Getting acknowledged and appreciated for a task successfully completed is anyone’s dream. It gives immense satisfaction when an employee is appreciated for the hard work put in by him or her. In this 21st century with the ultra competitive work environment, top performing companies are the ones that have the highly trained and well-skilled staff who script the success stories. As a result, it becomes imperative for organizations to usher in Employee Recognition Programs to keep their employees engaged and motivated.
A survey has revealed that recognition-rich culture benefits the entire organization from the newest recruit to the CEO. Employees today are very focussed and almost the entire clan is of the opinion that they not only want to be treated well, but also stress upon the need for recognition of their contribution to the organization through their work. Reports have revealed that 90% of the employers feel that most employees leave their companies to earn more money. In the past this was the general reason but not so now. Today, money is the criteria but lack of employee recognition is a major concern too. In order to recruit and retain the best people, the top brass are challenged all the time to derive strategies for the smooth running of their organizations. It has finally dawned on these organizations that they need to appreciate and applaud their team, thus Employee Recognition Programs came into existence.
Following are the core pointers in building Employee Recognition Programs:
Recognize Your Staff
Decades ago, one was not aware of these employee recognition programs. Parents provided education to their children depending upon their financial status, their main aim was to make them self sufficient earning members to run the family. Simply speaking, it would be a patent routine all of their working years in the same organization day in and day out. Perhaps that’s when alarming burnout rates and the dismal performance of the companies became a cause of concern. Big industries showed a downfall due to a lack of uninterested employees and no motivation from their higher ups. This became the turning point for the companies and employers along with their think tanks brought about changes for the betterment of them and their employees. Today, millennials entering the workforce not only want a substantial pay packet but also want to be valued and appreciated for their effort. This has become an innate part of any company’s culture and has also caught up with the senior co-workers. “Motivate us” is the cry of new recruits.
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“Appreciation” A Big Booster
There is a thin line of difference between recognition and appreciation. Valuing your employees views, attitude, talents and contributions is Appreciation. Recognition, on the other hand, is an act of showing appreciation. Recognizing and being generous in appreciating your employees for the effort they put are great boosters. It not only contributes to an excellent workplace culture, enhances loyalty, pumps up the team in general to give their individual best, but also, there is a general air of positivity, thus bringing about unity in the employees. Being held in high esteem by their peers is one of the biggest motivators. While employees mostly relate rewards and recognition to monetary bonuses or glittering events, appreciation need not be expensive or glamorous. Positive gestures such as a pat on the back, expressing gratitude for extra effort, great work, a simple ‘Thank You’ message from the managers works wonders. These gestures will keep the employees happy and happy employees are more productive, loyal and forthcoming work wise. This in turn will make the office environment vibrant with positive energy and boost the morale of the whole staff.
Retention
To have a top notch excellent, hard working, skilled employees is an asset for any organization.Therefore, it is essential for employers to retain them by keeping them happy and comfortable at all times. Managers in collaboration with their HR should be vigilant enough to witness, catalog and constantly be in touch with their juniors thus making sure that they do not lose them to their competitors. It would be apt to mention that true recognition helps employees feel more excited in a way that is completely different from their normal monetary bonuses. Previously, a small raise was the reward for work well done. Then came the employee of the month reward. In the present, moving in fast track, innumerable ideas and bait have been devised to retain the best employees.
Peers Get A Boost
Generally speaking, it’s easy for the managers to congratulate an employee for the job well performed, but one should not forget that peers are working right beside them too.This creates an impact which will help them in raising their performance bar too. In the end one never knows a new talent may see the light of the day.
Rewards Galore
Imagine the feeling when you are showered with praises and gifts for the good work you have done. It has been scientifically proven that a feeling of goodness within releases the flow of oxytocin, the chemicals our bodies create when one is appreciated. Slipping into your team’s workflow, sharing views and later on providing rewards are some of the strategic tools being applied globally to power the employee recognition programs. Let’s run through some super strategies that will bring a big grin on the employees. As mentioned earlier besides materialistic rewards, personal touch in a way of encouraging positive words of praise and demonstrating to your employee that you approve and understand the effort put in by his staff is a reward in itself.
Highlighting an individual’s achievement by way of publicising accomplishments to all team departments such as flashing screens on all forums, circulars and also in the general meetings raises the morale of the individual concerned. Magnifying these employee achievements boost team effort too.
Gifting exotic family vouchers is another innovative idea that best helps keep your employees loyal to you. It also acts as a good stress buster and brings back your employee highly rejuvenated. Some organizations have gone a little further and added more incentives in the form of including senior members of the family that helps strengthen the bond more.
Gala Celebration
Another much appreciated event is the annual celebration in the form of a Staff Party. Corporates do have an annual event organised on a large scale. These are the opportunities to bring together the entire staff on the same platform right from the top brass to the junior-most member of the organization. Events like these communicate company values, create new bonds, connects employees thus bringing a feeling of one big family. In order to reach higher performance standards companies motivate their employees by rewarding them with trophies or a plaque thus generating enthusiasm all round. These events bring in some healthier competitive results. Deafening applause and innumerable handshakes are memorable rewards in their own way.
Incentives Well Planned
Incentives may be in any form; right from an object, item of value or any action that initiates and at the same time encourages the employee to perform his or her best. The higher the stake of employee incentive programs, the higher is the performance of its staff as they are committed to their company and are willing to go above and beyond their role.
References:
- ‘Using Recognition and Other Workplace Efforts to Engage Employees’- by SHRM Survey Findings, January 2018
- ‘Employee Recognition in the Workplace: The Why and How’ – by Nikos Andriotis
