“To the rest of the organization, recognition creates role models and heroes - and communicates the standards of the kinds of things that constitute great performances around here.” -Rosebeth Moss Kanter
The Importance of Employee Recognition/Award Programs
Why is it important to have employee award programs in place? Well, companies that fail to recognize their workers through some type of acknowledgement and/or reward end up damaging employee morale, productivity, and retention.
I’m sure you have been in some sort of position where you felt you were not getting recognized for the hard work you were putting into something. Whether that was a job, in school, even in a relationship, recognition is so important.
Lack of recognition is the number ONE reason employees quit. Although, you don’t just want to hand out awards to employees so they won’t quit. You want to thank them for being a part of the success of your company and encourage them to continue their hard work! An organization that wants to be competitive absolutely needs to make employees feel valued so they perform their best work on a daily basis and stick around to make a continuous contribution.
What else can Recognition and Award Programs do?
Lots of things! Here are a few examples of things Recognition and Award Programs can do:
-reinforce company goals
-strengthen an employee’s image of a company
-foster employee loyalty and instill a climate of trust
-create a friendly and competitive environment
-encourage personal achievement and reward performance
-increase teamwork
Here are a few stats on what Recognition and Award Programs can do for a company:
- reduce turnover by 50%
- generate 56% higher customer loyalty
- create a 38% increase in productivity
- cause a 27% increase in profitability
- reduce absenteeism by 37%
- improve quality of work by 78%
- boost morale by 90%
- customer service is 93% better at supporting a company’s brand awareness
- 47% increase in earnings with a proper employee engagement program
Examples of Employee Recognition Programs
New Hire Kit
Show your employees they made the right decision about joining your company and get them excited to join your team.
Years of Service
First and foremost, this is a great excuse to show appreciation to your employees. 72% of companies use Employee Recognition Programs to honor an employee’s years of service. Anniversaries are important to people. Show your appreciation for your employees’ loyalty and don’t simply let that loyalty go to waste.
Sales Achievement
62% of companies use Employee Recognition Programs to recognize “Above and Beyond performance.” Hard work pays off! When employees have incentives to sell more, they will do just that - sell more! In turn, your company is more successful. It is a win-win situation.
Peer to Peer Recognition
Peer to Peer Recognition is 30% more likely to have a positive impact on the employee experience. Peers know the day-to-day things they all go through, so sometimes recognition from peers can be more meaningful. It increases morale and gives your team a bonding experience that lifts everyone up. Investing in tools that enable your employees to do this is wise and effective.
Training Completion
Recognition for completing these types of things is super important, because it makes the employee feel seen and provides incentive to reach another milestone. This can apply to any milestone or achievement.
On the Spot Recognition
If you notice someone has been excelling quite a bit lately, have a plan in place to show that you see them and appreciate their hard work! This can mean you have something special you do for or give your employees when you notice this extra hard work.
2021 Recognition Trends
Recognize More Often/Increased Connection
In 2021, as employees faced challenges they never have before, it became clear that constant recognition and connection for those working in isolation was important.
More Peer to peer Recognition
This type of employee recognition is an effective way to drive collaboration among remote-working employees and creates greater bonding between team members and a positive work culture.
Fun and Informal Awards
These break the monotony of working alone and fosters an overall positive work environment
Focus on Employee Wellness
The pandemic highlighted the need for organizations to focus on the health and well-being of their employees more than ever. Evolve rewards and recognition policies to drive wellness initiatives.
Employee Award and Recognition Programs create a culture of encouragement. Recognition isn’t only for the person who performed well. It also acts as a message to other employees about the type of performance that gets noticed in an organization.
Not every productive employee is appreciated. But every appreciated employee is productive.
