover at the start. Even so, once you implement a quality system of acknowledging employees and showing them you care, you’ll see how your business will reap the benefits. Do you want higher productivity, less staff turnover, and more customers?   An employee recognition program is a great way to help make it happen.