I’ve long believed recognizing employees for a job well done is one of the most powerful actions employees at all levels, from leaders to frontline people, can take in business. More and more organizations are realizing its value, as 80% of companies have an employee recognition program in place — and it’s paying off. Showing employees recognition motivates them to keep doing amazing work, which, in turn, means happier customers. Employees who feel recognized for their work are also more likely to stay with a company, resulting in less turnover, a critical factor for your bottom line.
Business reasons aside, taking the time to let employees know you appreciate them just feels good. Everyone loves receiving compliments, and everyone knows how great it feels to give them. But employee recognition is more than just compliments. Over my time at our company, I’ve learned to listen to the unique needs and styles of all employees, and we’ve applied that feedback to our recognition programs. Here’s what we’ve learned along the way.
Recognition Doesn’t Have To Be Public
Just as much as constructive feedback should be given in many forms, so should appreciation. Some employees may live for public praise at the end of a meeting or a company all-hands, while others may prefer the intimacy of a quick chat in the hallway or an individual email thanking them for a job well-done. Employee recognition may take the form of an employee of the month award, a sales all-star of the quarter, or a full employee appreciation day like we have at our company. While every company may not have the size or resources to devote an entire day to employee appreciation, recognizing employees in big and small ways can make a huge difference to morale and culture.
It’s also helpful to think about sources of praise. An open-letter blog post or internal newsletter from senior leadership mentioning employees’ hard work shows those in charge are paying attention and taking the time to recognize hard work at all levels. Some employees might appreciate peer-to-peer recognition even more. Consider implementing an anonymous recognition form or taking a group vote at all-team meetings so employees know their hard work is making a difference, and that their peers have noticed too.
Recognize More Than Just Profits Or Sales Work
Some companies err in thinking only work directly impacting the bottom line deserves recognition. But recognition is all about culture, so consider the less obvious wins that affect the fabric of your company. Maybe an employee’s a particular champion for in-office team-building events and always keeps morale high, or there’s a diligent worker who puts in extra effort without complaint, or mentors who go the extra steps to help new hires, even though it’s not necessarily their job.
Look back on the past few weeks and ask yourself what’s made you smile and what’s made your customers the happiest. Sales wins are never the only wins, so consider recognizing employees for the important, but often overlooked, efforts they make outside of their job description that might not be reflected on the balance sheet.
Flattery Gets You Nowhere
Recognition should always be sincere. Don’t give recognition just for the sake of recognition or praise when you don’t mean it. Recognizing an employee for something they know is an area for improvement can often be seen as false praise or even patronizing. Managers should take the time to meet with employees and figure out not only how they want to be recognized (publicly, privately or in-person), but also uncover which areas they’re working on improving. What do they think their strengths are? What work are they most proud of that might be worth raising to their manager or yours? Recognizing strengths first is often more motivating than offering insincere or nonspecific praise on a growth area.
Specificity is a powerful medium for sincerity. If a recent project made a big impact on the company, you likely want to send around a note thanking the team. Rather than using general terms, take a few minutes to find out everyone’s roles, from the intern who went above and beyond on research all the way to the project manager who kept the team focused even through major delays. The specificity makes every employee feel extra special, and your note will be more meaningful and sincere — not just a template email with names copied in.
Use Tech For Recognition
Understanding how each employee wants to be recognized or what work they’re proud of is not a one-person job. Tech can help make your job a little easier in several ways. For example, software platforms employees already use for annual or quarterly surveys should ask about big accomplishments, too. Consider adding a field for soft skills in feedback and reviews so employees can point out the champions that keep morale high or recognize their empathetic managers. If trends arise from those reports, consider adding a new employee award or preparing more specific kudos for a team the next time you want to give them recognition.
Look to group-chat tools to help encourage and socialize peer recognition; it takes seconds to set up a specific channel just for shoutouts and wins. It’s a small move, but it allows employees to offer their peers recognition and praise without having to overthink it.
We’re all people. It feels great to be appreciated. It’s motivating and satisfying, and it builds relationships while driving us to work even harder. What’s good for your people, of course, is good for your business! Employees should be recognized for their hard work at any company, and many of today’s tech tools give us the ability to see and understand even more about the work our employees are doing, where they are excelling and how they want to be recognized. So, take time to recognize others. I appreciate you for reading this!
