Hard work and acknowledgment

Most people like to be acknowledged for the hard work that they tirelessly or tiredly do. This is the reason why The Oscars, Academy Awards and the like were invented. If you are an employer and doesn’t have an employee recognition award program, it’s a high time that surprised your employees with one. Pick one day from the calendar and call it “Annual Awards Day” or whichever name you like, and ensure that this will be the day when employees will be rewarded for their blood, sweat and tears. According to research, there is great value in employee recognition through employee awards. When employers increase their employees’ satisfaction through recognition, not only do they manage to create a positive work environment, but the employees’ morale and engagement is boosted as well. This ultimately leads to increased productivity, improved customer satisfaction and turnover. If you want to preserve your

What’s best between cash and gifts?

When it comes to rewarding workers, cash is always king – but only for a few days if not hours. Sure, employees have an affinity to cheques (who doesn’t), but money is only a short-term motivator. It is, therefore, advisable to find ways to connect with your employees rather than pay them off. You can express your gratitude with meaningful employee recognition gifts, which will last long enough to remind them just how valuable they have been to the business.

How to pick something that will be right for everyone

Research also indicates that not all recognition efforts are effective.  Having a grand awards ceremony will surely excite everyone involved, but it will be pointless if some (or all) employees won’t be pleased with the gifts that they take home at the end of the day. So, how do you choose something that will be ideal for everyone? Well, it’s easy – ask them! This is the sure-fire way to find out what each one of them finds meaningful.

To get an idea of what your employees like, you can have each one of them complete the “Tell Us About You” form that captures relevant information about their likes. The employees can be asked to kindly share their favorite treat food, restaurants, music preferences, hobbies or any other activities that they like to do.

They can also be asked how they would like to be recognized, i.e. in public, privately, top-down or peer-to-peer. This will help you a great deal in settling on the gift ideas that will make the whole awards ceremony worthwhile. Once you are armed with such valuable information, the employee recognition gifts that you will choose for your top talent will definitely hit the mark every time.

How to set program guidelines and criteria

Communication is key in ensuring that employees are aware of the program, how it works, as well as what it takes for them to be recognized or awarded. This can be done through email, promotional material or through the intranet. It should also be clear right from the start the number of employees to be awarded.

There are a number of things that must be determined when setting program guidelines and criteria. It must be determined whether you will have a peer nomination program, or whether the managers will be responsible for choosing those employees they feel that made a mark throughout the year. It should also be determined whether recognition and awards will be presented formally or informally, virtually or face to face.

Depending on the employee recognition award program that you have selected, you will need to track a number of things, including who exactly is making awards, who are receiving the awards, and which departments, teams and managers are actively utilizing the program. This will help greatly in improving the program’s communication and fairness.

How to set a budget

After the goals of the employee recognition award program are decided upon, it’s crucial that a budget be established. You should keep in mind that these types of programs can run on little to no cost. Some of the most affordable gift ideas include gift certificates, written “thank-you” notes, name badges and gold stars on employees’ computers. It is also important that you understand tax issues that are associated with such a program. You should know that awards with dollar value are normally taxable.

In conclusion

A good employee recognition award program is one that is seen by all stakeholders as fair. Ensure that there is a free and fair way of determining which employees deserve to be awarded. This will not only help to avoid boos and scoffs during the actual awards ceremony day, but it will also encourage healthy and positive competitions among the employees. Finally, you must determine whether this particular program is helping your company or organization meet its objectives.