Employee recognition sits at the forefront of employment topics because of its lasting difference in employee well-being and loyalty.
But, it’s not just a way to improve employee stats, recognition is how employers demonstrate gratitude for employee efforts. We’ve compiled 25 recognition techniques or ninja tips will help to improve your employee recognition overnight. Be sure to check out our top 7 recognition techniques here.
1. Tell the Story of How the Employee Made a Difference
Millennials are outspoken about it, but all employee generations want to make a positive difference in their communities. Make sure you tell the story of how their recognition made a difference to other employees, customers, or partners.
Too often, we overlook the reason for the recognition is the difference they made. The actions that inspired the recognition are important, but so is the impact.
2. Involve Peers
Few people see the extent of an employee’s efforts or feel the effects of it as much as their peers. Get everyone involved by encouraging peer recognition. Recognize those who participate in recognition and provide the tools and resources for seamless peer recognition.
Lateral recognition, or peer recognition, has been shown to have the single greatest impact on the effectiveness of recognition. And in many surveys, employees state that recognition by their teams or colleagues is more important than top-down recognition from managers.
3. Build Teams Through Recognition
Recognition can serve as a means to build team cohesiveness by increasing communication between team members and by increasing the sense of team.
Recognition can serve to increase team togetherness and increase communication. Celebrate success together and increase team unity.
employees and builds connection in the workplace.
5. Consider Replacing the Trophy or Certificate with Intangible Awards
Studies show that most employees don’t value tangible or monetary recognition as much as intangible awards. Things like extra time off, a growth experience, or greater autonomy builds an employee’s sense of being valuable to the organization more than traditional recognition awards.
That doesn’t mean you can’t give monetary awards, but you should be careful to do it in a way that doesn’t decrease employee engagement over time.
6. Know the Difference Between Rewards and Awards
Some motivators confuse a reward with an award. Rewards are prizes that are given after an employee has jumped through the hoops of specific requirements. They are usually used to coerce employee behavior and have long-term detrimental effects on employees.
Awards are used to recognize employees who have done well and don’t include specific requirements to qualify.
7. Provide Employees With Recognition Substance
There is one exception to the tangible award. It’s when awards are given by peers. That’s because peer awards are not able used to control behavior. They are almost always given as a token of gratitude. This type of recognition builds teams, resiliency, and connection.
Give employees the autonomy to gift to other employees. Provide them with points, prizes, free time, or other awards that they can share to colleagues who make a difference.
8. Timely Recognition
Recognition has a shelf life; if it’s not given soon after the behavior is recognized, it loses its effectiveness. Give recognition as often and as soon as you can.
9. Don’t Use Prizes to Compel Employees
Recognition can positively influence employee engagement and performance. But, if you use recognition as a means to control or compel employees to certain behaviors, it will backfire. Employees who feel coerced are more likely to decrease their performance and cease the desired behavior in the act of defiance.
Even when coercion works, it requires constant prizes and increasing benefits to remain effective. This is unsustainable over the long run.
Instead, consider ways that you can encourage rather than control.
10. Regular, Frequent Recognition
Employees want to be recognized frequently. Daily recognition is ideal and recognition should never be limited to annual reviews. Work to observe employee behaviors and efforts and to recognize them.
Employees who don’t get frequent recognition are more likely to leave within a year and more likely to provide a lower quality of work than they would otherwise.
11. Specific Recognition
In addition to frequent recognition, you should recognize for specific behaviors, actions, or situations. The more specific your recognition, the more likely it is that an employee will understand what they did that you found outstanding.
It’s almost laughable, but not quite, how often employees interpret recognition as being for an action that isn’t the reason they were recognized. Specific, clear recognition accurately communicates why they are being recognized and makes it easier for the employee to duplicate their efforts. Recognition is especially effective when recognition is given that encourages employees to live up to the employer’s core values.
