Employee
recognition programs can vary, from the very simple and inexpensive to the
elaborate. No matter where your
organization falls on that continuum, the stakes are high when considering the
impact of a low recognition culture on an organization’s bottom line. What are some consequences of ignoring the
need to recognize employee contributions?
- Low productivity and low performance
- Negative attitudes and a poor team culture
- Increased absenteeism
- Low employee retention rates and increased turnover rates
It’s safe
to assume that no organization would like to have to address and reverse any of
these issues. And yet, doing something doesn’t mean that it will be a
success. Even more unsettling is
learning that you can have a rewards and recognition program and still not meet the
needs of employees. How so?
Susan M.
Heathfield’s article featured on About.com
points out that, for starters, many organizations believe in the “one size fits
all” model when it comes to employee recognition and rewards. This results in
narrow thinking when deciding when and how employees should be rewarded and
recognized. As a result, employee complaints, jealousy, and dissatisfaction
become prevalent. Guidelines to consider
in order to create a sharper rewards and recognition program for your
organization include the following:
- Decide what you want to achieve through your employee recognition efforts. A program cannot solve all problems and motivate everyone to do everything.
- Create goals and action plans for employee recognition. Metrics focus activity towards the relevant and significant.
- Ensure that fairness, clarity, and consistency are important to and evident in the program.
- Avoid “employee of the month-type programs.” These approaches are usually not clear to employees and lead to accusations of “pet employees” receiving the awards.
- Recognize all people who contributed to a success equally.
Heathfield highlights a program to
increase attendance that can spur your organization’s brainstorming in the area
of employee rewards and recognition. An
organization hands out a three-part form or three-part certificate. During the organization’s weekly staff meeting,
one form is given to employees who had perfect attendance the previous week.
The second form is kept in the personnel file.
The third form is entered in a monthly drawing for gift certificates.
The goal and action plan for the program are clear, the raffle catches
employees’ interest, and the approach avoids the angst that “employee of the
month” programs can cause.
Forbes also gave the following best practices for employee recognition
programs. Consider these when developing
a new or reviewing an existing employee rewards and recognition program.
- Recognize people based on specific results and behaviors. Leave the “employee of the month” mentality and deliver awards based on specific actions.
- Implement peer to peer recognition, rather than the traditional top down approach. According to Forbes, “peers know what you’re doing on a day to day basis, so when they ‘thank you’ for your efforts the impact is much more meaningful. Top-down recognition is often viewed as political and it rarely reaches the ‘quiet but critical high-performers’ in the company.”
- Share recognition stories: Story telling is powerful. Sharing recognition stories can build camaraderie.
- Make recognition easy and frequent. Make it simple and clear for everyone to participate, receive, and enjoy.
- Tie recognition to your own organizational values or goals: “Too many CEOs and managers focus on bottom line results without thinking about how it feels to slog away and work without anyone saying thanks.”
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