Acknowledging your employee’s contribution to your organization’s success is crucial in maintaining high motivation levels. When employees feel appreciated and valued, they are more likely to be committed to the organization. Here are five thoughtful ways to recognize standout performers at the workplace.
Recognize Key Work Milestones
When employees join an organization, they are expected to have several major and minor accomplishments throughout their working life. Recognizing your staff during such moments can be a big motivation booster and an excellent way to optimize productivity and staff loyalty.
Work anniversaries and job promotions are great opportunities to recognize a worker’s input and contribution to organizational success. Gifts, accolades, and monetary tokens are good ways to celebrate key milestones at the workplace.
Custom Award Plaques
Like sports personalities receive medals and trophies for brilliant team performances, your employees will feel appreciated upon receiving plaques for exemplary performance. Custom award plaques are a stylish way to thank employees for their contributions. These plaques can be finished in premium materials and engraved with a special thank you.
Custom Plaques are well-suited for celebrating various occasions ranging from corporate excellence to years of service and community leadership. The recipients can display these accolades at their desks or at home.
Sponsor Their Personal and Professional Development
Investing in your workforce benefits both parties and generates long-term value for the organization. Below are some ways you can contribute to personal and professional growth in your workforce.
Education Sponsorships
Learning sponsorships are great for broadening your workforce skill set and enhancing overall productivity. Organizations can participate in education sponsorships by paying for registration or tuition fees for professional certifications and college courses.
Seminars and Mentorship Programs
Workshop seminars can provide a fulfilling experience for employers, especially junior-level staff, seeking to learn sector-relevant skills. Alternatively, companies can organize mentorship programs with industry experts or senior management to boost career advancement in an employee’s respective field.
Library Membership and Professional Subscriptions
Some of your employees are likely to be members of professional bodies in their respective fields. You can sponsor their growth and development by paying or reimbursing fees for library memberships and other professional organizations.
Conferences and Masterclass Programs
Conferences relevant to your industry can be highly beneficial in generating fresh ideas and new insights. Allowing your employees to attend and participate in such events is one way to contribute to their career development.
Bonuses and Monetary Appreciation
While some may debate the efficacy of monetary incentives as a strategy for employee recognition, such perks can be highly effective when combined with other recognition criteria. Bonuses and cash incentives can help ease the pressure of bills and inflation that sometimes affects productivity at the workplace. Cash rewards are particularly effective when included as part of sales or performance target initiatives with the organization. The monetary incentives can be in the form of performance bonuses, profit-sharing arrangements for high-level executives, salary increments, and allowances for junior-level employees.
Peer Recognition and Team Events
A thank you note from the CEO or the managing director can be a good gesture and a huge motivation for any employee. Peer recognition can have the same effect when properly executed. Introduce peer-based reward systems where employees can nominate their colleagues for various awards. Lastly, team events such as luncheons, parties, and weekend getaways are excellent for recognizing team efforts.
Aspects of a Good Reward System
Creativity and thoughtfulness are key to rewarding employees appropriately. For a reward to be memorable and effective, it must satisfy the following conditions.
Fulfillment
Employees feel valued when employer recognition brings fulfillment to the workplace.
Genuine
Workplace recognition means more to employees when there’s genuineness and wholeheartedness from the giver.
Personal Touch
Employees have broad perspectives and preferences about the ideal rewarding criteria. If employee preferences are known, then rewards and gifts would have more meaning to employees when personalized.
Equity
While there’s value in personalizing workplace rewards, an organization’s recognition criteria must be transparent, consistent, and equitable.
Conclusion
A recent employee engagement survey by Gallup observed that less than 40% of employees acknowledge the existence of a rewarding framework at their workplace. Organizations that reward their workforce appropriately are able to retain their best employees and attract emerging talents.