12. Remember the 5 Recognition Languages
Not all employees feel recognized in the same ways. Each employee has one or two recognition languages. The five recognition languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Growth Opportunities.
Find and communicate recognition to employees using their recognition languages. Notes, public recognition, mentoring, time off and assistance are all ways managers can recognize employees and help them feel greater belonging.
13. Sincere Recognition
It probably goes without saying that if recognition isn’t sincere, it will not be effective and it can even be detrimental to employee well-being.
14. Remember the Forgotten
Every organization has employees who work behind the scenes and whose efforts are hidden. Remember to recognize the forgotten and hidden employees for the quiet difference they make.
15. Experiences More than Money
Employees generally value experiences more than cash awards. Provide extra time off so they can have time with their family, or gift an experience as a “thank you.” Even a little flexibility can gift the experience of being less stressed when something goes wrong outside of work.
16. Responsibility More than Cash
A frequent reason cited for millennials leaving their employer is that they don’t have the opportunities to advance. Millennials don’t want to “put in the time” before they advance. They feel that qualifications are more important than time in advancement.
Give employees the recognition that they are ready for more by giving them greater responsibilities. Even if there aren’t advanced positions available, employees can grow through projects, team leadership, and other responsibilities.
17. Mentoring as Recognition
Mentoring builds both the mentee and mentor employee. Mentoring provides quality time and investment into the mentee. Consider offering mentoring for employees who demonstrate commitment to quality work. And, mentoring can work both ways. Some companies use reverse mentoring as a way for younger employees to mentor experienced employees in technology or other cutting-edge techniques.
18. Celebrate Milestones
Employee job searches increase drastically during and around major milestones. Not only do milestones include work anniversaries, but also include major birthdays, life events, and class reunions.
During milestone events, employees contemplate their career path and job satisfaction. They often compare where they are with their past visions of where they would be at that point. Celebrate milestones with employees and emphasize their accomplishments to remind them of their successes.
19. Capture Memories
Take the time to take pictures of fun events, celebrations, and team accomplishments. Photos can serve as a great way to remind employees of and further solidify team bonds. Plus, with the Memories feature on the Thanks Platform, photos can be shared in a digital scrapbook to recognize employees.
20. Value Employees During Failure
Some of the most effective recognition is given after an employee fails. Expressing the employee’s worth demonstrates their value to the team even after they messed up. This can build incredible loyalty and company culture.
21. Employee Choice in Recognition
Autonomy fosters employee growth and cultivates peak experiences. When you give autonomy as a way to recognize employee creativity, initiative, and drive, it demonstrates the trust you have in employees. Saying you trust them doesn’t speak the same as saying you trust them and actually trusting them to make their best decisions. Even giving employees choices around their workspaces can profoundly impact recognition.
22. Recognition Through Technology
Technology affects how employees view the employer. Did you know that 43% of employees feel that the technology used for employees is outdated? Relying on in-person, email, and events as your only recognition tools sends the message that recognition isn’t important enough to invest in.
Add to your existing recognition arsenal, technology that makes recognition more universal, easier to give, and seamless to receive. The Thanks Platform makes this seamless with seamless technology and integrations with the other systems your workplace uses.
23. Making a Difference In Recognition (Altruism)
Some employees value a recognition service language best. But, even employees whose recognition language is something else benefit when recognition incorporates altruism. Employers who give employees paid time for service projects, sponsor collection drives, and offer service team-building activities prove that they care about the community.
24. Remember Remote Recognition
Don’t forget about remote employees. Remote employees often remain out of sight and can be forgotten about. Include remote employees in celebrations and remember to recognize them privately and publicly.
25. Celebrate Together
Every month provides opportunities to celebrate together. Celebrate accomplishments, overcoming challenges, or the grit to get through a difficult time. Additionally, employee holidays provide nearly weekly chances to celebrate a traditional or obscure employee holiday.
Conclusion
Adding even a few of these ninja recognition techniques will better communicate your gratitude for all your employees’ contributions and efforts!
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.