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Do’s And Don’ts Of Effective Employee Recognition

Recognition is a powerful tool for motivating your employees. It can be done in many different ways, and each method has its own effectiveness depending on the situation. This blog post will cover some of the more popular recognition methods, their benefits, and how to use them most effectively.

Successfully recognizing your employees is one of the best ways to retain top talent and boost morale at your company. On the other hand, failing to acknowledge employee success is the most immediate way to discourage your employees and lose your most valuable team members. 

With that in mind, here are five do’s and don’ts of employee recognition to apply to your own company.

Do Give Multiple Types of Recognition

As you build out an employee recognition strategy, it’s important to include multiple types of recognition. Better yet, ask your team how they prefer to be recognized and offer them praise in the way that suits them best. Some people respond best to public displays of appreciation, while others appreciate small, private tokens of gratitude. You may find some employees prefer financial gestures to recognize their success, while others prefer benefits and flexibility. Make sure to vary your approach so that everyone’s preferences are covered. 

Do Make Opportunities Equal

Keep in mind that not all roles have successes that are easy to identify. A salesperson hitting their monthly quota is simple to see and recognize. Still, many team members may have more obscure wins or contributions. Ensure to incorporate these non-obvious successes in your recognition plan so that each team member has an equal opportunity to be awarded.

Do Express Appreciation Often

Acknowledge your employees as soon as possible so that the recognition reinforces the behavior you want to encourage. It should be relatively timely and not occur several days or weeks afterward. The strength and impact of employee recognition decreases when there is increased time between the behavior and the message.

Don’t Keep Recognition Private

Next, don’t keep recognition private unless otherwise asked to. Sure, it’s okay to hold some types of praise between you and an accomplished employee. But other times, it’s great to share wins with the whole team to amplify the respect and admiration that the employee feels. Don’t deprive them of that moment by keeping all feedback hidden from the rest of the company. 

Don’t Ignore Team Contributions

Last but not least, don’t forget that some accomplishments genuinely result from a team working in harmony. It’s common for companies to accidentally single out a successful employee when, in reality, the win was a group effort. Before you move forward with recognition, make sure you understand everyone who played a role in the accomplishment—then recognize them all accordingly. 

Implement an Employee Recognition Program

Organizations that celebrate employees through a recognition program can expect increased productivity, a more positive workplace, more motivated employees, and improved talent retention.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Host employee appreciation events to improve morale 

• Feature employees in internal communication or on social media

• Give bonuses, gift cards, or extra PTO days as rewards

• Have an employee of the month prize

• Implement bonuses or rewards attached to tenure

• Reward customer sales targets or feedback scores

Try these ideas out, and let us know how they work for your team! We’d be willing to bet that you’ll notice increased team productivity and higher employee engagement over time. That’s the power of giving credit where credit is due!

To learn about getting assistance with payroll, HR, and benefits for your business contact Merritt Business Solutions today.

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