Employees are much more likely to stay at a company where they feel valued and appreciated for the work they do and the people they are. Employers are often on board with employee recognition, but they often feel they lack the funds to have an employee recognition program that employees want. This is simply not true, as employee recognition is a key element of effective talent management. With some creative planning, any company can have a fantastic plan in place to make sure employees get the recognition they want and deserve.
Peer-to-Peer Recognition
Recognition among team members is especially effective because employees know they're being appreciated by people who understand their day-to-day responsibilities. Encourage your employees to show their appreciation for one another whenever they see something worth celebrating. The trick is to find a way to share the recognition in a way employees are responsive to. Some of the best options cost little to no money and will make a huge difference in workplace attitude.
Employers could have employees send positive notes recognizing their coworkers and then copy and paste them to a company-wide email at the end of the week so employees can receive anonymous bits of praise from coworkers. Another option would be to have employees write bits of praise on paper and put them in a bowl. At the next company meeting, they can all be read and a few employees' names can be drawn for lunch on the company. Employees will respond well to being praised in front of their teams and will love the incentive.
Top-Down Recognition
The trick here is to recognize employees for their hard work in front of the team. Consider a rotating trophy for top employers each week, a weekly award for embodying company values or going out of their way to help a team member. Look for ways you can affirm positive company culture and high performance without setting unreasonable expectations. For example, don't have performance compound week-to-week. Start with a clean board every week because bad weeks happen for everyone and it keeps individuals from becoming discouraged and, potentially, low-performing.
It's also so important to recognize your team as a whole as well to encourage collaboration instead of competition. Did your team pull off a crazy project with a tight deadline? Was everyone at the office putting in extra hours at the end of the month? Bring in breakfast, coffee, or another treat to say thank you and to give your employees a quick break before jumping back into their full schedules. They'll return to their work refreshed and ready to tackle the task at hand, knowing you appreciate the work you do.
No matter what your company does, or how much money is allocated to recognition, there is always room to appreciate employees for what they bring to the company. Employees should always feel valued by their employer as it fosters a culture of high performance and engagement, meaning the few dollars you spend on employee recognition will save you thousands in hiring and recruiting costs.
The BirdDogHR Performance Management System is a fully-integrated software solution that manages the entire employee lifecycle from hire to retire. Contact us to schedule a demo today so you can start saving time and money on your talent management processes.
