Employee recognition can help you achieve a happier, more productive workforce. By implementing an employee recognition program in your small business, you can ensure your workers feel valued and motivate them to achieve their performance goals. While recognition can be monetary, there are many different forms of recognition programs.
What Is an Employee Recognition Plan?
At its heart, an employee recognition plan recognizes someone for doing an excellent job. This type of recognition may come through praise, a bonus, or a simple thank-you message. While every company is different, the following types of employee recognition are among the most popular options.
- An employee of the month photo on the wall
- Articles about exceptional employees in the employee magazine
- Bonuses and raises
- Employer perks
- Gift cards
- Recognition at the morning meeting or weekly meeting
- Public praise and recognition from high-level leadership
- Private praise and recognition from a manager or team leader
- Team lunches
- Thank-you messages
- Formal recognition at the company’s annual party
- Awards
- Written messages on sticky notes
The Importance of Employee Recognition Plans
There are many advantages to adopting employee recognition plans in your workplace. From helping your workers feel valued to enhancing employee loyalty, recognition programs can help increase your workplace’s productivity, morale, and retention. As one of the hallmarks of strategic people management, employee recognition is not only great for employees, but also for your overall business performance. Our 2024 HR Benchmark survey of more than 1,000 small businesses revealed that nearly 80% of the fastest growing small businesses have an employee recognition program, compared to just 49% of zero-growth companies.
Make Workers Feel Valued
Your employees work hard. Don’t let their contributions go unnoticed. A formal recognition program creates an opportunity to celebrate individual achievements and acknowledge how they impact the organization.
Communicate Performance Expectations
By adopting employee recognition programs, you show employees what your company cares about most. You set a standard for employee performance that other workers will try to achieve.
This type of standard can help encourage productivity and catalyze growth. In our 2024 HR Benchmark survey for small businesses, 83% of fast-growth companies reported regularly communicating performance expectations versus just 67% of zero-growth businesses.
Increase Productivity
If workers feel valued and respected for their contributions, it motivates them to work harder. As a result, your recognition program can boost your company’s productivity.
Foster Employee Loyalty
When you recognize employees, they feel valued and appreciated. Because of this, your company can develop more loyal workers and better worker retention.
9 Best Practices for Employee Recognition Plans
As an employer, there are a few best practices you can use to ensure employee recognition. From praising workers in a public setting to offering timely praise, the following tips can help you motivate and encourage your best workers.
1. Praise Top Workers in Public Settings
In the 2024 HR Benchmark Report, we found that fast-growth companies were 32% more likely to praise performance in a public setting than zero-growth companies. Praising workers in public doesn’t just give them a chance to shine in front of their peers. It also demonstrates to your other employees what type of behaviors you want.
If you want to make employee recognition a part of your company’s culture, you need to start at the top of the pyramid. In one Gallup poll, almost a quarter of workers said that their most memorable recognition came from the CEO or a high-level leader. The same Gallup poll also reported that the average employee preferred public or private praise over money or tangible gifts.
2. Make Recognition Frequent
Recognition shouldn’t occur just once a year. While recognition that involves a financial reward, perk, or bonus may need to occur less frequently for budgetary reasons, verbal praise should be a regular event. Recognition helps all of your employees understand the type of behaviors the company cares about and its values.
3. Keep It Fun
Your recognition program doesn’t have to be serious. It can involve activities, like team lunches and a wall of fame. Through fun recognition options, you can create an uplifting environment and encourage your workers.
4. Be Specific and Relevant
Recognition programs are important because they motivate employee behaviors. To achieve this motivation effect, you must offer specific, relevant praise. Behavior must be relevant to the employee’s job and performance goals. Additionally, you must specifically detail the exact behavior that’s worthy of recognition.
5. Offer Timely Recognition
When someone acts in a noteworthy way, it’s important to praise them for it. Employee recognition doesn’t have to be part of a formalized program. Once you notice an employee doing something exceptional, thank them and praise them for it.
6. Train Managers on Employee Recognition
Recognition should be a part of your regular workplace environment and routines. With this goal in mind, train and encourage your managers to recognize their team members’ best contributions and achievements.
7. Track Progress and Results
For recognition to be effective, employees must feel it is deserved. By tracking each employee’s progress and results, you can show that the praise is warranted. Additionally, using objective measures can help you and your managers avoid favoritism and unintentional bias.
8. Incorporate Recognition Training Into Onboarding
From the moment employees start working at your business, they should know what type of behavior the company wants. To achieve this goal, you should incorporate recognition training into the onboarding experience. Teach employees the behaviors you expect and the methods the company has for recognizing those behaviors, such as awards or recognition dinners.
9. Consider Recognizing Milestones
In some organizations, employees are rewarded for major milestones. For instance, they may be given a present or gift card after working at a company for five years. Recognizing employee longevity is worthwhile because it encourages workers to stay with your company and shows that you value your long-term workers.
Be Careful About Incentivizing the Right Behaviors
It’s important to be mindful of the kinds of behaviors you incentivize. Ultimately, the types of activities you recognize and incentivize tend to be the behaviors you will see. As you design your employee recognition program, look at your company’s mission and values to determine the qualities you want to praise in your employees.
Start Recognizing Your Best Workers
Recognized employees are engaged employees. As an employer, you don’t have to spend much money or time on recognition programs. Public, verbal recognition is one of the most effective ways to praise workers who have done a good job.
The right employee recognition program and HR practices can help you transform your small business into a fast-growth company. Need help defining recognition programs and other HR strategies for your company, connect with one of our small business HR experts.