Employee recognition is relatively cheap, yet it has a very high payoff in terms of morale, reduction in staff turnover, and most importantly customer satisfaction. We would say part of the difficulty is that when you work with employees for a long time, it’s hard to find original ways to recognize them.
Employee recognition is a tool that reinforces and rewards employees for positive actions, and encourages them to continue these behaviors in the future. You are able to emphasize the actions and behaviors you desire to see repeated. Employee recognition isn’t tricky – it is an obvious thing to do. Despite the unquestioned advantages arising from employee recognition, one of the mysteries of the workplace is that recognition invariably is done badly, if done at all. Which employee wouldn’t like to be credited for his leadership skills in a company? Employee recognition is a proven management tool that can be used to dramatically improve workplace satisfaction and loyalty. Even a small gift can lift employee’s motivation dramatically.
Some employee recognition ideas include: comp time off with pay, gift cards to a local store, or a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant. Some of the things that employees don’t really appreciate are the things that companies like to hand out most and include items like logo merchandise (pens, notepads) and apparel (shirts, jackets) unless they are highly desirable and of the highest quality. You might also consider some more personal gifts such as tickets to a favorite sports team, movie theatre, or drama.
