Everybody is looking for validation, no matter who you are, and I think that’s a need of the human condition – to look for affection or recognition or validation. ~Alejandro González Iñárritu
Recognition is a way of informing a person that you value his/her efforts, knowledge and personality. Lack of recognition in an organisation leads to inefficient work culture, lower productivity, conflicts and higher attrition rate.
Some of the guiding principles of the best employee recognition programs across the world are mentioned below:
- Give recognition to specific achievements.
- The recognition program should be linked with the organisation’s mission, objectives and values.
- Recognition should be offered in a timely manner.
- Recognition should be offered in monetary and non-monetary ways.
The principles can be modified as per different organisations, but the ideology remains the same.
Every business owner should put themselves in their employees shoes to understand the psychology behind the need for praising them for their efforts. Appreciation is considered a human need, which is often a guiding factor of increased productivity, a positive work environment and happier personnel.
Every organisation should implement employee recognition methods to make sure that employees receive adequate praise from senior management for their efforts.
Robert Cialdini termed employee recognition as the principle of social proof in action because he believed that humans tend to perform similarly to their peer group, and if one is appreciated for his/her work, the others will follow with the same intensity to improve their performance.
Recognising people for their work sends a powerful message across the company that you not only value hard work and desirable results, but that you are vocal about it. Yes, appreciating an employee in person is a nice gesture, but being public about it will encourage other employees to up their game as well.
Why do most employee recognition programs fail to achieve their goals?
Being appreciated is what we all desire and aim for; however, praising others in a meaningful and timely manner is a skill that needs to be learnt. Business owners need to acquire such skills and make sure that their managers are given proper coaching regarding appreciation and recognition to help them acquire them too. Most programs fail because senior management do not know how to analyse employee performance reports accurately and how to praise their employees in the right manner.
How can we increase the effectiveness of employee recognition programs?
Several practices will help you achieve your goals, such as:
- Keep a considerable share of the profits aside every year to be be utilised for employee recognition programs, like monetary benefits or recognition awards.
- Implement easy to use recognition systems, like Xtend system.
- Set strict rules and regulations regarding performance evaluation and recognition practices to ensure fair methods.
- Help management acquire appreciation skills to encourage desirable recognition practices.
- Your employee recognition programs should be focused solely on the employees to avoid complicating the program, i.e. do not create a program which benefits only senior management.
You can employ several employee recognition award ideas, such as best performer of the month/year, best sales executive, the most improved employee of the year, most inspiring leader of the year, best team player and many others.
The purpose of an employee recognition program is to make sure that all the efforts of every employee are valued and appreciated, and send a strong message across the organisation that the company rewards and recognises hard work, fair practices and desirable results. Such programs will help to inspire your employees, improve their work and achieve all the goals of the organisation.
Value! Appreciate! Reward!
Eada Hudes is a blogger whose experiences in life make her really tougher than anyone else. She can lend you expert tips on diverse topics ranging from relationship to fashion, business, making money, health and so on. Her write-ups are a window into her thoughts and knowledge.”
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