Why is employee recognition so important?
It all comes down to basic human needs. When people feel valued, they generally become happier. People love to feel appreciated by others.
In a workplace setting, it is very important to recognize your employees so they feel happy and are motivated to do their work. Which in turn, their productivity increases and improves their work — which helps the company succeed, as well.
Think about a time when you went out of your way to help someone, worked really hard … but didn’t get a simple “thank you”… It hurts, right?
The same goes for employees. Even though it is “technically” their job to do the work, it is still nice to be appreciated for what you do.
So, what can you do to recognize your employees?
There are three main aspects of employee recognition.
Find times & opportunities to actually recognize an employee
Too many times an employee will do something great … and it is just looked over by the team. It’s important to realize when an employee may be hitting a new goal or having a work anniversary. Make sure to identify these times and mark them on your calendar!
The physical act of recognizing an employee
You may realize that an employee went out of their way to do a new task, but — did you say thank you? The actual physical act of recognizing an employee is a crucial step in the process. Make sure to say Thank you or do something kind for them, such as - buy lunch, send a gift, etc.
Recognize them how they want to be recognized
This is an important step because people like to be recognized in different ways. For example, an outgoing salesperson may want to get a “shoutout” at a company meeting in front of hundreds of people … but an introverted developer may not. The developer may rather get a personal, 1-1 shoutout. It’s important to ask each employee how they like to be recognized.
Making sure to use all three aspects of employee recognition is very important to the employees success, as well as the companies success. It is a key success factor for everyone on the team.
So, what are some things you can do to show thanks? —> While there are a ton of ways to show thanks, below are six ideas:
1) Say “Thank you!” This simple saying can go a long way.
2) Explain to them why you are thankful. What did they do right? What did they help with specifically?
3) Buy Lunch or Candy for them to show your appreciation
4) Buy a gift box during a special event from PeopleProud
5) Give a gift card to a local shop
6) Announce their job-well-done at a company meeting (but first, make sure they want this!!)
Good luck. If you would like to learn more about how to recognize your employees, contact team@peopleproud.com or schedule a call here.