Employee recognition is the not-so-crazy notion that employees perform best when they feel their work is valued. The business owner then gets more return on their investment, so this is a win-win situation for everyone and a great way to compete in the job market.
Many businesses get employee recognition wrong. Many do not attempt to recognize employees at all besides their paychecks and, maybe, some benefits. Others rely on old standbys like employee of the month plaques hung on the wall.
It is all too common for companies to make the mistake of thinking employees are most motivated by money. This causes two problems: making the employer feel less motivated to recognize the employee because they have their current salary expenses glaring in their minds as well as potentially wasting their employee recognition investment by throwing money at employees when they might be better motivated by something else. Money is important, but employees most want to feel valued.
You can foster this sense of value in many ways from doling out cash, to handing out praise, to giving them more responsibility, to encouraging them to grow, to making it easier for them balance their work and the rest of their lives. Let’s take a deeper dive. If you’re searching for free online recruiting software, then know that Recruiteze can’t be beat. Click here for a free trial.
34 Creative Ways to Recognize Employees
Giving Out Praise
Simone Weil pointed out, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
It’s powerful, sincere, and a low to no cost way to motivate your employees.
#1. Certificates
Certificates of achievement highlight the employee’s personal growth. Inspire them!
#2. Points reward system
Senior Human Resource Specialist, Amy Marcum, suggests, “Develop a points system for a reward program. This provides a perfect platform for ongoing recognition. Employees receive points every time they go above and beyond. After accumulating a certain amount, employees can redeem their points for gifts,” Time off would also a good redemption benefit.
#3. Immortalize their creation
If an employee is influential in creating or building a new product, service, or technique, name it after them.
#4. Shout it out online
Publicize your employee praise on your website and social media. Not only will this give employees a jolt in their self-esteem, but it will give you the added benefit of demonstrating your company culture to potential new employees. Employee recognition+branding!
#5. Encourage peer recognition
This is both a uniquely meaningful form of praise for staff and a way for employees to be noticed for things that management may not see.
#6. Have a bulletin board for peer recognition
Give employees a permanent space to spontaneously recognize a peer.
#7. Give a peer and management signed t-shirt
Single out an employee each month who has received a particularly noticeable amount of praise and give them a t-shirt signed by all. This is a great tangible way for them to always know they are/were appreciated.
#8. Create a points program based on peer praise or both peer and management praise
Those with the most points in a given period might receive prizes or time off.
#9. Have multiple awards
Give newcomer awards for those who have been recognized for the first time and ones for repeat award winners.
Lessening Stress
Work is stressful, and stress reduces productivity. Build some strategies into your corporate culture to lessen the pressure and it will make a world of difference to your employees and your ability to reach company goals.
#10. Greet employees well
Waking up in the morning, commuting, and starting a pressured work period are not so much fun. Set your employees off on the right track with a welcoming area filled with quick and easy food and beverages. This could give employees a little something extra to look forward to in their day and make up for missed breakfasts in hurried commutes.
#11. Bring in a masseuse
Periodically, when a particularly stressful time is happening on the job, or when an employee or two is troubled, hire a masseuse. It’s hard to be productive when you’re in pain or tense.
#12. Delight them with animals
Puppies, kittens, bunnies, and other animals make excellent stress relievers. There are services where people bring animals into schools and workplaces for reducing stress. Consider using them.
#13. Replace office equipment
Another contributor to workplace stress and productivity reduction is old, lagging, and buggy office equipment. Pay attention in offices and retail establishments and notice how often employees complain, sometimes becoming openly threadbare, because a machine isn’t doing what it should. It makes their tasks take exponentially longer and causes them unnecessary stress that distracts them.
If you don’t do anything else for your employees, address the office equipment and issues that cause them discomfort. Pats on the back don’t mean much when you’re grimacing.
#14. Make the work environment comfortable
A main contributor to employee productivity reduction is, sadly, discomfort. They can’t hear to do their job effectively because there are too many people talking around them. The room is too cold or too hot. Their seats are uncomfortable. The hard floor is causing them leg and foot problems.
Invest in a one-time flooring replacement to carpet, switch out the chairs, supply them with headphones or provide spaces with fewer people working in one room. Get new desks or add on desk converters so employees can alternate between standing and sitting during the day.
Encouraging Them to Grow and Be Healthy
Companies have long bragged on giving employees room for advancement with mixed amounts of realism. They offer this because the kind of motivated, invested, innovative, and goal-reaching employees you want also want to better themselves. This is good for you and them. In today’s businesses, it becomes ever more popular to foster personal growth from within the company. Give them opportunities to learn, to better themselves, and get involved in the company.
Steve Jobs highlighted the importance of employee involvement and giving them free rein when he said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
#15. Cross-train employees
Employees like being able to do different things; it breaks up the monotony. It also makes them feel like they can do more for the company. If you ha