16 October, 2024
Employee Recognition: What It Is and Why It Matters for Workplace Success
“Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” – William Makepeace Thackeray
We all know that employees are the backbone of any thriving organization and when you notice their efforts in thoughtful ways, they are willing to work just as hard on their next project.
A Gallup study says that recognized employees are four times more engaged in their work and are 44% more satisfied with their jobs.
Unfortunately, despite knowing these research-based data, many organizations often make mistakes that undermine the effectiveness of their recognition strategies.
This blog will dive into the importance of employee recognition, types of employee recognition programs, common challenges faced by organizations while implementing such programs, and how Gratifi can help combat these challenges:
Let’s start with –
Defining employee recognition
Employee recognition is the act of openly acknowledging and praising employees for who they are and what they do. It may take many forms and may or may not include monetary compensation.
Authentic recognition serves three critical purposes:
- 1. Showcase Achievement – When an employee achieves a specific goal, the rush of excitement and victorious feeling grows exponentially when others take the liberty to recognize their accomplishment.
- 2. Motivate Effort – Who says motivation has to be tied only to performance? Celebrating strong effort when employees go above and beyond is crucial to developing emotional connections to the workplace that fuel future performance.
- 3. Reinforce Values – As an HR leader, it is important that you recognize employees not only for their achievements and efforts but also for their adherence to company policies. Why? Because when employees get recognized for adopting a behavior that aligns with company values, they are more than likely to continue that behavior setting a positive example for everyone on their team.
Types of employee recognition programs
- Public Recognition: This involves praising an employee’s work in a public setting where other people can witness the gesture. Recognition given at in-person events, such as meetings or conferences, or written recognition from emails, social media posts, or company updates are some examples of public recognition.
According to a recent survey, 84% of companies found that social recognition measurably and positively impacted employee engagement, making this type of recognition program extremely valuable.
- Private Recognition: One of the best ways to appreciate your employees is through private recognition, as it shows them that you have taken the time and thought carefully about their performance.
Such recognition also allows you to pat your employees on the back for their success, all the while discussing their areas of improvement. Private recognition comes in many forms – conversations, emails, handwritten notes, etc.
- Peer-to-Peer: This is the kind of recognition when team members or employees on the same level of the department praise each other for their hard work. Whether private or public, this type of recognition is an excellent way of fostering open dialogue and positive evaluations among employees, which in turn contributes to improving company culture as a whole.
Moreover, peer-to-peer recognition can help managers gather invaluable insights about team dynamics, individual strengths, and the collective pulse of the organization.
- Monetary Recognition: Rewarding employees provides them with a tangible proof that your organization considers them valuable. Though monetary recognition is considered to be a more traditional incentive, a modern-day reward and recognition program has to go beyond the standard to offer personalized rewards.
This is where a point-based rewards system comes into play. With the help of a point-based system, team members get a set number of points through your R&R platform on a monthly or quarterly basis. They can then use these points to buy items from the rewards catalog. Get Gratifi’s sample rewards catalog today!
- Team Recognition: Recognizing teams involves acknowledging and celebrating the collective efforts and achievements of groups of employees. This type of employee recognition builds a healthy workplace environment where teams support one another, draw upon individual strengths to conquer collective objectives, and reach goals together.
Some examples of team recognition are scheduled awards ceremonies, team outings, recognition letters, customized gifts, upskilling opportunities, and more.
Challenges in Implementing Employee Recognition
Implementing a new initiative like a reward and recognition program comes with its own set of possible setbacks. Here are some challenges an organization might face while integrating employee recognition:
- Losing Track of Budget – When asked about implementing an employee R&R program, many companies complain that they do not have the budget to integrate a third-party platform. They insist that they can do it themselves for lesser money but they often underestimate how easy it is to lose sight of spending when it comes to providing consistent rewards that make employees feel appreciated.
R&R programs from Gratifi come with a predictable cost, making sure you never lose track of your spending again. Everything is tracked and distributed through our 360-degree system, so you always know what you are receiving.
- Dependency on Top-Down Rewards and Recognition Programs – Organizations that implement new rewards and recognition programs for employees often underestimates how big of a time commitment these can be. With top-down programs, it is very easy for managers get burdened with the difficult task of showing appreciation to a large group of employees.
Gratifi’s R&R programs can save a manager’s precious time and resources by shifting recognition to employees and hosting an easy-to-use online rewards program. Book a demo to see it in action.
- Lacking Employee Feedback – Far too often, companies don’t consult with the employees when introducing new programs on what they want and how they want it. This is a huge mistake since the end goal of any recognition program is to improve employee engagement.
Taking employee feedback is one of the key elements of an effective employee recognition program. When you involve your top performers and high-achievers in the decision-making process, you can implement a program that has a better chance of being a unanimous hit.
Conclusion: The Future of Employee Recognition
Now that you know the power of employee recognition, the main question is whether your organization is armed with the necessary tools to ride this new wave of putting employees and their well-being at the forefront of overall business strategy.
If your business is looking for an employee R&R program that can do the heavy lifting for you, Gratifi might just be what you need!
You can get started by scheduling a personalized demo or setting up a meeting with one of our seasoned experts, who will walk you through the ins and outs of our mobile-friendly, cloud-based SaaS solution for employee, customer, and channel partner engagement.